Anti-Irish racism appears in Irish textbook

There have been calls for the 26 County Education Minister Norma Foley to take action after an offensive, self-hating description of a traditional family was published in a secondary school Irish textbook.

The publishers have apologised for the ‘discriminatory’ way it depicted the Irish family and said the section will now be replaced, but efforts are being made to ensure the problem does not recur.

Furious parents had been contacting their TDs after coming across an activity in the ‘Health and Wellbeing’ book, featured in a section of the school curriculum entitled ‘Social, Personal and Health Education’.

A section of the book entitled ‘All Different, All Equal’, contrasted a traditional Irish family with a mixed background one.

The Irish family eat ‘potatoes, bacon and cabbage every day’, ‘do not like change or difference’ and the children ‘get told off if we mix with people with a different religion from ours as they would be a bad influence’.

The Irish family is depicted as narrow-minded, does not like change and that all their relatives are Irish. They are not allowed to play ‘foreign games’ or watch television or movies that were produced outside of Ireland. At the end of the paragraph, the description reads: ‘We get told off if we mix with people with a different religion from ours as they would be a bad influence on us.’

In contrast the mixed-race family ‘love change and difference’, eat ‘curry, pizza and Asian food’, travel internationally and visit art galleries.

On Family B, it states: ‘During school holidays we go camping in Europe and visit the galleries to see the wonderful paintings there. We like different types of music from reggae and hip hop to classical.

‘We have relations in London and Australia and our family is part Irish, part Romanian and part Dutch.’

The book’s publishers, EdCo, said the activity will now be replaced and apologised for the hurt it caused, buy still defended their book by claiming it ‘highlights discrimination’.

Politicians across the spectrum demanded it be dropped from the curriculum completely.

The chapter in the SPHE book – ironically entitled “All different, All equal” – was brought to the attention of Carol Nolan TD by a furious parent who said her 12-year old son had come home with it from school, having started first year this week.

She said: “At first, I thought this was some kind of parody but astonishingly this is not the case.

“Anyone with an ounce of objectivity looking at these descriptions involving an ‘Irish family’ will immediately grasp the utterly absurd, hateful and sneering attitude that has been adopted.

“The typical traditional ‘Irish family’ is lampooned as insular, angry, petty and let’s be honest here, xenophobic and racist while the contrasting family in the presentation is apparently filled with outward looking insight, tolerance, and intelligence. It is almost inconceivable how this trash made its way into a Junior Cycle textbook. This depiction is entirely wrong-headed and must be removed.”

For some, the cartoon and text brought back memories of the racist anti-Irish caricatures that appeared in 19th century English publications such as Punch magazine

Historian and author Dr Conor Reidy described the illustrations and accompanying texts as “disturbing” and “very, very troubling” and a “clear attempt to link the concept of traditionalism with racism and intolerance.’

Aontú representative for Blackrock in Dublin, Helen Duignan, said that the book’s caricature of an Irish family was a form of brainwashing.

“It’s insidious,” she said.

“This is not just an isolated one page in a book. It occurs within the context where the reference to developing a sense of Irish identity has now been removed completely from the primary curriculum.”

Despite the apology, Ms Duignan added: “Answers are still required from the minister and her department as to how this content was approved and assurances are sought that this type of Irish cultural stereotyping will not appear in our children’s books in the future.”

Urgent Appeal