The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1909-10-23

Many people thought when you build
secondary education$on primary educa-
ton you could then have for your head
the university as a kind of coping
stone, or thing Of beauty, as SO few
people got up to that university it did
not matter. That is a great mistake
entirely. Given a university and grant
ed that it teaches the right thing in the
right way, every secondary school in
Ireland must take it's tone from it, and
every primary school in Ireland will
follow the lead Of the secondary school,
Consequently, so far from being the
coping stone, university is the cor
nerstone and basis from which educa-
tion should, be built up.
IF our university senate will only
listen to the voices of the people, every
Nationalist in Ireland will take off his
coat to make it a great and startling
success. But, if those in charge of the
university do not listen TO the will of
the people. then, in Liy opinion, it is
doomed to an ignominious, colorless,
impoverished mediocrity Believe me,
you will never beat Trinity college
with Trinity. colleges own weapons,
but if you make Irish as essential you
| will have a, tone in every secondary
school. If you don't make it essential
you will have Irish education at the
absolute discretion of any English
Catholic or Of any anti-lrish scoinin
who may happen for the moment, to be
the head Of our educational concerns"
The real true cause of the powerful
opposition to Irish in the university,
he added, had never been put upon pa
per at ALL Instead of that. the country
had been fed with q number of bogus
reasons, and when they were riddled
with ridicule and laughed down on
every platform in Ireland, there were
not other reasons forthcoming, because
these people were ashamed to put them
upon paper, and yet if ever there was
p case for strong argument to back up
the opposition. now was the time for
those who were against essential Irish
to come out with it; but they had not
come out with it at all. What were
the reasons they put forward? First of
all, it would interfere with some of our
good schools. II would interfere with
them, and it was time to do so. 1t was
nothing short of an insult to the intel
ligence of Ireland to say that the set
tlement of this great question. which
would affect the viewpoint and the out
look upon the life Of generations yet
unborn, must depend upon the view OF
Il headnaster in ScOlninville academy
or in West Briton park. (Several voic-
-"Clongowes.D And to all the OBJ.
jections he had heard raised that was
the only one that had anything behind
it, What harm would it do to make
those places come into line with tho
other schools? He could see none. but
it would do them a lot of good if they
only knew it.
Again, there was the argument that
it would be unfair to the poor Protest.
ants of Ireland. But he thought he hat
passed that day at college where ther.
J were a few poor Protestants. H.
: thought they would go there. He die
: so in his own time. Then it would bt
very unfair to the poor civil servant.
who are married in England. CA Voic,
-"Oh, the seonins.) Why in ever.
? large town in England there was
branch of the Gaelic league and VIII!
should not those people send their chill
dren there to learn Irish? This nev
university was not intended for civi
servants in England, but for the Irisl
r at home. Again it was said that t.
have Irish essential in the new univer
sity 1t would interfere with the Irish
l Americans sending their children owe
, to It; but what those Irish American
have done is to declare from ever
v platform that they would not send thei
children back except 1t was to q rea
e Irish university. It would be yer
Q hard on those nice young Catholic boy
{ Albert Aloysius and augustus Edward
n :" cave to know Ii,sh, and alvead
they were threatening to imperil thei
r precious souls by g@ing to Trinity col
Q lege sooner than Learn Irish.
" They would like very much to max
:. this question of faith and morals, bu
8 they will not succeed in doing so. The
o said that Irish was a handicap in If
: and that French or German, or Gree
: was not He could no. agree with tha
/. statement, having regard to the fat
o that to obtain position under most {
the public bodies in Ireland, includin
h the Dublin and Cork corporations
h knowledge of Irish was necessary, an
d he hoped that before long all publ
= bodies would adopt that policy. No,
:. they had heard of the reasons advance
f against Irish being made an essenti