Sacred Heart College’s handyman retires after 25 years

Every school needs somebody for whom no task is too tall, no job too big, and no errand too arduous, onerous or obscure.

Where the teacher is qualified to speak authoritatively only one or two subjects, the handyman has no limits, knows no boundaries; he is jack of all trades, master of most.

For the last 25 years, Omagh’s Sacred Heart College has entrusted this role to the capable and versatile hands of the one-and-only John Muldoon.

Every school morning for the past quarter of a century, John – who, incidentally, has additional needs – has boarded the bus in his native Fintona and rode the 20 minute road to Omagh, starting his day’s work before most students have had a chance to wipe the blears from their eyes.

While the rest of the world was still waking up, John was toiling away, quietly, assiduously and industriously.

However, last Wednesday, this era of unerring stability for the school came to an end, when staff and pupils said goodbye to their caretaker, groundskeeper, porter and, if you were to ask John himself, ‘Head of Security’.

“So you’ve all your jobs done for the day then, John?” asked school principal Michael Gormley, as the emotionally-overcome stalwart took a seat at his retirement party in the staffroom last Wednesday evening.

John nodded assuredly.

“And you’ve all those papers dropped off, too?”

Another member of staff vouched for the teary-eyed John, saying that he had left everything in perfect order for whatever misfortunate soul was going to have to attempt to fill his unfathomably large boots the following morning.

All of sudden, somebody hit play on the stereo and a few of John’s favourite country music tunes began to play.

Threats were made that John might be about to get up and jive, which he laughed heartily at, before opting instead to fetch himself a cup of tea and a bun from the spread that had been put on.

As John took his seat at a table full of friends, we spoke with one colleague who knows him about as well as anyone; past pupil, receptionist, and student welfare officer, Sarah O’Brien.

“John was here when I started at the school as a pupil 14 years ago. Since becoming part of the staff team here, I’ve gotten to know him very well. He is great craic and endlessly helpful; there is nothing that he wouldn’t do for us,” said Sarah.

“We are the first port of call at the office, so we would see John all the time. He would always be asking if there is anything that we need a hand with. His work ethic and willingness to support people can’t be faulted.”

But, as Sarah explained, it is not just John’s indefatigable helpfulness that has been an asset to the school, but also his generous personality.

“As well as all that, John has always been a great person to have around. He is fun, kind and a good laugh. The stories he would tell us were something else. Honestly, he has been a brilliant part of the school since I can remember.”

From talking to his fellow staff members, it seems that John’s value to the school was greater than the tally of his many and wide-ranging roles.

In the words of Sarah, “The school will be lost without him.”