Hanafin urged to issue book on Collins

EDUCATION Minister Mary Hanafin is being urged to issue books about Michael Collins and James Connolly to schools to make up for the Government’s distribution of Eamon de Valera biographies to students.

Ms Hanafin was accused of trying to “politicise history” after it emerged her department had sent copies of Judging Dev, historian Diarmaid Ferriter’s favourable study of the Fianna Fáil founder, to 720 secondary schools nationwide.

In all, 2,000 copies of the biography were distributed at a cost to the taxpayer of €35,925.