Andrea Redmondflags up that in Derry the reason for there being no Meanscoil is not as a result of anything the DUP has been doing.

I support the adoption of the Irish Language Bill and believe bilingual education and workplaces are important to cultural identity and children’s education. 

However, through my experience working within the community sector in Derry and as a parent within the Irish language sector, I have seen the detrimental impact that political cronyism has had on both.

My father was a school principal in Canada. He taught for years in the province of Quebec, where I was born, in the 1960s, and there he witnessed first-hand the language and cultural discrimination of Quebecers. So, upon returning home to Prince Edward Island, he advocated for an educational program called French Immersion to be mainstreamed in all schools in the 1980s.

PEI is an area of eastern Canada, predominately English speaking except for pockets of Acadians (French who escaped the British expulsions to the U.S. Carolinas). His public advocation of a bilingual country and education system merited a backlash, which we experienced directly as children, with threatening phone calls and abusive behaviour towards my father. The program however, was developed. It saw classes, beginning with pre-primary within English schools of children taught exclusively in the medium of French. Ironically the success of the program means it is much sought after - as the merit of children learning multiple languages at an early age is well documented - as well as, the economic benefits. Job opportunities in Canada, particularly the civil service, require French, as well as English. My oldest son attended French Immersion and was bilingual from an early age.

So, with this positive experience of how bilingual education can work, when as a family we moved to my husband’s home in Belfast in the 1990s we didn’t hesitate to enrol our youngest son in Gaelscoil na bhFal. and then Bunscoil Cholmcille when we moved to Derry. We had heard through friends, particularly when the time came for him to graduate into the meanscoil, of issues involving the sector in Derry. However, we believed firmly in the educational and cultural merit of our son continuing in Irish. He next attended Meanscoil Colaiste Bhride and was quite happy, as we were as parents with the excellent staff and his learning.

However, it became clear early on that the school was under threat. From our vantage, years of a whisper campaign had seen enrolment numbers dwindle. Again it seemed that issues between factions within Derry had impacted enrolment numbers. A parents committee was formed to lobby for the future of the school. It has to be said that majority of the families were Republican and ex POWs and many of us had been involved in community action before. At these meetings testimony from former teachers, teachers, and parents revealed the extent of the effort to undermine the school. The rationale for this seems to point to the desire, from one specific figure (hereby referred to as ‘Himself’) within Derry, to establish and ultimately control his own meanscoil at the expense of the existing one.

Our committee began a media campaign to save the school, as well as lobbying with elected reps, including the then education minister, Sinn Fein’s Catriona Ruane. As Catriona was once a former boss of mine from Feile an Phobail, the meeting was genial and seemed to go well: she did seem sympathetic. When publicly asked for support, Martin McGuiness said it was a case of low enrolment numbers and there he seemed to leave it.

However, undaunted we did receive public support from Eamonn McCann who wrote in his news column, pointedly, about political interference in Irish language education. Support also came from then MP Mark Durkan and MLA Mark H. Durkan. In fact a question was tabled on our behalf in the House of Commons. Our rationale was that it was an appeal to support a cultural group, as I believe there was also a Muslim school facing funding issues at the time and we felt it was important that our school's case be put on the public record and the possibility of securing Exchequer monies as the Department of Education didn’t seem to offer any solutions.

Of course there was an implicit critique of Sinn Fein’s handling of the situation, which at that point was obvious and acknowledged by us. At this juncture in our campaign we welcomed support from the local Sinn Fein MLA whose son was attending the school and the arrival of a major language group in Belfast, which we mistakenly thought would bolster our cause: in fact it did the opposite.

I suppose that’s the hardest part to fathom, still years later that we were let down by our own. For what - horse trading with the DUP? This was a costly mistake: to think that this group would support parents and not a particular faction within the city. In fact the Belfast group did little but lead parents in circles and even in one meeting a member of the group loudly talked to ‘Himself’ on a mobile phone, naming him loudly for us all to hear. 

Our lobbying did little to help the school survive. It was moved from its own site to be amalgamated within St Brigid's College. My child was facing his GCSE year. After two years prep in Irish, he had to write his exams in English. Other stresses included the children of the Meanscoil being bullied on a daily basis in the corridors, for being Irish speakers. For the staff too, the implications were severe - stress, illness, and job losses. The ill will within the sector was exemplified by many incidents. On one occasion two elderly teachers were harangued in the local Sainsburys in Irish by ‘Himself’, telling the women he would close the school and have their jobs. The whisper campaign and blame game made its way to Belfast, and here the demise of the Meanscoil was laid at the foot of a specific Bunscoil principal.

What’s the moral of the story? Derry still hasn’t a meanscoil, even with a thriving language sector - the nearest is Dungiven. My child did make it through school. He’s now living and working in Quebec and learning French. This experience has coloured his view of the city and, sadly, speaking Irish.

Unfortunately, the laughter of my child will not ever be in Irish. My role in the committee and my public critique of Sinn Fein has limited my ability to continue working in the community sector. I do think it’s a cautionary tale, and parallels that of the community sector in Derry which is now under the spotlight for political interference. The language sector needs to divest itself wherever possible from political cronyism. Perhaps it has.

Andrea Redmond is Feminist-Republican holding a PhD in Anthropology. She is the only female Republican Belfast women's muralist and community artist. A member of Sile na Gig she is now living in Donegal.

Laughter Of Our Children But Not In Irish

Andrea Redmondflags up that in Derry the reason for there being no Meanscoil is not as a result of anything the DUP has been doing.

