2 days ago
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".
