Medium Fair

It takes "a very special" type of teacher to click into the Irish language and teach his or her subject through the medium of the Irish language, says Eoin O Tuama, principal of Colaiste an Phiarsaigh in Glanmire, Co Cork.

This all-Irish second-level school is celebrating its 25th anniversary and its sister school, Scoil na nOg, is celebrating 40 years in existence.

"When the teachers join us, they're generally learning Irish alongside the pupils," says O Tuama, principal for nine years. "That obviously takes that additional bit of dedication."

He was just 32 years old when he was made principal and is a son of Professor Sean O Tuama. With 500 pupils, Colaiste an Phiarsaigh is the largest all-Irish school in the country and has about 40 boarders.

"We would be very much dependant on local support and the traditional primary school background which wouldn't have a specific all-Irish ethos.

"It's a credit to the primary schools in Riverstown, Glanmire and Glounthane that they support us and send their pupils to us. For a long time, we were the only second-level school in the area.

"Obviously, there was an inclination to send the pupils here anyway but with the advent of a new school - Glanmire Community College - you might have thought that it would have a negative effect on us but that hasn't happened."

However, there is one bone of contention and that is a proper travel infrastructure to meet the demands from all the locations. "For instance, we get a lot of pupils from Fermoy," says O Tuama. "They have to get up at 7 a.m. to get a bus at 7.30 a.m. to be here at 8 a.m. for a school that doesn't start until 9 a.m. We are lobbying for a suitable bus service but these things take time. It only took us 13 years to get an extension to the school - that comprises a computer room, an art room, library facilities, office space and a science laboratory.

"In reality, we still have a school that was built for 300 but is catering for 500 pupils. Some of our pupils are housed in prefabs. We've been under-funded over the years. I suspect that the Department of Education is not yet ready to admit the growth in an Irish-medium second-level school."

Nevertheless, the school forges ahead with its Lesser Used Minority Languages programme. The pupils are in touch with schools in Belgium, Wales, Denmark, the Isle of Man and Scotland.

"We share a common curriculum with schools in these countries and have regular contact with them," says the principal.

Siobhan O Duill is the administrator of both Colaiste an Phiarsaigh and Scoil na nOg. In 1942, a group of people involved with Conradh na Gaeilge and the struggle for independence came together "to do something about Irish culture." In 1944, they opened the first Irish college in Garryvoe, Co Cork. In 1956, they bought Glanmire House which now serves as the girls' boarding house. Scoil na nOg was opened in 1959.

Trabolgan, in east Cork, was bought also and was specifically for the boys. In 1973, the boys and girls amalgamated in Glanmire, explains O Duill.

"At that time, it appeared that there was a big shortage of second-level education through Irish, so it was decided to open a secondary school here as well as a primary school."

Scoil na nOg is a boarding school only. The only other such school in the Republic is in Ring, Co Waterford. There are 49 pupils in Scoil na nOg and they come from all over the State.

Much canvassing had to be conducted to get pupils for the school in its early days. The Irish language wasn't as fashionable as it is nowadays.

How receptive are young primary school children to the Irish language? "They're totally immersed in it and gradually learn to master the language," says O Duill who points out that only fifth, sixth and seventh class pupils are boarders.

Tomas O Riordain has been the principal of Scoil na nOg for nearly 40 years. "It started off as a coeducational establishment. The Bishop of Cork at the time, Dr Lucey, didn't approve of co-educational schools run by lay people so the boys had to go to Trabolgan. Eventually, the two schools amalgamated and, as long as the boys were housed separately from the girls, the bishop gave it his approval.

"One of the selling points we make for the school is individual attention," says O Riordain - adding with a smile, "some of them might call it individual persecution."

Another selling point for Scoil na nOg is the fact that it has a seventh class which prepares pupils for second-level. "The gaelscoileanna always had a very attractive package. They promote a lot of other subjects besides Irish. We pre-dated most of the gaelscoileanna by teaching French and Latin before other schools.

"In a place like this, you always have to be a little bit ahead. Sports is a big thing here and we can boast of an indoor heated swimming pool. Basketball and Gaelic football are played. The pupils of Colaiste an Phiarsaigh use the facilities here during the day. They finish at 3.30 p.m. The primary school pupils can then use the facilities."

Fiona Lohan, 12, is in seventh class at Scoil na nOg. "I came here just for one year because I was too young to go into secondary school. I love learning Irish. It's nice to be able to speak your own language. I'll be going to the community school in Kinsale next year."

Dominic Holloway, also 12, is from England but has Irish parents. He is very proud of being bilingual. "Half the world speaks English. It's great to have a minority language," he says.