Sir, - I agree entirely with the message inherent in your Editorial of June 25th. Not only did compulsory Irish not dismally fail to boost the language, it fostered deep-seated resentment in many generations. As was then the custom in Kerry, I, being the first grandson, was reared by my grandparents, who spoke only Irish to me. My mother, who had been educated in Ireland, England and France, spoke only French to me. My father spoke only English to me. Thus, I commenced school fluent in three languages.
All went well until I reached Intermediate Certificate level. In the honours class, Physics, Chemistry, Latin, Greek, Maths, History and Geography were taught through Irish. In the pass class, those subjects were taught through English. I could not see any educational benefit in studying those subjects through Irish.
I approached the reverend brother headmaster and requested transfer to the pass class. He refused, stating he considered me of scholarship calibre who would bring honour to his school. He said subjects taught through Irish would command 10 per cent extra marks. I explained that, for the career I envisaged, my time would be better spent acquiring two additional Continental languages rather than expending considerable energies learning my subjects through the medium of Irish. Again, he refused my request and called me an "unpatriotic pup".
When I reported the conversation to my parents and grandparents, they were incensed. They moved me to another school, where subjects were taught through English.
The militant fanaticism of that brother turned me against Irish. Thereafter, I never wished to speak it, read it, listen to it on radio or watch it on TV. I have no doubt I would today be an enthusiastic speaker of Irish.
In the contemporary era, the perverse requirement on all second-level students to pass in Irish to enter university is, as you stated, out of kilter with the spirit of the age. If students decide Irish as a subject will never be of any commercial use to them, why should the Department of Education have the effrontery to force them study the language?
I wish the Gaelscoileanna well. I say good luck to those who voluntarily pursue Irish language classes in their own time. - Yours, etc., Edwin Cussen,
Wilton Avenue, Bishopstown, Cork.