Making education more secular: Patronage a relic of an old dominance

THE divisive issue of school patronage is unlikely to lead to riots on the streets anytime soon but it is, nevertheless, symbolic of the friction generated when Ireland’s tectonic plates collide. 

It may be a tad simplistic to suggest this issue represents a rearguard action by an older, conservative Ireland confronted by the new, rainbow Ireland, one unhappy with principles of triumphalist segregation accepted by our great-grandparents in another time. That description is, in the most general terms at least, pretty accurate, though.

Some 96% of this Republic’s primary schools remain under religious patronage — control — and about 90% of those are under the patronage of the Catholic church. Not even the most ardent Catholic advocate could argue that 90% of the population remain active, committed Catholics today. The real ratio may not be even half that 90% figure.