On
14th October 2006, A Gaelic Experiment:
The preparatory system 1926 – 1961 and Coláiste
Moibhí, a fascinating book on the contested
issue of Irish-medium education, was launched.
Concentrating on the role played by language revivalists
within Irish political life during the early 20th
century, A Gaelic Experiment provides an
intimate account of the gaelicisation policy which
permeated through the learning establishments
of independent Ireland. In particular, it focuses
upon Colaiste Moibhi which was, up until it was
given a decent burial on 23rd June 1995, the only
Irish-medium College under Church of Ireland control
in independent Ireland.
Formerly
the Royal
Hibernian Military School, Colaiste Moibhi
was part of the State’s blueprint to make
the national language a prominent feature in the
Protestant classroom. Turning the clock back a
generation or two ago, the government preferred
all Anglicans who wished to pursue national school
teaching to be Gaelgeoir extraordinaires! Colaiste
Moibhi attempted to make this ambition a feasible
one, and during its 69 year history there were
no shortage of Anglicans who followed the muezzin-type
call for a Gaelic-enriched Ireland, a late relative
of mine included.
A
fee-paying albeit State-sponsored boarding school,
the college attracted some renowned students and
principals. The
Dublin and Glendalough Diocesian website introduces
an interesting collection, personalities such
as Lillian Duncan and John Kyle. However, this
is by no means an exhaustive list. Former students
include Frances Condell (the ex Mayor of Limerick)
and Bibi Baskin (the ex RTE broadcaster).
At
its embryonic stages, the College was managed
by Dr Gregg, the then Archbishop of Dublin. The
Archbishop was initially sceptical about the Gaelicisation
policy of making Irish compulsory for prospective
national school teachers. He also disliked the
policy of educating children through the medium
of Irish but his pragmatism shone through and
Gregg accepted Eamon De Valera’s offer of
employment at Colaiste Moibhi. By doing so, Dr
Gregg played an instrumental role in assisting
Dublin Protestants to identify with the emerging
ethos of the New Republican Order, and to be beneficiaries
of it too.
Colaiste
Moibhi was perceived to be one of the most shining
jewels in the Church of Ireland crown, for a multiplicity
of reasons. Firstly, it provided Leaving Cert
students who were fluent in Irish for the Church
of Ireland College of Education. Without its existence,
the Church of Ireland may not have been able to
maintain its separatist system of national schools.
Secondly, as an Irish language institution it
received whopping amounts of State funding, in
contrast with other Church of Ireland schools
nationally, which were struggling to modernise
with the times. Indeed, to the envy of other State
schools under Protestant management in Dublin,
Colaiste Moibhi in the 1930s had top-of-the-range
facilities, including a heated swimming pool,
a fully fitted gym and gymnasium, tennis courts
and Gaelic pitches! And lastly, Colaiste Moibhi
had an exemplary record of academic excellence,
not only in Irish but Musicianship also. Indeed,
by the early 1990s, over 25 per cent of those
sitting the honours Leaving Cert paper in Irish,
were getting A Grades, and its music department
were performing liturgical services every Christmas
over Radio na Gaeltachta, for the benefit of the
nation.
In
spite of its academic and musical excellence,
Colaiste Moibhi was a blatant anachronism, dating
back to the Douglas Hyde era when Gaelic revivalism
was perceived to be trendy. It was surprising
that it survived for as long as it did because
by the early 1960s, with a gradual reduction in
emphasis on the national language and a higher
standard of Irish language teaching in State secondary
schools, the Minister for Education consigned
to the dustbin of history, all those Roman Catholic
Irish-medium Colleges which had opened its doors
in the 1920s. Colaiste Moibhi was left unexamined,
however, when it came to assessing the worth of
the preparatory colleges. Its unique ability in
churning out the finest of teacher trainees, who
would then, with the zeal of a convert, encourage
their pupils to be extra-conscious of Irish cultural
heritage, probably motivated the Department to
resist the closure on that occasion. In the early
1990s, however, the purse strings were tightening
and the Department of Education could resist no
more. First, it closed down the Colaiste Moibhi
music department, as a preliminary, it was feared,
to shutting down the college down altogether.
Then in 1995, an act of philistinism was committed
and the College shut up shop in the centenary
year of Conradh na Gaeilge. Nevertheless, the
College had fulfilled its duties. It had produced
remarkable teachers who were able to transform
vast elements of the community from a state of
cultural autism into confident members of the
Irish State who could embrace aspects of their
Irishness, in the most unselfconscious manner.
In
conclusion, Colaiste Moibhi has proved instrumental
in the history of independent Ireland. In addition
to giving its pupils a fluency in Irish, it made
them more appreciative of Gaelic culture and tradition.
Risteard O Glaisne, who is also a primary authority
on the history of Colaiste Moibhi believed that
the establishment of Colaiste Moibhi was a vital
pre-requisite in the cultural integration of southern
Protestants. Rather than reaching for the endangered
species card, O Glaisne urged his co-religionists
to fully immerse themselves in the life of the
Irish nation, writing:
"We
shall have to find ourselves in spiritual sympathy
with Irish aspirations if we are to live fully
in the future Ireland - if we do, we can make
a significant contribution to the Irish nation
and indeed see Protestantism growing here…and
if we do not, Protestantism in Ireland will
wilt."
