Inclusion at school
Sir, – Last Thursday my eight- year-old autistic daughter returned to school calm and positive. For the first time there was no begging or pleading with us to stay home, and no attempts to convince us we had the wrong month.
The beginning of primary school was tough for her but last January she moved to a Gaelscoil and it has been a game-changer.
At the Gaelscoil my daughter is told – not through slogans on walls but in every interaction – that she belongs. This may sound obvious but when you’ve experienced the opposite you understand how radical and powerful it is. Belonging creates safety, and safety unlocks learning. It means the environment reflects you, rather than being something imposed on you. Everything about you is embraced, including distressing behaviours that are recognised as communication and clues to an unmet need. Instead of judgment, the staff respond with curiosity, creativity and teamwork, sometimes bringing in outside experts, always working to understand rather than exclude.
RM Block
I wish every policymaker in education could have witnessed my daughter’s support needs reduce dramatically and almost immediately. We hear the term “complex needs” all the time in education but she is living proof that it is the environment and culture that make things complicated.
The daily practice of belonging, respect, flexibility and curiosity benefits everyone. I’ve been struck by the kindness and maturity of the older pupils, who reflect the culture they have grown up in. For my daughter, this has transformed school from a place of fear to one of safety, joy and growth. She may have won the lottery finding this school, but inclusion should not be a lottery. It should be the very least every child can expect at school. – Yours, etc,
LUCINDA MURRIHY,
Dundrum,
Dublin 16.
Unifil decision
Sir, – Conor Gallagher’s analysis succinctly yet comprehensively outlined the impact of the decision by the UN to end the Unifil mission in south Lebanon (“What will Unifil wind-down mean for the Irish military?”, Analysis, August 29th).
Israel, with US backing, has finally had its way on a long-term objective.
As one of thousands of Irish soldiers over almost 50 years whose eyes and ears, not our guns and mortars, afforded security and sanctuary to the communities in that part of the world, this decision leaves me utterly exasperated.
The impact on the families living in that troubled land is potentially very detrimental.
Israeli minister Eli Cohen and colleagues will no doubt be rejoicing with the news that Unifil peacekeepers, who he classed as being a “useless force” in October 2024 during an Israeli onslaught on Hizbullah, have begun to roll up their groundsheets. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL GANNON,
Kilkenny.
Connolly’s candidacy
Sir, – Words have power. Justine McCarthy’s article was unfair (“Catherine Connolly’s continuing association with Clare Daly and Mick Wallace is troubling”, Opinion, August 25th).
As one of the delegates on the 2018 fact-finding trip to Beirut and Syria, I must correct the record.
Fifteen of us travelled, at our own expense, to meet Palestinian refugees and hear directly from the UN and NGOs. We also witnessed the devastation of war in Homs and Hada. We visited the flattened Al Yarmouk camp, home to 160,000 Palestinian refugees. The reality was far harsher than reported in western media.
All meetings were collective, taking place in rubble rather than boardrooms. We were not naive, nor aligned with any side. Our role was to listen and witness. It takes courage to go and witness a war zone or to be a whistleblower and not to be drawn in by any sides but to be able to ask critical questions.
As for Catherine Connolly’s candidacy: she is a woman of integrity and courage, who, like Michael D Higgins, defends neutrality, international law and the cause of peace.
Let the contest be fair. Let the people decide. – Yours, etc,
RITA FAGAN,
Pimlico,
Dublin.
Long holidays, short days
Sir, – I read recent articles on long summer holidays and short school days with great interest (“Any parent who can solve the after school childcare equation deserves a medal”, Opinion, August 30th, “Are school holidays too long?”, Opinion August 12th).
Both of these factors are an insult to the notion of two parents working (and it is mostly mothers who end up back in the home).
My children’s summer holiday this year was more than two months. I am fortunate the teachers run two weeks of holiday camp for the first weeks of summer with free play, baking, crafts and games where they can deepen friendships with children they know from school. All of it is important for child development and far better than an ad hoc camp with strangers.
At a minimum, extending the school lunch break and shortening the summer holidays would improve the situation.
The ideal is well-funded on-site aftercare and some holiday provision in all schools offered by well-paid, well-trained staff.
If we value education, and the wider contributions of educated women, then realistic timetabling of schools and well-funded central provision of high-quality childcare to fill the gaps must be non-negotiable parts of that picture. – Yours, etc,
HELEN O’SULLIVAN,
Kilternan,
Dublin 18.
Russian sanctions
Sir, – I am at a loss to understand why Aughinish Alumina has avoided international sanctions despite being owned by Russian giant Rusal (“Maritime authorities have detained 13 ships serving Limerick’s Aughinish Alumina plant in five years”, News, August 29th). It suggests our Government has been less than fully committed to supporting Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine poses a major threat to Europe and not just Ukraine. It is long past time for Ireland and EU nations to stand up to Russia with decisive actions, especially when it is far from certain as to whether US president Donald Trump has the willingness to do so. – Yours, etc,
DES MOONEY,
Gorey,
Co Wexford.
Unfair CAO points system
Sir, – I am originally from eastern Europe and have been living in Ireland for almost a decade. I was shocked to learn – through the experience of my children – that even high-achieving students who obtain the maximum number of Leaving Certificate points are often denied entry to their first-choice university course due to a so-called “lottery” system.
I fail to understand why CAO points are calculated based on broad grade bands with students who score 92 per cent and 98 per cent receiving the same 100 points. Why not use the actual percentage scores as points?
