Learning to make music was as important as learning to read and write, says Laura Magahy

I attended six different educational institutions - not because I was thrown out but because my family moved around. I went to two junior schools in Dublin and secondary schools in both Galway and Cork. I'm a graduate of UCC and later did a MBA at TCD.

Three of my four grandparents were teachers and, as a child, I spent every June at national school in Schull, where my maternal grandmother was head teacher. It was a two-teacher school - very rural, no toilet, but very nice. Coming from Dublin I felt a tad superior. I used to carry my books and my lunch in a hard case - a status symbol in the days when children in West Cork carried their belongings in bags.

Going to school in Schull was brilliant. It was all so different to my Dublin schools - Firhouse National School and Scoil Bhride, Ranelagh. In Schull there were four classes in each room and we learned everything by rote.

The new maths was introduced when I was in fifth class and as a result my primary education in maths almost ceased. My Dublin school was all-Irish - there were no new maths text books in Irish and the school preferred not to teach us through English. I don't think I ever really caught up.

I hated moving school and felt very miserable. When you're aged between 12 and 14 leaving your friends and breaking into a new social setting can be extremely difficult. I thought the end of the world had come when I had to leave Dublin for Galway. But I settled in quickly, though I found Cork much harder to break into.

At UCC, where I studied music and German, I was more interested in the social than the academic life. I was played in the orchestra. I was involved, too, in a four-day campus sit-in over the quality of college catering. We stayed in college overnight and I played in an all-female pop band with friends. The group was a one-night wonder - we only had one song, Cactus Narcissus, and we retired after the demo.

UCC was great, but the most interesting part of my education was going back to as a mature student to do a MBA in Trinity. Up 'till now I had been a passive participant in education, but this time it was my choice and I worked a lot harder than I would otherwise have done.

My decision to return to education was prompted by the desire to augment my liberal arts background with a formal qualification in management. It was a very important step career-wise. Since then I have enrolled on a PhD.

One of my hobby horses is the arts in education. I believe that it's as important to be able to play music as it is to be able to read and write. I was taught by my mother to play the piano at the age of three and later I learned to play the violin at the School of Music in Chatham Street, Dublin.

Playing a musical instrument develops your ability to concentrate, helps you to become self-contained and gives you a sense of achievement. I believe that every child should be given the opportunity to enjoy these benefits.

Laura Magahy, managing director of Temple Bar Properties, was in conversation with Yvonne Healy