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Irish Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Sinn Féin may reject commemorating the Normans, but there are some suspiciously Saxon names in its ranks
As the bearer of a 100 per cent Gaelic name, I am all in favour of Sinn Féin 's opposition to the State's participation in the European Year of the Normans in 2027. As the party's spokesman on the arts Aengus Ó Snodaigh put it in May, 'We Irish know well enough the legacy of William's successors invading and subjugating Ireland in the name of his English crown, with Strongbow ushering in the 900 years of occupation, with the North still under the descendants of William the Conqueror's Crown.' It is long since time that 'we Irish', children of the Gael, purged our history and our culture of the legacy of the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons who followed in their wake. This would certainly get rid of a lot of troublemakers. We could start of course with the father of Irish republicanism, Theobold Wolfe Tone . Tone derives from the Norman lordship of De Tosny. The family's presence in this archipelago dates from Raoul de Tosny's services as standard bearer to William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. [ The Irish Times view on Sinn Féin vs the Normans: a cartoonish version of history Opens in new window ] Other prominent United Irishmen executed by the British included Edward Fitzgerald – the Fitz is the most obvious Norman giveaway. The Shears brothers, Henry and John were hanged shortly before the rising – Shears comes from the Norman name Essira. Oliver Bond shares his good Anglo-Saxon patronymic with James Bond. Thomas Russell's family name derives from Hugh de Rosel, who also accompanied William the Conqueror at Hastings. READ MORE 'We Irish' would also be better off without Charles Stewart Parnell. Parnell comes from La Pernelle, a village in, of all places, Normandy. The family established itself in Devon and Cornwall after the Conquest and a branch later took root in Ireland. Sinn Féin might even want to look within its own ranks. Gerry Adams hardly bears a name redolent of Gaeldom Returning to the executed, we might note that the British again did a decent enough job of ridding us Irish of agitators of Norman blood. There were of course the Pearse brothers Patrick and Willie – Pearse comes from the personal name Piers, a diminutive form of Pierre. Joseph Mary Plunkett owed his shameful appellation to Pleugueneuc in Brittany. The first big Anglo-Norman lord of this family in Ireland, John Plukenet, called his estate in Co Meath, Beaulieu, not even bothering to hide his French origins Another four of the 14 men executed in 1916 belonged to the Anglo-Saxon tribes who came in after the Norman conquest. Thomas Clarke was the chief architect of the rising – Clarke has stout Hampshire origins, though it could also be from the Norman form de Clerc. Con Colbert's surname is rooted on the Anglo-Scottish borders. The two Kents Edward (Éamonn Ceannt) and Thomas (executed in Cork) speak for themselves. So half of the 1916 martyrs flowed from the polluted springs of the Norman conquest. [ Fianna Fáil accused of 'offensive' plan to celebrate William the Conqueror Opens in new window ] Sinn Féin likes to place the 1981 hunger strikers in this direct line of succession from Tone and Pearse – and indeed some of them did bear the same genetic guilt. Bobby Sands probably goes back to William de Sandes or Walter de la Sonde, who established themselves as landowners in Surrey in Anglo-Norman times. Francis Hughes owed his name to the Old French Hue or Hughe. Kevin Lynch owed his to the Norman surname de Lench. Martin Hurson's patronymic is originally from Dorset, though it too may have Norman roots. And while we're clearing our history of these invasive species, 'we Irish' can also clean up our culture. Out go Edmund Burke (de Burca), Douglas Hyde (pure Anglo-Saxon), James Joyce (properly speaking Josse in old French), Lady Gregory (maiden name Persse), William Butler Yeats (de Jette), Samuel Beckett, Maeve Binchy (de Binga, from Normandy via Kent), Sebastian and Kevin Barry (de Barry), John Banville, Phil Lynott (big Welsh-Norman landgrabbers in Connacht), Louis le Brocquy, Colm Toíbín (Tobin is from St Aubyn), Neil Jordan (after Jordan De Courcy, who came in with Strongbow), Jessie Buckley (de Buckelay), and many more of their terrible ilk. Sinn Féin might even want to look within its own ranks. Gerry Adams hardly bears a name redolent of Gaeldom. Of its current TDs, Anne Graves and Thomas Gould sound suspiciously Saxon to me, Cathy Bennett shares her name not just with Jane Austen characters but with early Norman settlers, Denise