Florence "Florrie" Armstrong (26 November 1928 – 14 December 2010) was an Irish teacher and pioneer of multi-denominational education in Ireland.
After she graduated, she returned to Cavan to take up the position of principal at the one-teacher national school at Bocade Glebe, Kildallan.
[1][2][3] St Patrick's was in a poor state, and at the time Armstrong arrived in 1954 it was housed in a church hall, with 16 students.
They insisted that the admissions policy be reviewed, and at the same time local conservative Catholics opposed children being educated at a non-sectarian ethos school.
The Minister for Education, Richard Burke, a conservative Catholic, refused to sanction further expansion of St Patrick's.
[1][2] Armstrong was a firm believer that parents should be treated as partners within the school, and encouraged their active participation in teaching.
Nigeria was emerging from civil war, and Armstrong aimed to change how teachers were trained, and to implement an integrated primary educational programme with a new curriculum.
[1][4] She returned to work as an educational consultant with the Agency for Personal Service Overseas and for Irish Aid in Africa.