Testimonials From Parents & Campaign Histories
What is the reality on the ground?
All primary / secondary schools established since 1970 have required a local campaign with Dept. of Education indifference (at best) to open hostility (regularly) and defended High Court actions taken.
There is not one instance where an Irish Medium School was opened by the Dept / ETB without a significant local campaign.
Co. Louth
“My daughter spent 13 years in Irish medium education and then was forced to do her Leaving Cert year in English and re-learn everything in English because the new Principal closed the aonad.”ET
“My 2 children must leave home each morning at 07:00 to get a bus to take them to school two counties away because the Louth-Meath ETB closed their Irish medium school.”MC
Drimnagh, Dublin 12
“The Dublin 10-12 area is the only area of the capital without a single gaelscoil. Even if parents can transport their kids to D8 or D20, they cannot get a place because those schools are so full. We setup our own naíonra some years back and it is full. The local primary schools refused to consider teaching our children through Irish. The State’s Irish language policies are worthless when demand for Irish-Medium Education is ignored.”
HN
“There is no local gaelscoil or gaelcholáiste in our area
I wasn’t allowed to declare my support for a new gaelcholáiste in Dublin 6. My eldest is on a waiting list for a space in a gaelcholáiste in Dublin 14. There is no space anywhere.”GM
West Cork
“The parents and children of West Cork and Cape Clear Island want a gaelcholáiste to cater for the increasing numbers of gaelscoileanna pupils. It makes no sense that after 8 years of gaelscoilleanna in Bandon, Clonakilty or Skibbereen students have no option of continuing their education through Irish.”
TÓD
Dublin 6
“My children attend one of the 6 gaelscoileanna catering for Dublin 2/4/6/8. All of the 43 secondary schools in this area are English-medium. The Department of Education have just sanctioned a 44th English-medium school and refused an application for a gaelcholáiste. How is it right that Dublin 2/4/6/8 gaelscoileanna pupils do not have a Gaelcholáiste to progress to?”
SÓhA
Co Louth
“It took 16 years of campaigning for Co. Louth to get the Department to approve a gaelcholáiste that parents wanted, after a number of false starts and apparently broken promises. Even when the approval was announced it felt begrudging as the Department officials refused to provide any assistance whatsoever in the sourcing and acquisition of suitable premises for the pupils and then penny-pinched on the resulting proposal put to them. Despite parents requesting help from various other education patron bodies to identify potential premises, all of them refused to assist in any way. This reinforced parents impression that they are officially regarded by all of the State’s educational professionals as a real nuisance for requesting for the local provision of IME for their children.”AK
Click Here To Read MoreThe Dept. of Education need legislation to allow them plan and deliver a quality Irish Medium Education system