UCC head should retract or resign

THE comments by the UCC president did nothing to enhance the institution’s five-star status.

As someone who progressed through schools (and indeed the university) located in a disadvantaged area, I don’t believe I held anyone back.

There are surgeons, judges, clerics, teachers and many other professionals all over the world whose primary and secondary education was received in DEIS type schools. Mr Murphy’s recent comments represented an attack on all of them and he must either retract and apologise, or resign. I would like to know what the excellent UCC Plus access team in UCC thinks of these comments. As someone who works with the School Completion Programme which aims to keep young people in DEIS areas in education — and who sees the obstacles to further education in disadvantaged areas of the city every day — I was appalled at the remarks.