It was great sadness that we formally say goodbye to long serving staff member Stewart Dowie who has retired from teaching here at Ballymun Youthreach. Stewie’s long career involved teaching Community Arts, Drawing, Painting, Workplace Safety but perhaps his real contribution was awakening a creative and artistic talent latent in many of our students.
Staff will miss many aspects of Stewie’s time here, from his wonderfully eloquent and off the point student reviews to the denim shorts that made an appearance every summer. But most of all we will miss his rampant enthusiasm for the job, his Scottish sense of bonhomie with the students and the protective instinct he had for all the marginalised in Ballymun and beyond.
We wish him safe travels on his new bike, its standout painted frame as unique as the man himself. Cheers Stewie!