Mitchell and Dessie Ellis ultimately echo French personal names, Pat Buckley is stamped with the same nominal culpability as Jessie. Oh and Ó Snodaigh is a Gaelicised version of Snoddy which comes from the town of Snodgrass in Ayrshire. Most advanced Irish nationalists in the 19th and early 20th centuries recognised and embraced the reality that Ireland, like pretty much every other corner of the globe, has been formed by a mixture of cultures All of this is, of course, utterly ludicrous. But it's not harmless. We are living at a time when the ludicrous is mainstream. Daft notions about nationality are moving again from the fringes to the centre. A self-pitying notion of 'We Irish' is not an innocent notion – it is being mobilised for violence right now on our own streets. It's a phrase in which the first little word can subvert the second. 'We' can be used to constrict the 'Irish', to confine it within one category of belonging – the descendants of the Gaels who were invaded by the Normans in 1169 and are still being occupied and subjugated by their descendants in Northern Ireland today. This isn't 19th-century nationalism. It's worse. Most advanced Irish nationalists in the 19th and early 20th centuries recognised and embraced the reality that Ireland, like pretty much every other corner of the globe, has been formed by a mixture of cultures. Religion – the sectarian divide between Catholic and Protestant – was a much more important marker of difference than ethnic origin. About a fifth of those living in Ireland now have no ancestral connection to the pre-Norman Gaelic world at all – if they sing the national anthem's line about 'seantír ár sinsear'/ 'our ancient sireland', they may be thinking of somewhere very far away. And the other four-fifths are, like every other nationality, a product of multiple invasions and migrations, colonisations and resistances, settlement and unsettlement. 'We Irish' should not be a prelude to a single sob story, an epic saga of endless oppression. It contains multitudes.
RTÉ News
13-08-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Sinn Féin seeks meeting over Irish language status at Galway university
Sinn Féin's Irish and Gaeltacht spokesperson, Aengus Ó Snodaigh, has requested an urgent meeting with the Ollscoil na Gaillimhe authority to discuss the status of the Irish language at the university. Mr Ó Snodaigh said the Irish language community is disappointed that a "president with no Irish has been appointed to the country's only bilingual university for the first time since the State was founded". Last week, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe announced the appointment of Professor David J Burn from Newcastle in England as its 14th president. He will succeed Professor Peter McHugh, who has been in the position on an interim basis for almost a year. Prof Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh had been the university president since 2018. This is the first time since 1926 that a president who does not speak Irish has been appointed to the university. Sinn Féin said this is a step backwards "in a university which is meant to be central to the revival of Irish and of the Gaeltacht". "I wish Professor Burn every success in his new role," said Mr Ó Snodaigh, "but urgent clarity is needed for the Irish-speaking community who are disappointed that a president with no Irish has been appointed to the country's only bilingual university for the first time since the State was founded". In 2017, the then government ended the statutory obligation which existed since 1926 that the office holder must be fluent and competent to perform their duties in Irish. Conradh na Gaeilge has also criticised the decision. Advocacy Manager with Conradh na Gaeilge, Róisín Ní Chinnéide, said that since the stipulation ended in 2017, there is no longer a statutory protection for the Irish language in Ollscoil na Gaillimhe. "This means that it will now be left to the university itself to demonstrate their commitment to the language. If the staff cannot conduct their business with the offices of the university in the Irish language, then one must ask if the university can continue to claim to be a bilingual one." Sinn Féin have called on the university to provide a definition of what constitutes a bilingual university. In a statement to RTÉ, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe said there has been no explicit requirement for a president of the university to be an Irish speaker since 2017. It said "the university's bilingual status is a key priority and the role of president includes statutory responsibility for providing strong leadership in supporting and promoting commitment to both our language and culture".
