Matt Molloy (35) returned to work as a construction studies teacher just six months after complicated surgery to remove a benign brain tumour at the Mater hospital in 2021. The commute from his home in Carrickmacross, Co Monagahan, to his school in Oldcastle, Co Meath, takes about an hour driving. It is currently six months of full pay and six months of half pay. “The nurse from Medmark [an occupational health service for teachers] rang and said: ‘You had brain surgery, and you want to go back to work? The surgery was successful and his sight returned, but he required radiation therapy to shrink what was left of the tumour.

Source: The Irish Times April 08, 2026 13:24 UTC