If the percentages from six subjects were simply added together, only those achieving 100 per cent in every subject would receive 600 points – a rare outcome.
Furthermore, the system could be improved by assigning greater weight to subjects more relevant to the chosen course of study. For instance, in applications for medicine, subjects such as biology, chemistry and physics could carry more weight. Similarly, for engineering programmes, more emphasis could be placed on mathematics and physics. This would help to ensure that students are assessed not only on overall academic achievement, but also on their aptitude in the areas most critical to their intended field.
This approach could reduce the need for random selection and better reward true merit, reducing reliance on an unfair lottery system. – Yours, etc,
EDIT TIDRENCZEL,
Drumkeen,
Co Donegal.
Sir, – I see random selection causing angst again among those who do not get their first-choice course.
Why do the courses not get allocated on the actual marks achieved rather than the broad-based grades? There is a big difference between 91 per cent and 100 per cent, not reflected in the H1.
Then it would become fully merit based and nobody could complain. – Yours, etc,
TIM SIMPSON,
Harold’s Cross,
Dublin 6.
Too much coverage
Sir, – There is too much media attention on the presidential election, a contest for a largely ceremonial role. Meanwhile, the Government’s inability to tackle crises in housing and healthcare goes underexamined.
This focus suits the Government with the spectacle distracting from their failures.
Our media and Opposition should keep the spotlight where it belongs: on housing and health. – Yours, etc,
GER McNAMARA,
Ballinacurra,
Limerick.
AI’s 70th anniversary
Sir, – There are many developments in the field of artificial intelligence that catch our attention these days. However, it is worth remembering something of its origins and Ireland’s significant connection to it.
Last Sunday (August 31st) marked the 70th anniversary of the term “artificial intelligence”. On this day in 1955 John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Nathaniel Rochester and Claude Shannon submitted “A Proposal for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence”, which was to take place the following year.
In the proposal, submitted to the Rockefeller Foundation, McCarthy and his colleagues said the project was: “to proceed on the basis of the conjecture that every aspect of learning or any other feature of intelligence can in principle be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it. An attempt will be made to find how to make machines use language, form abstractions and concepts, solve kinds of problems now reserved for humans, and improve themselves. We think that a significant advance can be made in one or more of these problems if a carefully selected group of scientists work on it together for a summer.”
McCarthy, the primary force behind this initiative, was the son of an Irish emigrant to the US. His father John Patrick came from Cromane in Co Kerry. McCarthy spent most of his academic life at Stanford University and received the ACM Turing Award in 1971 for his contributions to AI. A major international award for research excellence in AI carries his name.
Reading the Dartmouth proposal in 2025 shows the brilliance of McCarthy and his colleagues.
The topics they identified in their proposal as the main challenges in AI are still as relevant and challenging today as they were in 1955. – Yours, etc,
Prof BARRY O’SULLIVAN,
MRIA,
School of Computer Science & IT,
University College Cork.
Downsizing conundrums
Sir, – My wife and I live in a four-bedroom semidetached house. As Bob Dylan once sang: “It’s not a house, it’s a home.”
We have lived here for 46 years and our adult children also have a deep attachment to our house, which is their original home. They visit regularly, bringing our beloved grandchildren to spend time with us. Our difficulty is finding enough space, especially at Christmas and other family gatherings.
Frank Clohosey writes that “a practical way to use our housing stock more efficiently” would be to help people downsize by creating more “stand-alone one-bedroom units” (Letters, August 30th). These would need to be “high-quality, long-term rentals for older independent people in familiar surrounds”.
No thanks! – Yours, etc,
JIM HOLOHAN,
Stranorlar,
Co Donegal.
Da Vinci’s endurance
Sir, – In an age where “AI artist” is, increduously, a real job title, an apparent fascination with Leonardo da Vinci (or Rodin, Botticelli, Van Gogh and others) should be welcomed (“What does our Leonardo da Vinci obsession tell us about ourselves, in the 21st century?”, Arts, August 31st).
Audiences comprising schoolchildren, tourists, students and many others still line up to see their work.
Umberto Eco once wrote of “hyperreality”: the copy that feels more real than the original. Were he writing today, he might ask whether, in a world of instant images and infinite scroll, we are still capable of being stopped in our tracks by a work of art.
The enduring spell of such artists suggests we are. – Yours, etc,
JUSTIN DEEGAN,
Maynooth,
Co Kildare.
A little perspective?
Sir, – When I completed my Leaving Cert many years ago, I did not have the opportunity of going to college to obtain a third-level qualification (later rectified by attending UCD as a mature student). Therefore, I read with some dismay of the high-achieving student complaining that they only secured their second choice due to the lottery system for some courses (“‘Inhumane’: Student who got maximum Leaving Cert points loses course in random selection”, News, August 31st).
While the system has its faults, it can hardly be described as “sick and inhumane”. Those terms apply to the situation in Gaza. Obtaining your second choice in college does not compare.
Can we keep things in perspective please? – Yours, etc,
HELEN CUNNINGHAM,
Rathgar,
Dublin 6.
Picnic on TG4
Sir, – Letter writer Elizabeth McNulty highlights the absence of Electric Picnic coverage on RTÉ television (Letters, September 1st). She might have missed Beo ón Electric Picnic ar TG4 on Sunday night, an hour-and-a-half celebration of Ireland’s biggest musical festival. – Is mise,
DERMOT O’ROURKE,
Lucan,
Dublin.
