WATCH Tutorial College celebrates 40 years of ‘continuous support’ through education

Tutorial College celebrates 40 years of ‘continuous support’ through education. The Halloran family, John Senior, Mags, Fiona, and John Junior pictured with Tutorial College staff and pupils at the college doors on O’Connell’s Crescent

Tutorial College celebrates an incredible 40 years of education excellence in Limerick while keeping family at its core

Tutorial College is celebrating the incredible milestone of 40 years of providing high-quality and dedicated education to students in Limerick.

Founded in 1985 by John and Mags Halloran, Tutorial College has grown from its humble beginnings to one of the most trusted names in education, all while remaining a family business.

The college, on O’Connell Crescent in Limerick, is in a historic building which once housed Crescent College and was taken over by the Halloran family. John Senior explained the building’s origin while sat in the beautiful auditorium, saying, “ There was great history associated with the building, it was founded, I think in 1948 or 1950, they decided to convert the houses on the Crescent into a college and they combined it with this, they built this hall at the same time and like there was a concert here every year run by the Cecilians for years and years after that.”

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When John and his wife Mags took over the building, the premises needed some TLC, with John recalling, “ September 1985, we started with grinds, the place when we got it was in a most atrocious condition, but we cleaned it up and hired it out room by room as we expanded.

“The grinds were very successful, and so were the Christmas courses and the Easter courses. Really, there was demand from the public that we should start, and Bruce College had started before us, and we came in on the market then.”

Following from the original grinds and seasonal courses, Tutorial College introduced a full-time one-year Leaving Cert course in 1988, and bu 1990 the college was offering a full Leaving Cert programme, followed by the addition of fifth-year courses in 1993. In 1997, the family purchased the building, and in 2002, rebranded to the current name, Tutorial College.

A growing family-run business for four decades requires dedication in all aspects of life, Mags Halloran fondly looks back on balancing work with raising four children in the family, all of which attended Tutorial College, Mags told I Love Limerick, “ Every one of the four of them, John Junior, Sheila, Claire, and Paddy attended. Paddy is now married to a former student of Tutorial, Jane, so it is all come together.”

Mags proudly shared that as well as John Junior, now principal of the college, “ Sheila got a PhD in microbiology. Claire is a doctor in Australia, and Paddy is an accountant. So they all, thank God, did very well.”

In 2019, the baton was passed to John Junior and his wife Fiona who continue to focus on personalised education for their pupils, all while maintaining the family heart for the business, John Junior said, “ We are a family business and we try and look after each of the students as if they were one of our family. We meet with each student and one or both of their parents before they’re offered a place to come into the school.

“At that meeting, we take a look at where the students are coming from, their academic background, different backgrounds, different things going on in their lives, and we try and make out a plan for them and a set of goals right throughout the year.

“We are trying to be accountable with the students, work with them, and trying to help them achieve their goals, and it’s our wish – which had been brought down from my parents, that each and every student does their very, very best and treat them as human beings. Treat them as you treat your own brother or sister.”

Fiona emphasises the college’s ethos of respect and adaptability, saying, “ Everybody gets their best Leaving Cert, but also life changes during the year. We have to change for the student to adapt, and I suppose, yes, we’re getting them ready for Leaving Cert, but we’re getting them ready for life too. We want them to get ready for college, we want them to navigate college successfully and a good career afterwards.

“As John and Mags said, there’s nothing nicer than meeting them out, meeting them on a beach in Lahinch and they’re mad to tell you how they’re doing. That’s the success for us. It’s that they’re happy and they’ve achieved.”

John Jr added, “ The real joy for us is in five or 10 years time. For example, mom and dad met someone in the last week, and he was gone nearly 20 years, that’s the real key. What’s happening is that you have people who were here, say 25 years ago, who are sending their own sons and daughters to us. That’s a real testament for us. For me, certainly that’s the most fulfilling part of the whole thing.”

Pictures: Olena/ilovelimerick