Baptism barrier is ‘a dark stain on the national conscience’

Historian Diarmaid Ferriter has criticised the ‘baptism barrier’ in Irish national schools, calling it a dark stain on the country’s conscience.

Speaking at the congress of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) in Wexford yesterday, he strongly criticised our denominational school system.

“We still have a denominational national school system,” he said. “Not all are treated equally. In our Constitution, there is an implied support for denominational schooling.