Irish denominations will train teachers together

Catholic and Protestant teachers will train alongside each other in a new institute announced by the Irish Govern­ment last week.

The Institute of Education will replace the Catholic St Patrick’s College and Mater Dei Institute as well as the Church of Ireland College of Education, and operate under Dublin City University.

The move was announced by the Minister for Education, Ruairi Quinn last week in a document on educating Irish children.

Speaking at the launch the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin said the new institute reflected something of how the future of education in Ireland is progressing and how people wish it to progress in a pluralist society. “Pluralism should not produce negative rivalry or antagonism or give rise to elitism or social division, or a culture which seeks to maintain positions based on ­narrow ideologies,” he said.

The multidenominational institute will train teachers for the Catholic Church, Church of Ireland and other Christian trad­itions and will provide ongoing development for teachers.

The move has not been welcomed by all, with Dr Ciarán Ó Coigligh, at St Patrick’s, saying it was giving in to those with “a ­secularist agenda”. He said: “This is a blatant contradiction of the essence of Christian education which requires that the denominational ethos permeates the whole teaching and learning experience.”