Legacy of Donogh O'Malley

A Chara, - Whatever about the points made by Minister for Education Mary Hanafin regarding Donogh O'Malley's introduction of …

A Chara, - Whatever about the points made by Minister for Education Mary Hanafin regarding Donogh O'Malley's introduction of free secondary education, and his legacy (Opinion & Analysis, September 11th), she makes a common mistake of fact, widely accepted as a truth.

I began secondary education in 1966. The fees charged by the Christian Brothers, per term, were £7. I was a member of a large family. My father was a qualified craftsman, having served a seven-year apprenticeship, and received further training abroad in a mechanical specialisation. His wages were then £10 a week.

In today's terms, given that the average industrial wage is more than €500, the CBS fees would have amounted to around €900 a year. Today, the only fee-paying school in this area charges, I believe, €1,000. The Minister says: "The Christian Brothers and some religious orders had been providing free second-level education or education at a low cost for generations. . ."

This is clearly not true in my case. The county council provided about 100 scholarships, which included the price of books, and my primary school provided the "St Benildus" scholarships, on a fees-only basis.

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Whatever the merits of the Christian Brothers' provision of education, it was anything but free. Free education was provided by the democratically elected Vocational Education Committees. - Is mise,

GEAROID Ó LOINSIGH,

Mullach an Mharmair,

Cnoc na gCroc,

Cill Choinnigh.

Madam, - I agree with Mary Hanafin's assertion that the introduction of free second-level education for all was one of the most important decisions ever made by an Irish government. It revolutionised education in this country and laid the foundation for economic success.

While Mrs Hanafin acknowledged the contribution of the Christian Brothers and some religious orders in providing free or low-cost second-level education for generations, I was disappointed that she did not mention the role of the vocational education sector in providing second-level education, at a very nominal fee to those who had neither the economic means nor other resources to access education in either church or religious-run schools. - Yours etc,

CLAIRE FOLEY,

Cootehill,

Co Cavan.