|
FORMER St Joseph's Institution principal Brother Joseph Kiely taught hundreds of boys in the 40 years he spent teaching but made it a point to understand the needs of everyone he came across.
Last Tuesday, Brother Kiely, who was also the former principal of St Patrick's and Catholic Junior College (CJC), died in Glanualin in Belfast, Ireland. He was 75.
His colleagues and students - among them Foreign Minister George Yeo, who was his student at St Patrick's - remember him for his love for them the unstinting attention he would give to everyone he met.
Brother Michael Broughton, Brother President of Saint Joseph's Institution said: 'He said each student had to be loved.'
He reminded the teachers that each student is different and they not only had to teach content but also understand their students' personalities and backgrounds.'
His love also extended to his staff and school attendants.
Brother Broughton said:' I remembered that he had forgotten that it was a school attendant's birthday. When we told him, he ran around to school to find him and wish him happy birthday.'
Brother Kiley set up a smaller scouts group in SJI in 1958, called Hippos, to allow him to get to know his students better.
He would spend almost every night with the scouts in their den in the old SJI at Bras Basar Road, singing songs and bonding over camp fires.
Though born in Ireland, close friends said he became Singaporean after spending half a century here. He also took up Singapore citizenship.
The eldest of seven siblings from a family in Galway, Brother Kiely arrived in Singapore in 1954 at the age of 20 after receiving a posting here.
He first worked first as a teacher for seven years at SJI. His prolific career saw him taking on the position of principal at St Patrick's from 1967 to 1972.
He was principal of SJI from 1974 and 1978 and was the school's deputy principal from 1987 to 1991.
He was also the principal of CJC from 1979 to 1987.
| 