I support the adoption of the Irish Language Bill and believe bilingual education and workplaces are important to cultural identity and children’s education. 

However, through my experience working within the community sector in Derry and as a parent within the Irish language sector, I have seen the detrimental impact that political cronyism has had on both.

My father was a school principal in Canada. He taught for years in the province of Quebec, where I was born, in the 1960s, and there he witnessed first-hand the language and cultural discrimination of Quebecers. So, upon returning home to Prince Edward Island, he advocated for an educational program called French Immersion to be mainstreamed in all schools in the 1980s.

PEI is an area of eastern Canada, predominately English speaking except for pockets of Acadians (French who escaped the British expulsions to the U.S. Carolinas). His public advocation of a bilingual country and education system merited a backlash, which we experienced directly as children, with threatening phone calls and abusive behaviour towards my father. The program however, was developed. It saw classes, beginning with pre-primary within English schools of children taught exclusively in the medium of French. Ironically the success of the program means it is much sought after - as the merit of children learning multiple languages at an early age is well documented - as well as, the economic benefits. Job opportunities in Canada, particularly the civil service, require French, as well as English. My oldest son attended French Immersion and was bilingual from an early age.

So, with this positive experience of how bilingual education can work, when as a family we moved to my husband’s home in Belfast in the 1990s we didn’t hesitate to enrol our youngest son in Gaelscoil na bhFal. and then Bunscoil Cholmcille when we moved to Derry. We had heard through friends, particularly when the time came for him to graduate into the meanscoil, of issues involving the sector in Derry. However, we believed firmly in the educational and cultural merit of our son continuing in Irish. He next attended Meanscoil Colaiste Bhride and was quite happy, as we were as parents with the excellent staff and his learning.

However, it became clear early on that the school was under threat. From our vantage, years of a whisper campaign had seen enrolment numbers dwindle. Again it seemed that issues between factions within Derry had impacted enrolment numbers. A parents committee was formed to lobby for the future of the school. It has to be said that majority of the families were Republican and ex POWs and many of us had been involved in community action before. At these meetings testimony from former teachers, teachers, and parents revealed the extent of the effort to undermine the school. The rationale for this seems to point to the desire, from one specific figure (hereby referred to as ‘Himself’) within Derry, to establish and ultimately control his own meanscoil at the expense of the existing one.

Our committee began a media campaign to save the school, as well as lobbying with elected reps, including the then education minister, Sinn Fein’s Catriona Ruane. As Catriona was once a former boss of mine from Feile an Phobail, the meeting was genial and seemed to go well: she did seem sympathetic. When publicly asked for support, Martin McGuiness said it was a case of low enrolment numbers and there he seemed to leave it.

However, undaunted we did receive public support from Eamonn McCann who wrote in his news column, pointedly, about political interference in Irish language education. Support also came from then MP Mark Durkan and MLA Mark H. Durkan. In fact a question was tabled on our behalf in the House of Commons. Our rationale was that it was an appeal to support a cultural group, as I believe there was also a Muslim school facing funding issues at the time and we felt it was important that our school's case be put on the public record and the possibility of securing Exchequer monies as the Department of Education didn’t seem to offer any solutions.

Of course there was an implicit critique of Sinn Fein’s handling of the situation, which at that point was obvious and acknowledged by us. At this juncture in our campaign we welcomed support from the local Sinn Fein MLA whose son was attending the school and the arrival of a major language group in Belfast, which we mistakenly thought would bolster our cause: in fact it did the opposite.

I suppose that’s the hardest part to fathom, still years later that we were let down by our own. For what - horse trading with the DUP? This was a costly mistake: to think that this group would support parents and not a particular faction within the city. In fact the Belfast group did little but lead parents in circles and even in one meeting a member of the group loudly talked to ‘Himself’ on a mobile phone, naming him loudly for us all to hear. 

Our lobbying did little to help the school survive. It was moved from its own site to be amalgamated within St Brigid's College. My child was facing his GCSE year. After two years prep in Irish, he had to write his exams in English. Other stresses included the children of the Meanscoil being bullied on a daily basis in the corridors, for being Irish speakers. For the staff too, the implications were severe - stress, illness, and job losses. The ill will within the sector was exemplified by many incidents. On one occasion two elderly teachers were harangued in the local Sainsburys in Irish by ‘Himself’, telling the women he would close the school and have their jobs. The whisper campaign and blame game made its way to Belfast, and here the demise of the Meanscoil was laid at the foot of a specific Bunscoil principal.

What’s the moral of the story? Derry still hasn’t a meanscoil, even with a thriving language sector - the nearest is Dungiven. My child did make it through school. He’s now living and working in Quebec and learning French. This experience has coloured his view of the city and, sadly, speaking Irish.

Unfortunately, the laughter of my child will not ever be in Irish. My role in the committee and my public critique of Sinn Fein has limited my ability to continue working in the community sector. I do think it’s a cautionary tale, and parallels that of the community sector in Derry which is now under the spotlight for political interference. The language sector needs to divest itself wherever possible from political cronyism. Perhaps it has.

Andrea Redmond is Feminist-Republican holding a PhD in Anthropology. She is the only female Republican Belfast women's muralist and community artist. A member of Sile na Gig she is now living in Donegal.

1 comment:

  1. Andrea - thanks for posting with TPQ. I had no idea the Irish Language position was not as robust in Derry as it is in other places. There are a lot of things happening in Derry that have raised huge question marks in recent months. Food for thought.

    ReplyDelete