The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1909-10-01
IRISH LANGUAGE
The Place It Takes in Ireland's Edu.
catiOnaI System

Dublin. Oct. 1.-The position Of the
Irish language in the educational sys.
tens of the country will come under
review next coming week. Attention
has been directed to the present sys-
tenn in university education by the re-
port OF the university college, Cork,
presented to parliament by DIR. Win
die. president of the college. MANY
teachers and others interested in Sec
ondary education are discussing the
enect OF the recent examination on
the future teaching of Irish in the
intermediate schools and the position
OF Irish in the national schools has
been the subject of a few commune
cations in the press in the course of
the past week, one from a meeting of
teachers and others held in Bingel
and another from the officers of the
National Bi-Lingual society formed at
the conference held recently. DR..
Windle gives in his report informa-
tion which was the common property
OF everybody in the south of ireland,
namely, that Irish is not a popular
subject in the old Queens college,
Cork. It would have been surprising
indeed If 1t were otherwise in an in
stitutton where the traditional inter-
ests of the foreigner have been so
strongly represented.
DR.. Windle, however, does not con-
fine himself to his own college. He
takes upon himself the task of report
ing on the state of Irish studies In
the district. Here is what he says:
THE fact Of the matter is that It
must be regretfully admitted that the
statements which I have made and
others which could be quoted in con-
nection with classes for the teaching
of Irish in this city conclusively
proves that there Is but little enthu-
siasm for the study of the language
in this dictrict." This report was news
to those who had read the reports
presented to the Ard Fheis recently
by the general secretary and the or
ganizers Of the Gaelic league. Ac-
cording to them there is greater en-
thusiasm for the language now than
there has ever been before. II the
statements be taken as q set-off. the
one against the other. 1t may be con-
cluded that Irish is not in such q
parlous state in Cork or In Munster
after all. Tangible evidences of the
enthusiasm for Irish that exists all
over the district from which the Cork
university expects to draw fits future
students are at hand. The fact that
three summer schools and the COL
leges at Ballingeary and Ring have
been crowded with student teachers
of Irish this year has already been
noted. Another astonishing thing to
find in district in which there is
no enthusiasm for Irish is that there
are no fewer than 27O branches and
forty-five district committees of the
Gaelic league there and that In the
country and city of Cork alone there
are twenty-three district teachers en-
ployed by the Gaelic league for the.
sole purpose of teaching the Irish
language. There were that number in
1908 and the organizers report that
the number has increased since.
There were eight district teachers In
Cary, seven in. Limerick and seven In
Waterford. Leaving Clare out of con-
sideration, therefore, there are apart
altogether from the work which is
done voluntarily and from the pro-
fessiOnal work of national and inter-
mediate teachers, movements which
make themselves responsible for SAL
aries amounting to more than SIS 900
yearly to be paid to teachers for the
sole purpose of teaching the Irish
language. That it thought not to be
bad for a district which has been
represented as manifesting bat little
enthusiasm for the study Of, the Irish
Jan0MaxA 1'7.' "a