Statement from Nigel Kells, Press Officer for South Antrim TUV:

“The promotion of Irish medium schools under a Sinn Fein/IRA Minister understandably concerns many Unionists in the Mid Ulster area.

“It is undeniable that there is a direct link between the Irish language and Republicanism. Consider Patrick Pearse, the commander in chief of the Republican forces during the Easter Rising. Pearse was not just a rebel leader but an educationalist.  He started his own school where pupils were taught through the medium of Irish. Here is what he once had to say about the language:
"When the position of Ireland's language as her greatest heritage is once fixed, all other matters will insensibly adjust themselves. As it develops, and because it develops, it will carry all kindred movements with it. When Ireland's language is established, her own distinct culture is assured.”

“Pearse the teacher saw the medium of Irish as a means to other “kindred movements” such as his Republicanism.

“And don’t let anyone tell you that Republicans have changed today. Items idolizing Patrick Pearse and the other leaders of the Easter Rising are still on sale on the Sinn Fein website today.

“Consider also the words of Sinn Fein’s Danny Morrison who once observed that every word spoken in Irish is “another bullet in the freedom struggle”.

“Small wonder that Unionists see the deliberate promotion of Irish through the education system therefore as a direct attack upon the British identity of Northern Ireland.

“The creation of yet more Irish medium schools is not about the right to speak or not speak Irish. Indeed if it were then they would give the children the right to choose to learn Irish when they can make the decision for themselves. This is about keeping a section of the community open to Republican propaganda and available for their own political gain. We owe it to our children to pass them a better country than we received and that is why we must oppose Sinn Fein’s apartheid plans for education.”