Sir,—The Teaching Council of Ireland currently requires that Irish history comprise a quarter of history modules taken in the university study of history in second and third year by aspirant teachers at second level. But new requirements which take effect from 1 January 2023 ask only that ‘the degree must include the specific study of Irish History’. This is vague to the point of meaninglessness. To allow the teaching of history by those with virtually no accredited knowledge of Irish history is to downgrade the latter. It should not be necessary to point out that citizens of the state should know the narratives of the peoples who lived on this island. The regulation should be revisited as a matter of urgency.—Yours etc.,
ANDREW BIELENBERG (UCC), CIARÁN BRADY (TCD), CIARA BREATHNACH (UL), MARC CABALL (UCD), ELAINE CALLINAN (Carlow College), NICHOLAS CANNY (NUIG), CAITRIONA CLEAR (NUIG), JOHN CUNNINGHAM (NUIG), REGINA DONLON (Carlow College), TERENCE DOOLEY (Maynooth), SEÁN DUFFY (TCD), DAVID EDWARDS (UCC), SIMON EGAN (TCD), STEVEN ELLIS (Chair, Irish Committee of Historical Sciences), SUSAN FLAVIN (TCD), RAYMOND GILLESPIE (Maynooth), BRIAN HANLEY (TCD), MARY HARRIS (NUIG), MARK HENNESSY (TCD), BRIAN HUGHES (MIC), MICHAEL LAFFAN (UCD), LEEANN LANE (DCU), PADRAIG LENIHAN (NUIG), MARIAN LYONS (Maynooth), BREANDÁN MAC SUIBHNE (NUIG), RICHARD McELLIGOT (Dundalk IT), RICHARD McMAHON (MIC), ANNALEIGH MARGEY (Dundalk IT), LAURENCE MARLEY (NUIG), IDA MILNE (Carlow College), DAVID MURPHY (Maynooth), MARGARET MURPHY (Carlow College), NIALL Ó CIOSÁIN (NUIG), DÁIBHÍ Ó CRÓNÍN (NUIG), MICHEÁL Ó SIOCHRÚ (TCD), THOMAS O’CONNOR (Maynooth), RUAN O’DONNELL (UL), CIARÁN O’NEILL (TCD), JANE OHLMEYER (TCD), MATTHEW STOUT (DCU), CLODAGH TAIT (MIC), FIONNUALA WALSH (UCD), PATRICK WALSH (TCD)