AN bhFUIL CEAD AGAM DUL AMACH?

Teaching was his passion. He entered the De la Salle Brothers to teach. And he did teach for a number of years, in both Antwerp and Brussels, while with the order. He was inspired by his own original teacher Mr Trifoen at the primary school in his village and in a different way by the nuns at his French-speaking primary school.

When he was sentenced to ten years detention he ended up in the detention centre at Beverlo. While this was effectively a prison from which there was no escape the régime inside the camp was a bit more laid back than in the other prisons. Folens got a job there as a teacher but it didn't last long.

He was transferred to another prison after being falsely accused of writing articles for De Standaard about multiple murders and suicides in the prison where these had happened only once but in any event would have reflected badly on the prison governor. It was from a work gang out of this prison, Het Klein Kasteeltje, that he escaped and made his way via a Cistercian rat line to Ireland.

When he first came to Ireland, he supplemented his income with out of hours private teaching until he finally got a permanent job in Coláiste Mhuire teaching French. It was there that I had the privilege, along with Alan Dukes, of being in his class. It must have been one of the most exciting and innovative classes in Ireland at the time.

When we met recently, Alan and I both found ourselves each trying to outdo the other in remembering the tonguetwisters Froggy taught us way back then.

The occasion was Leentje presenting Alan with a copy of her new book which he is to launch in October.

it's all in Leentje's new book. Get a copy.

The book is available to readers in Europe here, and to those outside Europe, and particularly in the USA here