Irish Independent
13-08-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
University of Galway defends new non-Irish speaking president amid Sinn Féin ‘step backwards' claims
Today at 11:42 The University of Galway has defended its newly appointed president after the Sinn Féin spokesperson for Gaeilge said the university had taken a 'step backwards' by hiring a president with no Irish. Sinn Féin spokesperson for Gaeilge Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD wrote to the newly appointed president of University of Galway, Professor David J Burn and the chairperson of Údarás na hOllscoile, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, seeking an urgent meeting to discuss the status of Irish in the university in the wake of the decision.
The Journal
04-08-2025
- Science
- The Journal
There are just nine translated textbooks for Leaving Cert students at Gaelscoileanna
JUST NINE TEXTBOOKS have been fully translated into Irish for Leaving Certificate students at Gaelcholáistí, who are relying on teachers to provide accurate notes and interpret chapters in real-time. An additional €3m is being spent this year to beef up the resources for the agency tasked with translating the books, An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (COGG), specifically so that it can transcribe resources through Irish for all three senior cycle science subjects. Despite this, Gaelscoil students studying Biology, Chemistry and Physics will still not have the translated books until the end of next year, according to the Minister for Education Helen McEntee. The details of the task ahead of COGG were provided to Sinn Féin's Gaeltacht spokesperson Aengus Ó Snodaigh. Advertisement Minister for Education Helen McEntee has commended the progress of COGG, which has managed to deliver 35 fully-translated books and resources to students and teachers since 2018. Department of Education and school curriculum officials have also been assisting in the task. She told the Dublin South Central TD that, of the 35 translated school books for students in Gaelcholáistí, 26 of them have been for junior cycle curriculums, while just nine have been transcribed for the senior cycle. This is despite many subjects in the Leaving Certificate curriculum, such as history and maths, requiring students to have multiple books for each course module, in both years of the senior cycle. The minister explained that COGG prioritises books relating to subjects which are most popular to students in Gaelscoileanna for value for money purposes. A consultation on this approach has recently concluded, and a panel is considering other avenues, she said. McEntee did not provide a timeline for when the remaining translated books will be completed, except for the resources for the three main science subjects – which are vital to Leaving Certificate students who want to further their education in the field. She also said that COGG will be working towards delivering a number of books for new junior cycle subjects, set to be introduced at the beginning of the 2026/27 school year. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
RTÉ News
15-07-2025
- Health
- RTÉ News
Calls for Blood Bikes to be given access to bus lanes
Blood Bike volunteers are calling for the ability to use bus lanes and be exempted from road tolls under a new bill that will be debated in the Dáil. Blood Bikes assist the health service by transporting essential goods for patients, often while the patient is in the operating theatre. Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh tabled an amendment to the Road Traffic and Roads Bill that would extend exemptions from road tolls and the right to use bus lanes, which currently apply to ambulances, to also cover Blood Bike services. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Blood Bike volunteer, Michael Noonan, said that the current legislation slows down their work. "As it stands, gardaí have increased their high-profile policing, and they've doubled their fines in the last year on the use of bus lanes," he said. "While our vehicles are marked, and gardaí are quite good with us in that regard, we use vehicles for palliative care which are unmarked and that just creates delays and complications." Mr Noonan said Blood Bikes transport medication, scans and medical equipment. "An ambulance will transfer a patient, anything to do with that patient could be transferred by a bike. "It could be their scans, it could be their medication, it could be any form of critical information required, it could be medical equipment," he added. "We often move stuff where people could be in theatre, and they discover that they're short something and may be required to be got from another hospital." Mr Noonan described the work of Blood Bike volunteers as an "insurance policy for the HSE". "When a critical call comes in, we can react instantly to their calls and get what they want, and what we do is actually quite incredible and unknown." The Department of Transport said that it does not support the request for blood bikes to be given permission to use bus lanes. In a statement, the Department claimed that any addition to the categories of vehicles permitted to use the lanes would inevitably reduce their efficiency for performing their original purpose. However, Mr Noonan said that there are only six Blood Bike volunteers on duty a day in Dublin and argued that allowing for them to use bus lanes would "have no effect at all". "There are six vehicles moving around that could lose their license within half an hour, so the bottom line is very simple: the level of vehicles that are required is minimal," he said. Mr Noonan added: "300,000 a day go across the M50, so from that point of view, it would have no effect whatsoever; the bike doesn't hold up traffic in a bus lane, they're quite discrete."
