DAVID LAWLOR,
Sir, - I am the parent of a Catholic child attending Dunboyne's interdenominational Gaelscoil, Thulach na nÓg.
If we had wanted a specifically Catholic education for our child we would have sent him to a Catholic school. My wife and I have been extremely pleased with the high standard of education being made available to our child .
The school imparts basic values that no right-minded person could find objectionable. Under the religious education policy agreed by parents, teachers, and board last summer (but now under threat), my child receives 95 per cent of his religious education seamlessly alongside his Protestant classmates. The policy provides for the remainder of faith-specific, doctrinal instruction to be taught by a catechist on the school premises outside of school hours. Importantly, there is no segregation during the school day. This consensus policy clearly identified Gaelscoil Thulach na nÓg as a truly interdenominational school, as opposed to a Protestant-tolerant Catholic school.
In these days of peace and reconciliation, it is hard to believe that anyone could object to such an impartial policy. Unfortunately, An Foras Patrúnacta (the Patron Body) supported by the board of management and by a small minority of Catholic parents, have managed to set aside the consensus policy. In its place, An Foras intend to impose a policy that cannot be implemented without segregation.
At recent parent meetings representing more than 75 per cent of the school community, motions in favour of the retention of the consensus policy received unanimous support. Likewise, unanimous support has been expressed for the teaching staff and in particular our principal, Mr Tomás Ó Dulaing, who faces disciplinary action next week.
Parents now face the possibility of losing their much-respected principal, the remaining teachers, the inclusive ethos of the school - and even the school itself. If An Foras Patrúnachta succeeds in its objectives, my child, who is so far unaware of any significant difference between himself and his Protestant peers, will be forced to witness religious segregation on a regular basis.
Should this happen, it is possible that Protestant parents would no longer consider the Gaelscoil a suitable environment for the education of their children. Another bridge-building opportunity will have been lost, McQuaidian values will live on and Trimble will have an opportunity to claim justification for his recent remarks. - Yours, etc.,
DAVID LAWLOR,
The Crescent,
Plunkett Hall,
Dunboyne,
Co Meath.