Simon Lewis: Ireland’s only primary school principal from an ethnic minority
From Education Nation by State of the Nation
March 11, 2026 · 54 min · Season 2 · Episode 5
About this episode
The episode features Simon Lewis, the principal of Carlow Educate Together National School, discussing his unique perspective as an ethnic minority in Ireland's education system.
With First Communion and Confirmation season in full swing, the Education Nation podcast is turning its attention to the primary sector for a while. Next week’s guest is Seamus Mulconry, CEO of the Catholic Primary School Managers Association. This week, in the first of our ‘focus on primary education’ series, the spotlight falls on someone from outside the majority Catholic nationalschool tradition: Simon Lewis, principal of Carlow Educate Together National School. Simon brings something rare to the national conversation on education: the lived experience of growing up in Ireland as part of a minority community, combined with the professional insight gained as both teacher and principal. He demonstrates tremendous energy, confidence, a willingness to listen, to dialogue, to challenge, and the courage to say some of the quiet things out loud.
People in this episode
Guest: Simon Lewis
Topics covered
- primary education
- ethnic minority
- Catholic school tradition
- education leadership
- community experience
Keywords
- primary school
- education
- ethnic minority
- Ireland
- Simon Lewis
- Catholic education
- leadership
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Carlow Educate Together National School, Catholic Primary School Managers Association
Places: Ireland
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