Item 32 - Letter from W. Heagney, 13 August 1954

2pp

Copy of a letter to the Irish Times from W. Heagney, Ranelagh, Dublin, written in response to the editorial 'The Primary School' published on page 5 of the 13 August 1954 edition which laments the emphasis of teaching Irish in primary schools. Heagney writes 'Why not have the courage of your convictions and say straight out that the compulsion of the Irish language should be abolished?' He goes on to say that 'The compulsion of this dead language as brutally carried out in many schools, notably by the Christian Brothers' is shameful and that the average Irish parent is 'oblivious to the sabotage of his children's minds.' Heagney condemns the 'Irish Roman Catholic Hierarchy' who 'take it on themselves to gibe at the "mediocrity" and "decadence" of the Irish people.' He advocates that parents' associations be responsible for the framework of the education system and the abolition of the Department of Education, and states that most parents would choose to enrol their children in Irish classes as a voluntary school option even if it were not a required subject anyway. In the postscript, Heagney quotes the article ('We must learn to laugh in Ireland') and asks Canon Hayes, 'Just fancy that! Will you for the love of Jesus tell it to the Christian Brothers, with their punishment leathers flashing all day long every day?'

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