Day of mourning - Ahern and bishops cause confusion

THE sense of confusion fomented by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s dithering over the vexed question of a day of mourning has been further compounded by the hierarchy’s failure to give schools clear direction on the issue.

While the bishops insist their primary concern was to ensure schools marked the occasion appropriately, it has been left to local managers to decide whether or not schools should remain open or be closed on Friday.

Effectively, they have both evaded grasping the nettle. By failing to come down clearly on either side of the argument, the Taoiseach and bishops have left parents, teachers and pupils in some disarray.