Hanafin admits poet’s work on syllabus could cause difficulty

EDUCATION Minister Mary Hanafin has admitted the inclusion of poetry by Cathal Ó Searcaigh on the Leaving Cert syllabus could cause “difficulty”.

Her comments raise the possibility that the poet’s work could be removed from the syllabus as aresult of the recent controversy surrounding him.

The Donegal poet has rejected suggestions in a documentary, Fairytale of Kathmandu, that he sexually exploited teenage boys in Nepal.

The documentary reveals the poet had been sexually intimate with boys aged 16 and older, whose education Mr Ó Searcaigh had been supporting. The legal age of consent in Nepal is 16.

In the Dáil yesterday, Fine Gael education spokesman Brian Hayes asked Ms Hanafin about the appropriateness of Mr Ó Searcaigh’s work remaining on the syllabus.

Mr Hayes said one educator had commented to him that if a teacher or principal found themselves in similar circumstances, they would not be left in place.

In response, Ms Hanafin said the merit of Mr Ó Searcaigh’s poetry was not at issue because it was recognised internationally.

But she added it was not just the poetry itself which students had to discuss in their exams.

“Students must answer one question about the poet, which could cause difficulty,” admitted Ms Hanafin.

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment advises the minister’s department about the material suitable for Junior and Leaving Certificate examinations.

Mr Ó Searcaigh’s work is on the syllabus for 2008 and 2009, and it would be “unfair” to remove them at this stage given students might have “already done considerable work on them”, said Ms Hanafin.

However, she said the curriculum council would be advising her department on texts for 2010 and beyond, and as a former teacher, she could “understand the case could prove difficult for teachers”.

She added: “I hope and believe the [council] will take all these issues on board, including the merit of the literature, the teaching of it and the circumstances that would arise in a classroom.”

The minister said she was “quite shocked and appalled” at what she had read in the newspapers about the matter.

Meanwhile, Mr Ó Searcaigh issued a statement in which he rejected suggestions he had “preyed” on the teenagers.

“If my gay lifestyle and relationships in Nepal has [sic] offended anyone, I am sorry,” he said. “But to suggest that I in any way coerced or preyed upon these young men is untrue and distasteful. My relationships in Nepal have always been open and loving and above board.”

Mr Ó Searcaigh said he had performed much charity work in Nepal over the past 13 years. However, he said he had decided to establish a trust to administer “whatever funds I am capable of providing in the future”.

“This will allow the work I have started in Nepal to continue and afford me the privilege of regaining some semblance of a private life,” he said.