We have just received news of the death of our dear colleague, and school caretaker and cleaner, Davy Hoey.

Davy was employed in St. Patrick's National School, Slane, from 2011 to 2026, initially as caretaker and also later as cleaner. During this time he had a profound impact on the school and all those who were fortunate enough to interact with him. Davy was a very special human being.

His relatability, good humour, immaculate timekeeping, and remarkable work ethic made him a hit in the school from the start. There was nothing Davy couldn't turn his hand to: security, painting, carpentry, mowing, hedge cutting, vegetable planting, cleaning, roofing. The list goes on and on.

Despite being nervous about plumbing, Davy fixed four toilet cistern leaks in a row one September. However, he didn't sleep a wink worrying that the school would flood and refused to fix another one. His plumbing career ended with a 100% success rate.

And when staff came up with mad cap ideas, like mud pits, parade banners, hens or grass couches, Davy would make them all happen, certain in the knowledge that long after the novelty had worn off, he would still be maintaining each project. He had the patience of a saint.

There were many escapades and laughs along the way. Davy was accidentally locked in a toilet cubicle in one of the only parts of the school with no phone coverage. It did not help that he was not a big fan of confined spaces but he laughed heartily about it afterwards. Whether it was staff v pupils matches, flag raising ceremonies, music concerts, assemblies, or staff nights out, Davy was always involved, and seemed to love every minute of them.

But it was when he took on additional cleaning duties that Davy cemented his relationship with everyone. Being in the school for the full day meant conversations with staff, pupils, parents, and the local community. He knew about everybody's families, trips to the dentist, and holiday destinations. In return, he talked endlessly about his wife, Ruth, his sons, Stephen and Robert, and his extended family and friends.

Davy took his work very seriously and seemed to view it more as a vocation and less of a job. During Covid-19, he appeared to have made himself single-handedly responsible for trying to keep the virus out of the school. He was so fussy about his workmanship and left nothing to chance.

Davy also had his quirks. He had more impressive school routines in the morning and evening than most military patrols. And after every offer to take him out for lunch to thank him for his work, he would always say "Sure I have my sandwiches with me. We'll just have a cup of tea in the staff room."

In addition, despite being a butcher in a previous employment, Davy refused to put a sick hen out of its misery one Friday evening. "I never minded cutting meat up but I could never kill an animal," was his reasoning. He also had an ongoing battle with nesting seagulls in the school yard but still put water out for them during a hot summer. He cared for everyone and everything.

Last year, Davy shrugged off feeling unwell and managed the emptying of the school building for the summer retrofit works and the return of everything before school reopened. He was the definition of stoicism.

It was only after going on leave for treatment that the impact of all his work was felt throughout the school. Everybody had a story about what Davy used to do for them and the most frequent question from everyone near and far became "How's Davy keeping?'

Davy lived a school life of connection and conversation. Everyone who was lucky enough to know him benefited from his empathy, his kindness, his sense of humour (many pun jokes included) and his loyalty. We would like to think that he enjoyed his time with us too.

Children, staff, parents, Parent’s Association, Board of Management, and everyone else in the St. Patrick’s National School school community will miss Davy dearly but his fingerprints will remain all over our school for many years to come. 

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dilís.

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