In my life

Marion Coy, Director, Galway Mayo Institute of Technology

Where did you go to school?

Presentation Secondary in Tuam, Co Galway. I was one of the Pres Girls immortalised in song by the Saw Doctors.

What was your best subject?

Maths and English.

What was your worst subject?

Art, but I'll master it yet.

If you could put a new subject on the Leaving Cert, what would it be?

Maths, but not as we know it. I think every student should learn the why, as well as the how of maths. For starters they should all get the chance to read a book called Fermat's Last Theorem

What was your earliest career ambition?

To be a journalist. I lost that somewhere along the way.

Who was your favourite teacher and why?

Sister Dorothy. A nun with a passion for maths and science in 1960s Ireland.

Who was your childhood idol?

TS Eliot and John Lennon.

Who was your best friend?

I had three - girls move in groups. Maeve, Imelda and Lucy.

What is they doing now?

Two are retired and one is teaching. We're still in contact.

What TV programme/film most reminds you of your schooldays?

We were only allowed to watch TV between 7pm and 7.30pm each evening. Whatever was on RTÉ in that slot in the 1960s obviously didn't leave an impression on me.

What song most reminds you of your schooldays?

Yellow Submarine by the Beatles (we had to translate it into Latin and I still remember the words). And anything by Johnny Cash.

What food most reminds you of your schooldays?

Sunday morning sausages.

What was your school uniform like?

Wicked, and not in the modern sense. It was so full of pleats we had to store it under the mattress to keep them in. I still can't wear maroon.

What's the boldest thing you ever did in school?

I stuck to the rule of walking at a nun's pace rather than pass a Sister in the corridor, that's how good I was

Who did you bring to your debs? No such thing!

What was your most memorable holiday?

Barcelona last year. What an incredible city.

What's the last book you read?

Philip Roth's Everyman - electrifying. And Denis O'Driscoll's Troubled Thoughts Majestic Dreams - wonderful.

Did you go to college and if so, what did you study?

English and history at NUI Galway.

Would you send your own children to the same school that you went to?

My daughter has just finished in Pres Tuam, but it's not a boarding school anymore.

What was the best thing about your education?

I learned how to learn.

What was the worst thing about your education?

I think teenagers should be with their parents rather than in boarding school.