Catholic Schools Partnership chair leaves the position

The chairman of the body which represents the Catholic bishops in the education sector is leaving the post to take up an appointment in Nigeria, the Catholic Church has announced.

Fr Michael Drumm was the inaugural chairman of the Catholic Schools Partnership (CSP), which was established in 2010.

The Catholic Communications Office announced on Wednesday that Fr Richard Byrne had been appointed as the body’s new chairman.

Ferdia Kelly has also been appointed to the new position of chief executive officer with immediate effect.

Fr Byrne is currently provincial of the Irish Province of Carmelites and was previously headmaster of his alma mater Terenure College, in Dublin.

Ferdia Kelly’ was a member of the CSP in his previous role as general secretary of the Association of Management of Catholic Secondary Schools and the Joint Managerial Body.

‘Unified voice’

The CSP was established to provide “a unified voice for Catholic education in the public forum and with educational bodies and the government”.

It has a council of 22 members, representative of all the stakeholders in Catholic education.

Members are nominated by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the Conference of Religious of Ireland, the Association of Trustees of Catholic Schools, the Catholic Primary School Management Association and the Association of Management of Catholic Secondary Schools.