 In 1895, aged fifteen, Lyons began working as a pupil-teacher under the monitorial system.This allowed him to continue his own education while being paid to teach younger students, and eventually qualify as a full-time teacher himself.Apart from a three-month stint as a relief teacher at Irishtown, he remained at Stanley until early 1901, when he was given charge of two small "half-time" schools on the east coast, Apslawn and Apsley Meadows.