Tony Crooks: A Gentle Changemaker in Curriculum Reform and Social Disadvantage
Tony (JAI) Crooks (February 10th, 1942 – January 15th, 2025), who has died aged 82, was a lifelong advocate for education, community development, and social justice. Over a career spanning academia and public service, he shaped curriculum reform in Ireland, pioneered initiatives to tackle social exclusion, and became a quiet but transformative force in the fields of local development and social partnership.
Born in Dublin in 1942, Tony was the son of Rev John Crooks – later Dean of Armagh – and Elizabeth (née Vance). His childhood was spent in Killylea, Co Armagh, where his father was rector. The family maintained strong ties to north Donegal, which became a cherished place throughout his life.
Educated at Campbell College in Belfast and TCD, Tony studied Classics (1960–4) and Hebrew and Oriental Languages (1964–7). A Higher Diploma in Education (1967) laid the groundwork for his early career as a teacher and in curriculum development.
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After marrying Joanna (née Walmsley) in 1966, the couple left Ireland in 1967, where the first two of five children were born. Tony and Joanna spent four formative years teaching at a large comprehensive school in Northern Ontario. Tony also studied at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) in Toronto, an experience that would profoundly influence his later work in Ireland.
Returning to Dublin in 1971, Tony was appointed to the School of Education at TCD, and became deputy director of the Curriculum Development Unit (CDU) of the City of Dublin VEC. His academic work was in the field of curriculum innovation and his developmental work included responsibility for the Humanities Curriculum, the first of its kind in Ireland, and the European Community sponsored Dublin Inner City Education Project. His PhD (1979), A Participant Observation Study of the Factors which Influenced the Development of the City of Dublin Humanities Curriculum, 1972/1976, analysed the impact of that project.
With his colleagues in the CDU, Tony created a unit defined by creativity and freshness in thought, championing student-centred learning and advocating for a broader understanding of the humanities, sciences and the whole curriculum.
In 1991, his career took an unexpected turn when he was seconded to the Department of An Taoiseach as part of a national co-ordinating team of the Area-Based Response to Long-Term Unemployment, part of the Programme for Social and Economic Progress.
What was intended to be a temporary assignment became a defining chapter of his life. In 1992, he was appointed the first chief executive officer of Area Development Management (ADM), the organisation that would later evolve into Pobal. For the next 17 years, Tony played a central role in fostering social inclusion and community-led development in Ireland.
Under his leadership, ADM/Pobal pioneered initiatives that ensured economic growth was not confined to privileged sectors of society. He was instrumental in establishing local partnerships supported by European funding, implementing the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme – an initiative he believed to be as transformative as the introduction of free secondary education in the 1960s – and advancing community-building efforts in the wake of the Good Friday agreement.
This later career was less a change of direction than the fulfilment of a vision Tony had carried in him since his earliest days working on curriculum change. The linking theme was his commitment to tackling social exclusion.
His greatest gift in his professional life was his capacity to empower others and to channel diverse ideas into a coherent programme of action. His ethic was clear: trust colleagues to do creative work, empower the young through education, enable communities through social justice. In each arena, he focused on equipping people to take control of their own futures.
Though he retired from Pobal in 2008, Tony remained deeply engaged in social causes. He chaired and supported numerous charities, including Barnardos, Archways, and the Irish Childcare Policy Network (which later became Start Strong), as well as Jigsaw – the National Centre for Youth Mental Health.
Even in his final years, Tony retained his love of sport. He discovered a new passion for opera, and read voraciously from ancient history to contemporary Irish fiction, sharing his love of books with the next three generations in his family. He faced his illness with the same quiet dignity that had characterised his life, supported by Joanna, his wife of 58 years, and his children Julie, Andrew, Rachel, Tim and Peter.
Tony Crooks leaves behind a remarkable legacy: as an educator, a public servant, a devoted husband and father, and a beloved grandfather and great-grandfather. Above all, he will be remembered as a man of immense kindness, wisdom, and humour – a constant presence for good, and a gentle changemaker.
