There lived a boy with a butterfly brain that could dazzle and dance, but not stay still. A boy who won prizes for poems and stories, who was loved by English teachers and butterflies, but not very much by anybody else. To him his teachers were heroes. They were his lighthouses. Unfortunately the examination boards had no way of testing a butterfly brain. So they placed him in a box and on the box they stuck a giant label and on the label was the word- FAILED.
It wasn’t the box that crushed him. It was that word- FAILED. You see, what the examination boards could not see, was that the boy with the butterfly brain lived in a home for children whose parents forgot about them. So, even though he knew what being crushed felt like, nothing ever crushed his butterfly brain quite like that word – FAILED. The world had no place for a butterfly brain. The only thing he learned at school was that he did not belong. So he stopped believing in butterflies.
Then, one day, an English teacher found his poems in a bin. What she was looking for in the bin, we shall never know, but she invited him to teach her students how to write and learn like a butterfly. Soon he was surrounded by brilliant, beautiful butterfly brains that could flutter by any which way they wished. “I’ve got a butterfly brain too,” said the teacher. “We all do,” said another. “Me too” nodded the principal. So, together they built a lighthouse to guide every butterfly brain through the dark, to their very own gardens of learning. There, they too could learn how to shine.
Stephen Murray
- CEO/Founder
Stephen Murray is the founder and director of Inspireland Ltd, Ireland’s market leader in the provision of creative writing workshops. He is a three times published and critically acclaimed poet. His first collection, House of Bees chronichled his experiences growing up in foster care, women’s shelters and a residential children’s home. His work has been featured on RTE Arena, BBC 2, Al Jazeera, Network 2, RTE Nationwide, The Irish Times, The Irish Independent, The Examiner, Hot Press and numerous other radio stations and publications. He has collaborated and has worked with youth literature organisations across the UK and America.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dr Jennifer Murray
- Principal Psychologist (Clinical). CAMHS Neurodevelopmental team, Aspire Alternative Provision Bucks and Founder & Clinical Director, Berkshire Psychology
Dr Jenny Murray has been involved in assessing and providing interventions for adults and children with a wide range of needs including social, emotional, behavioural and mental health difficulties, autism and learning disabilities. She is currently working within an alternative Educational provision as the CAMHS link psychologist, providing assessments and interventions for young people with complex needs, as well as providing staff training and consultation.
Aileen Geraghty
- English & Digital Education Lead, International College Dundee, University of Dundee
Aileen is responsible for providing support to staff and students and contributing to the development of the English curriculum. She acts as an Adviser of Studies and is also a member of the College’s Digital team. She is the Head of English and Digital Education at Dundee University, she specialises in the area of developing English language and literacy practices for the digital world.
Mags Treanor
- Director
Mags Treanor specialises in online learning, development and training programmes for all levels of corporate management and the FET sector. She is currently Associate Director with Novocure, driving innovative solutions for human-centric learning.
Anastasia Pappas
- Director
Anastasia is an award-winning television writer, producer and director, who has worked with MTV and HBO. In 2002 she produced and directed Eddie Izzard’s stand-up concert, “Circle”.