Islay Conolly, MBE (8 May 1923 – 3 July 2022) was a Caymanian teacher and school administrator. Serving as a teacher and principal at various schools on the islands, she became Chief Education Officer in 1970. She was honored by the Caymanian government with the Spirit of Excellence Award during National Heroes Day and was first recipient of the Chamber of Commerce's Lifetime Achievement Award in Education. Conolly was honored as a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(MBE) in the

1982 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1982 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

Early life

Islay Leonie Bodden was born on 8 May, 1923, on

Cayman Brac Cayman Brac is an island that is part of the Cayman Islands. It lies in the Caribbean Sea about north-east of Grand Cayman and east of Little Cayman. It is about long, with an average width of . Its terrain is the most prominent of the thre ...

in the Cayman Islands

Colony of Jamaica The Crown Colony of Jamaica and Dependencies was a British colony from 1655, when it was captured by the English Protectorate from the Spanish Empire. Jamaica became a British colony from 1707 and a Crown colony in 1866. The Colony was pri ...

, which at the time was part of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading post ...

, to Ella and Harris Bodden.

Career

After completing her schooling, Bodden began her career in education as the headmistress of the Creek School in Cayman Brac in 1947. On 28 December 1950, in Kingston, Jamaica, she married Callan Hunter Ritch and they would subsequently have a son, David and separate. Ritch moved to

Grand Cayman Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the territory's capital, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles (121 km) southwest of Little Cayman and 90 miles ( ...

and worked as the principal of East End Primary School. On 12 April 1958, she married William Warren Conolly, and the couple would later have two children, a son Burns and a daughter Jackie. In 1970 Conolly was appointed the Cayman's Chief Education Officer. Among innovations she brought to the school system were public

education for the deaf Deaf education is the education of students with any degree of hearing loss or deafness. This may involve, but does not always, individually-planned, systematically-monitored teaching methods, adaptive materials, accessible settings, and othe ...

and a junior college system. Prior to her tenure, the only available schooling for deaf students was private education and there was no universal standard or public education for deaf students. In 1981, Conolly was honored as a member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

and she retired in 1982. In 2008, she was honored by the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce as the inaugural recipient of their Lifetime Achievement Award in Education. The following year, she was honored by the Caymanian government during the National Heroes Day Celebrations with a Spirit of Excellence Award.

Death and legacy

Conolly died on 3 July 2022. At the time of her death, she was eulogized by Premier

Wayne Panton Wayne Panton is a Caymanian politician, currently serving as Premier of the Cayman Islands. Biography Panton is an attorney who served as a managing partner for Walkers. Before becoming Premier of the Cayman Islands, Wayne Panton, served as a ...

, who recognized her contributions to education including the introduction of community college and public education for hearing-impaired students in the Cayman Islands.

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* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conolly, Islay 1923 births 2022 deaths People from Cayman Brac Caymanian women Caymanian educators Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century women educators