In this episode, I chat with Niall Dempsey, a tutor with the Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board (GRETB). Niall teaches adult literacy, ESOL, and Conversational Irish. As a wheelchair user, he is also researching the intersection of identity, masculinity, and disability. We discuss his experiences as a tutor working in a marginalised sector, the instability of employment in the adult education sector, as well as his perspective on belonging to a marginalised group himself.
Adult education tutors will relate to the challenges of navigating insecure work and finding purpose within a sector that offers limited recognition.
Niall is a passionate tutor and a natural storyteller. This is well worth a listen.
Ramblings of a Bockedy Man is the title of Niall’s MEd. Thesis (used with his permission). You can read his Thesis here:
You can find Niall’s paper, ‘Conversations with Strangers’, here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02660830.2023.2262638#d1e165
I strongly recommend reading his paper. Niall tells a moving story that blends humour and sadness while exploring complex themes of disability, masculinity, and his experiences working as a tutor in a marginalised sector.