A chara, - Kevin Myers's observation of departing swallows might be accurate but his observations on the Irish language do not seem to be as clear (An Irishman's Diary, September 19th).
Irish is no more compulsory than any other subject on any school curriculum. The Minister for Education and Science has launched a new primary school curriculum with considerable emphasis on Irish as a general language of communication in the school environment. Nobody is bullying and beating children to speak Irish.
From now on most pupils leaving primary school will be able to speak and understand some Irish; secondary school curricula will be modified in due course to cater for this competence. We should be encouraging this development and congratulating those who introduced it. We should build on the good will that is growing at the moment and foster the prevailing positive attitude. The Minister of Education is correct when he states that Irish should be retained as part of the core curriculum because it is part of what we are. Most parents in Ireland agree with the Minister, despite protestations to the contrary by a minority of commentators in the media.
New opportunities for using Irish are being created and voluntary community work is increasing, despite constant negative publicity with anything remotely connected to the language.
The arrival of Teilifis na Gaeilge, now TG4, continues to bring Irish to many who would otherwise have little contact with it. Its viewing figures, while low in comparison with RTE figures, are steadily increasing and some of its programmes are gaining a consistent core audience. There is a vibrancy about Irish, despite repeated attempts to criticise it and to put it down.
It is insulting to those who speak Irish or those who appreciate it to be branded as "enthusiastic people who gather in covens and mouth it to one another". The number of children who are receiving Irish-medium schooling is increasing, the number of adults who are learning Irish is increasing and the general usage of Irish outside the Gaeltacht is growing. Irish is even being taught as a subject in some British schools!
New teaching methods are gradually being brought into place to address issues such as the fall in marks at foundation and ordinary level in the Junior Certificate. Certainly, mistakes have been made in the past in the teaching of Irish but efforts are being made to rectify these.
Irish is still spoken in some schoolyards, even by children in urban areas. Unlike the swallows, Irish speakers will not disappear from our shores. - Is mise,
Meabh Ni Chathain, Preasoifigech, Bord na Gaeilge, Merrion Square, Dublin 2.