A blatantly sectarian schools system?

Sir, – Diarmaid Ferriter refers to the anonymous pamphlet Have the Snakes Cone Back? ("Schools system is blatantly sectarian", Opinion & Analysis, November 28th) and its attack on the concept of multidenominational national schools. It was the first of two such documents produced in the mid-1970s by a group of Catholic parents and published by Vera Verba Publications.

The second pamphlet, called Is Integrated Schooling the Answer?, was even more sectarian in its content. It concentrated its attack on the then developing community schools and their advocates and particularly on the then taoiseach, Jack Lynch. Lynch had written two articles on education, one in the Sunday Press and the other in Petrus 75, an annual magazine published by St Peter's College, Wexford, in which he put forward his views on integrated education as a process for social change. He was roundly condemned by the pamphleteers, who concluded, "Unfortunately, the evidence of educationalists and sociologists points predominantly the other way. Home, community and social milieu seem to be far more powerful influences. Historically school systems have rarely, if ever, introduced social change. They have only followed it and slowly at that."

Forty years later that social change has happened but still the resistance continues. – Yours, etc,

LOUIS O’FLAHERTY,

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Santry, Dublin 9.

Sir, –The solution to school choice is to build more schools, not start a culture war between parents who want their children sent to denominational schools and those who do not. We do not have a sectarian school system, but sometimes I wonder about parts of the press. – Yours, etc,

GERARD STOCKIL,

Tallaght,

Dublin 24.

A chara, – Diarmaid Ferriter is concerned about our national school system. Justifiably so.

But the answer is staring him in the face. As my mother used to say, “If it were a dog, it would bite you!” Prof Ferriter writes, “A fifth of Irish Catholic schools are oversubscribed.” Why? Because there are not enough school places where required. There cannot be equal access to schools as long as this is the case – there will have to be a system of prioritising applicants. That is not equality, unless it is equality of lack of opportunity.

Prof Ferriter writes, “Sectarian schools system an affront to Republic’s ideals.”

On the contrary, it is the failure of the State to provide adequate appropriate places that is the affront. Prof Ferriter is barking up the wrong tree.

Adjustments are necessary. But it would be paradoxical if, in the name of pluralism, the diversity of schools were to vanish. That would be most un-republican. – Is mise,

PÁDRAIG McCARTHY,

Sandyford,

Dublin 16.

Sir, – Diarmaid Ferriter is right to argue that the 2016 commemorations of 1916 are an appropriate time to erase the “dark stain” of primary school admissions, as witnessed in your case studies in the Weekend section (November 28th).

The problem is that while this Minister for Education, and the previous one, are sympathetic to the secular education model run by Educate Together, they have worked on a “bums on seats” plan – where local population growth indicates a new school, they are open to making those seats secular.

This does not deal with the significant societal change – the numbers wishing for a non-religious education for their children are rising rapidly in areas of low population growth. The divestment programme is not working. The time is right for a political party to propose a better plan to address the sectarian heart of our primary education system. – Yours, etc,

DANNY HASKINS,

Wicklow.

A chara, – I would agree with Diarmaid Ferriter that sectarianism is an affront to the republican ideal and that it is indeed present in our society. However, I would disagree with him as to where that sectarianism comes from.

There is, I would suggest, a new form of sectarianism in our society. Its source is the liberal/secular ideology that is antipathetic to religion and seeks to drive it from all areas of public life and discourse. It has wide support within the media and academe; so much so that Prof Ferriter feels very comfortable using his regular column in this paper to insult the parents of this country with his unfounded allegation that the denominational education they prefer for their children is equivalent to sectarianism.

It is a particularly ironic assertion given that the founders of this republic, whose spirit he tries to channel in defence of his cause, most certainly would not agree with his position. They and their successors were the ones who made sure that denominational education would continue in this state once independence was achieved.

Adherents of this ideology may argue that they are not a sect and therefore cannot behave in a sectarian fashion. However, their narrow-minded devotion to their own particular worldview – to the extent that they wish to see all opposing views either excluded or eradicated – indicates that they are and they do. And it is their determination to be the only voice in our society and the only way of being that is allowed to have any form of expression that is the true affront to the ideals of the Republic. – Is mise,

Rev PATRICK G BURKE,

Castlecomer,

Co Kilkenny.