Father of the bride speech to get better reception
However, Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe will be hoping his speech at his daughter Patrice’s marriage celebration this afternoon will receive a better response than his speeches at the various teacher conferences.
At least today he can be fairly assured the guests won’t get up and walk out or barrack his every word such as he has faced in the past few days as teachers finally got a chance to address the mistakes he has made in his short tenure in the office.
Mr O’Keeffe has angered swathes of the education sector with his announcements of education cutbacks and failures to reassure teachers over their falling pay packets. Asking them to bear the pain for the sake of Irish children’s future only seemed to stoke the fury.
After what has been a nightmarish week for the minister, he can at last relax and look forward to welcoming Patrice’s fiancé Eoin Cahill into the O’Keeffe family.
The wedding, in Ballincollig, near Cork city, will be followed by a reception in Inchydoney, west Cork.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen, a close friend of the minister, is expected to pay a visit to the reception as he keeps a series of engagements around Cork today.
