Notes
The position of Irish in the North Galway schools, as shown in the return made by the Tuam Branch, is not altogether satisfactory. We are not concerned directly with the difference between the number on rolls and the number of those who attend, but the difference is rather surprising.
It will be seen from the list that there are five Irish-speaking teachers who do not teach a word of the language, and sixteen other teachers, Irish-speaking or otherwise, have not, it seems, even replied to the circular. The total number on the books of those who have sent in returns is, roundly, 5,000, and 1,800 of these are learning Irish.
The district is a mixed Irish and English-speaking one. All the adults know Irish, and the children learn English, in Irish phrases; such as "I was speaking with the other boy," "I did not wait a while with him," &c. The villainous habit of speaking this sort of English to children, when parents could, with far greater facility, employ Irish, is an unfortunate survival of worse days. What good is it to teach Irish to children for one hour a week during the school year if during the remainder of the time they are forced to speak in hybrid English?
Out of a total of about 5,000 children on rolls there are about 1,800 learning Irish. On the whole, the time devoted to teaching is fairly satisfactory, but if parents and teachers accustomed the children to speak the language, the result would be far more satisfactory than if as much more school-time was devoted to teaching it.
Headford is, perhaps, more Irish-speaking than any other place on the list, yet the teachers here have taken no notice, it appears, of the circular.
The English banks in Ireland are still reluctant to cash cheques filled in bilingually and endorsed in Irish. We learn from a correspondent that the reason given by a clerk in a branch bank in O'Connell-street, Dublin, for refusing to cash such a cheque was, that the name was not "written in English letters" on it. When the manager was referred to, he said "Oh, I see! You are one of these people who want to rule the country;" and as an excuse of course wanted to know what was our correspondent's occupation. The manager was not told, but he finally consented to have the cheque cashed.
Article originally published on: Saturday 5th April 1902
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