Region 5

Director: Frank Walsh
Address: Moydrum Road, Athlone, Co. Westmeath.
Tel: (090) 6420400
Fax: (090) 6476501
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.athloneeducationcentre.com
GPS: 53.426362,-7.896063

Athlone Education Centre provides full-time Quality Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities, for the local, regional and national Education Community, since it first opened its doors on September 1st 1997. Athlone Education Centre is one of thirty Education Centres strategically placed throughout the country. Education Centres have a statutory remit under the Education Act to provide services for schools, teachers, boards of management, parents and other relevant personnel who support the education of our primary and post primary pupils.
Athlone Education Centre designs and delivers spring, summer and autumn courses to meet the continuing professional development needs of the local education community. In addition to this the centre also acts as a meeting place, a resource centre and a research base. Facilities include meeting rooms, a state of the art IT suite, photocopying service and resource library.
Since 1997 Centre has continued to evolve and grow into a thriving Education Centre that provides a large range of supports to the wider education community. Coupled with the provision of these supports Athlone Education Centre has also developed and forged strong working links and partnerships with various agencies and institutions. These active partnerships provide for the provision of specific educational interventions, the development of new, exciting and unique educational projects, opportunities to access post-graduate level study and the administration of a wide range of ancillary programmes.

Director: Nóirín Bhreathnach
Address: Aird Thiar, Cárna, Conamara, Co. na Gaillimhe.
Tel: (087) 7916876
Fax:
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.imchonamara.com

Director: Pat Hanrahan
Address: Government Buildings, Kilrush Rd., Ennis, Co. Clare
Tel: (065) 6845500
Fax: (065) 6842930
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.clareed.ie
GPS: 52.837461,-8.990657

Clare Education Centre, formerly known as Ennis Teachers' Centre, has, since 1972, supported the in-service needs of Clare teachers. Since August 2000, the Centre has been located in a new purpose-built complex on the Kilrush Road, Ennis.

The main functions of Clare Education Centre include a requirement to support the in-service needs of the state and to identify and support locally identified needs. In addition to the functions noted above Clare Education Centre has, in recent years, been involved in Intercultural Projects with Centres in European Union countries. Clare Education Centre is the administrative centre for the following programmes:

Leadership & Planning - 0656845505
Maths Recovery - 0656845507
Leaving Cert Applied - 0656845504
The Special Education Needs Organizers (SENO) for the area are also based in the centre - 065 6864851 & 0656844523

Director: Bernard Kirk
Address: Cluain Mhuire, Wellpark, Galway.
Tel: (091) 745600
Fax: (091) 745618
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.galwayec.ie
GPS: 53.282774,-9.025599

The Galway Education Centre is responsible for the CPD of 5,000 teachers in 295 schools in our region which is spread over urban and rural areas. On a national level the centre currently coordinates T4- Technology Subjects Support Service with responsibility for the roll out of training for 1,300 teachers of the technology subjects at second level, throughout the country.
The centre administered the introduction of Religious Education as an examination subject at both Junior and Leaving Certificate levels. The centre was awarded the Engineers Ireland - Science, Engineering and Technology Awareness Award 2008. 
The centre has been a conduit between business/industry and education for the past fifteen years and currently works with global organisations such as The Medtronic Foundation, SAP, Boston Scientific, Dell and LEGO on their Corporate Social Responsibility Projects.
The centre works closely with The Science Gallery Trinity College, Discover Science and Engineering, Engineers Ireland, IDA, European Science Olympiads, Irish Rail, Indiana University, Emory University and The Galway Music Residency. The centre is now focused on the development of Robotics Education nationally and is the Irish organiser of The FIRST LEGO League (FLL) and Junior FLL. 
From 1998 to 2009 the Galway Education Centre organised The Galway Science & Technology Festival the biggest Regional Science Festival in Ireland working with 15,000 students each year and over 16,500 members of the public.

Laois Education Centre is a purpose built centrally located Education Centre on Block Road, Portlaoise, beside the Midlands Regional Hospital. The Centre officially opened in May 1999. Laois Education Centre serves the educational communities of Laois, parts of Offaly and North Tipperary in a spirit of collaboration and consultation with its Education Partners. Its primary commitment is to the provision of a local and regional quality service based on the needs of the teachers and their school communities at local and regional levels while attending to its National remit as outlined in the Education Act (1998). The Centre commits itself to many innovative projects and recently published a Resource Book for teachers and pupils on Emo Court.

Director: Aidan Burke
Address: St Patrick’s Primary School, Dublin Road, Tuam, Co. Galway.
Tel: (093) 25877
Fax: (093) 25960
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.tuamec.ie
GPS: 53.517988,-8.855627

Tuam Education Centre is a part-time education centre which aims to provide support to teachers and the wider education community by providing a place where teachers can meet, discuss issues, have access to professional and personal development and have access to the resources available.