IS CRITICISING THE IRISH LANGUAGE SECTARIAN?
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 07:39AM Do you agree that it is "sectarian" to criticise the expenditure of public money on Irish language schools? Such was the ludicrous claim made by IRA/Sinn Fein Education Minister Caitriona Ruane (formerly leading advocate for IRA terrorists on the run in Colombia)
She made this claim in response to comments from a member of the DUP saying her attitude to the Irish language is "sectarian". Catriona Ruane said Michelle McIlveen McIlveen should "move with the times".
Ms McIlveen had asked if it was appropriate to spend money on schools with low enrolments, while slashing other schools' budgets. Ms Ruane rejected "wasting money". Ulster Unionist David Burnside attacked her "pathetic" attitude to working class pupils over academic selection.
Now then, OF COURSE Ruane is talking rubbish. That goes without saying. Her dismal performance as Education Minister has been excruciating to behold. However the key thing here is to note that Ruane and her ilk immediately respond to criticism by hurling around buzzwords such as "sectarian" and "bigoted" in order to try and close off further debate. As in this case, she can rely on our gutless media to run with it. It is perfectly valid to criticise ANY decisions made by Minister Ruane, and of course one is entitled to hold whatever view one wishes. My own view is that I would deny all public money to Irish Language schools. I would also deny public money to Ulster-Scots schools. Such enterprises should be privately funded and open to all who wish to go to them. But this is all about shoving the Irish language down the throat of unionism, and doing so by diverting public funds from MUCH more worthy areas, as Ms McIlveen rightly points out. However this problem would not have arisen had the DUP not agreed to setting up a government with the IRA's proxies.
I wonder has McIlveen ever heard the fable of the scorpion and the frog?
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Reader Comments (14)
Do you agree that it is "sectarian" to criticise the expenditure of public money on Irish language schools?
No, I dont think so. Expenditure on the Irish language needs to obviously be considered in the context of the bigger budget.
However, this is NI, and the criticism is most definitely tribal. One side, wants very little, if any, expenditure on Irish. For tribal reasons. If asked why not, the most common response is to critise the language, as to whether or not it is even a language, to claim its dead, to claim it was invented, to basically try to talk it out of existence.. and so on.
Where as the other side wants to over compensate for the lack of visibility for the Irish language at official levels in NI.
Common ground could be reached if they wanted to, but the will isnt there.
Kloot,
As ever you make a reasoned case. But as you say, the issue is so tribal, and so divisise that it really does go nowhere. Ruane is being provocative and to hear an IRA/Sinn Fein lecture people on sectarianism is, of course, surreal.
I believe that the Irish language is one of the cultural treasures of the British Isles and an area of great importance if we are to keep our heritages alive against the great wash of British-English dilution that we are currently experiencing. The Irish language is capable of great subtlety of expression that English itself lacks as well as being venerable and less susceptible to change over the last thousand years than its Germanic brother. Despite the fact that I am an Englishman (who loves Ireland as his adopted land) I have learned the basics of this wonderful language in its Ulster dialect and feel sad that I did not start learning as a child when fluency might have been possible. When you consider the crazy use of public money for causes that are very remote from these islands, this relatively modest proposal seems totally appropriate although I must admit I am suspicious of the MOTIVES of the government. They are probably doing it as a mistaken anti-British or anti-English initiative like their multicultural fascism. However the big difference here is that the language belongs to these islands and these islands alone. They would probably be equally happy pushing Urdu or Bengali for schools in East London in order to achieve their project, the destruction of the cultural underpinning of Britain. However they are off target here to my mind in promoting an indigenous language and as such getting it right for a change.
Irish language schools are perfectly legitimate. It is the fastest growing sector in education on the island. The question of funding is essentially a question of parental choice.
If a sufficient number of parents want to support a particular type of school once it achieves agreed academic and other standards then it should be funded on the same basis as any other school.
The survival and revival of the Irish language is a cultural imperative and both states on the island have a responsibility for that. Unionist sniping on the subject is seen as sectarian because there is no other basis for it. Claims of "cost" being the issue are disingenuous. If cost was an issue we would take a look at the outrageous salaries of Ministers and MLAs first.
I know you would agree with me there David. Because of your consistency I fully accept your opposition is cost based and not sectarian.
Henry,
Thanks. I argue on an economic basis and have no issue with Irish language per se. Of course I have huge issues as you know with IRA/Sinn Fein in government but we've done that argument before!! Now, I'm off to Nolan.
Give 'em hell.
these children would have to be educated anyway, so why shouldn't they be educated in Gaelic. Presumably their parents pay taxes too. Orange halls are exempt from paying rates. Orange marches are policed at the taxpayer's expense (as is the clean-up). That's fair enough as it allows people to express their cultural/religious identity. The DUP simply want no manifestation of Irishness in anyway. And what is the additional cost anyway. Probably a fraction of the cost of the Iraq war. If democracy is to work at all then there should be compromises. Unfortunately we have Sinn Fein and the DUP leading the government so there's little hope of grown-up politics.
This is a very bad report on behalf of the BBC. I watched stormont live yesterday ( I don't get out much;-)) and saw the debate as it happened.
Firstly it was a civil question, asked in a civil way, and secondly a good one third of the debate, on other issues in education was held in Irish/Gaelic. I was unable to understand, and the SDLP was one of the biggest ussers of gaelic.
It's not that I've objections - since I currently attend classes, but it took up such a lot of time to do while others sat there and didn't know what was being asked.
I know an awful lot of Irish speakers and they would never be so rude as to use gaelic when someone is present who didn't understand. In my experience that is not their way.
Henry, one of the reasons Irish medium schools are flourishing all over the island could be due to state schools in the reublic not having enough places for children who currently need them.
Ruane has been dubbed the Mr Bean of the assembly due to her dithering. Her head's a marley. One example of this yesterday was her failure to answer the question on science subjects in schools. She wants an all Ireland education system, but cannot even be bothered to bring the norths requirement for science up to and meet the level for leaving cert students in the republic.
She is an incompetent heiffer. A silly moo as Alf Garnet would call her.
Henry sums it up really...
Is this the standard reply that Sinn Fein/IRA will give when a Unionist rightly questions how the Sinn Fein/IRA minister is proposing to spend our money?
I for one do not wish any of my hard eared cash to be squandered on schools of 6 or 7 pupils, when my children’s state schools, that have full enrolment can’t get a paint job or PVC windows to keep the cold and drafts out.
David,
I didn't know she was a member of the IRA. When did she join up? Does her mummy know?
What do you mean Dawkins?
Alison,
I mean it's news to my that she's an IRA member. I thought I'd made that clear.
"Henry, one of the reasons Irish medium schools are flourishing all over the island could be due to state schools in the reublic not having enough places for children who currently need them."
Not sure about that, Typhoo (although there are certainly shortages of school places in Dublin). The general perception is that younger parents are choosing to send their children there because of the perceived advantage of them growing up bilingually. Also, If David McWilliams is to be believed, na Gaelscoileanna are mainly a middle-class phenomenon.