Lord Mayor defends tradition of giving schools half-day for visit

CORK’S Lord Mayor defended the city’s tradition of giving pupils a half-day from school as he began five weeks of school visits yesterday.

Councillor Seán Martin said the 84-year-old tradition, which commemorates the sacrifice of former Lord Mayors Terence McSwiney and Tomás MacCurtain, should be upheld.

Cork is the only city in the country to honour the first citizen’s school visits with a half-day.

“There is enough leeway in the school year. School principals have built the half-day into the school year,” Mr Martin said.

“In modern Ireland, we should not throw out traditions. I think we should tread more softly on traditions such as this.”

Controversy erupted last year when Education Minister Noel Dempsey issued a directive to all schools insisting they maintain the integrity of the school year.

He said secondary schools must provide pupils with 167 full days of education per year and 183 full days for primary schools. School principals had no discretion on the issue, he said. This would effectively have ended the Cork Lord Mayor’s half-day for schools.

The then Lord Mayor, Cllr Colm Burke, and a number of school principals, defied the directive and granted half-days. They later secured a compromise from the Minister. Mr Martin began this year’s schools visits yesterday at Scoil Mhuire senior and junior schools.

Senior school principal, Regina Moran, said her pupils would celebrate his visit with a half-day today.

She also defended the tradition, insisting it would happen within the provisions laid down by the Department.

“It is a way of recognising his [the Lord Mayor’s] position. He is the first citizen of the city,” she said.

“We will accommodate everything into our work plan, while maintaining the integrity of the school year,” she said.