Baineann an scéal atá agam anocht le múinteoir atá ag múineadh i scoil Dhún Chaoin ó 1970. Cé go bhfuil Dún Chaoin i gceartlár na Gaeltachta, dúnadh an scoil an bhliain sin mar go raibh sé mar pholasaí ag an Roinn ag an am nach mbeadh scoileanna beaga acu tríd an tír. Chuir tuismitheoirí na háite go mór i gcoinne dúnadh na scoile. There was a public outcry in the early 1970s when the school in Dunquin in west Kerry was closed down by the Department in pursuance of its policy of closing small rural schools. The school was of great importance. The children of Peig and the families of many famous writers attended it. Many groups of scholars came to the school to learn about the Irish language. In our era, Dunquin and the surrounding area was considered as a foinse na Gaeilge. Is deacair cuimhneamh ar aon áit eile sa tír go mbeadh an méid sin Gaeilge agus cultúr na tíre sáite ann.
Without a shadow of doubt, it represented a microcosm of Irish society, fiú féin i measc Gaeltachtaí na tíre. There are very few places in Ireland like Dunquin. It is the place where the remaining families who left the Blasket Islands in 1953 settled, in this small, barren outcrop of the Dingle peninsula. Irish was the language of the community and the school. When I was a teenager I spent several weeks each summer in Dunquin, even though it was not far from where I was reared. I have a great interest in the area.
Dúnadh an scoil mar go raibh sé mar pholasaí an uair sin scoileanna beaga tuaithe a dhúnadh. An rud ba thábhachtaí a bhí ag baint leis seo nó gurbh é seo an áit deireanach go raibh muintir na mBlascaod agus a gclainn ag freastail ar scoil. Peig is buried about half a mile from the school. Some of the best known Irish scholars learned there. It was a place, above all others, where the language and the culture of the Gaeltachtaí needed to be protected.
There was an outcry when the school was closed. A cursory glance at the newspapers of the time reflects this. In the Minister of State's constituency, it would have been paralleled by the row about the Baltinglass post office many years earlier. It was a local row which became a national issue. The whole country and every Irish language enthusiast and fanatic, those of us who cared, were concerned about it. There was a great deal of support for the school. The Government of the day refused to go back on its policy and it closed the school. It was the death-knell of the community.
The community and its supporters around the country decided they would try to keep the school open with their own resources. A trained and qualified teacher from Kildare moved down from Dublin. His name is Micheál Ó Dubhshláine and he worked in the school for two or three years. The dates are not very important, but he worked there from the beginning of the school year in 1970 until April 1973 when there was a change of Government. The new Government decided to grant the school recognition. It advertised for a teacher, Micheál Ó Dubhshláine was appointed to the job and he has taught there since.
I visited the school on at least three occasions. It is a wonderful school, looking out over the Blasket Sound at the most westerly point of Europe. It is a monument to our culture and a place where what remains of cultúr na Gaeltachta is safe in its natural environment. Tá Gaeilge ón gcliabhán ag leanaí na háite a rugadh san áit. Tá siad tógtha trí Ghaeilge, ag dul ar scoil agus ag foghlaim trí Ghaeilge. Tá siad á múineadh trí Ghaeilge agus déanann siad gach rud trí Ghaeilge i gceartlár na Gaeltachta.
We must show our commitment to this cause. This man has reached retirement age and it seems extraordinarily petty for the State to deprive him of pension entitlements for the two years he was working in the school but paid by the local community rather than the State. It seems the State has already saved three years' salary. The least it could do to make amends is to recognise the period of diligent service given with no support. The teacher should get full pension recognition.
I ask that this case be dealt with separately, as it was dealt with all along. No other schools were opened in 1973 when the Government changed. It should be dealt with in that context. It is a tiny cost to the State of slightly over two eightieths of a teacher's salary. It is not a great deal of money and it is recognition that must be given. I appeal to the Minister of State to respond positively.
