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THE VICTIMS OF “one of the darkest chapters” in Ireland’s history are to have a memorial erected in their names as a formal recognition of their suffering by the State.
Minister Ruairí Quinn unveiled the design of the €500,000 project at a press conference yesterday. The Journal of Light memorial will be erected next to the Garden of Remembrance in Parnell Square in Dublin over the next two years.
The design by Studo Negri and Hennessy & Associates was announced as the winning entry of a competition to provide the memorial to victims of institutional abuse as recommended in the Ryan Report.
Quinn said that he believes Journey of Light will “act as a testimony to one of the darkest chapters in our State’s history and what we collectively as a society allowed to happen to vulnerable children”.
I hope it will serve as a constant reminder that we must never let such horrendous crimes against children happen again and we must strive to protect all of our children.
The Ryan Report also noted the importance of the State’s formal recognition of the abuse and suffering being preserved in a permanent place.
The State apology to victims will be inscribed in English and Irish at a child’s level on the walls and in Braille on a bronze plaque at the base of a water feature.
The monument will also include a lighted walkway and trees. The architects said their proposed design reinforces the importance of State vigilance in protecting its most fragile members. They were clear that it was not an attempt to “find closure” following the revelations of child sex abuse in Ireland.
The design hopes to create a “fluid progression between the Garden of Remembrance, which commemorates those who died for the cause of Irish freedom, with a memorial dedicated to the young victims of abuse”.
Junior Minister Brian Hayes with Ruairí Quinn at the press conference yesterday.
Speaking at the press conference yesterday, Minister Quinn said he was not satisfied with the lack of co-operation from religious congregations in providing redress costs for survivors.
The Irish Times reports that he called their progress so far as “very slow” given that only one of the 18 had accepted the Ryan Report recommendation of a 50:50 contribution.
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The Dept of education doesn’t have the imagination, ambition nor incentive to change. The issues are perennially ignored for as long as I can remember.
@Jules: you’d have to reform the slow moving government first
@Gerard Heery: while that’s definitely necessary just doing so for the Dept would lead to the desired though narrow results
The education system in Ireland is in fact something that works. Look at PISA. We never seem to want to copy what the more successful countries on PISA – the Asian countries – who are exam orientated. Instead as usual we want to copy the left ideology of the increasingly failed state that is the US.
I have no idea what “embed diversity” means although it might be curtains for teaching Irish poetry and history.
As for critical thinking, the only way to critically think about science or medicine is up learn the science. To know the facts. Often to have a degree Teaching people to “critically think” without facts leads to anti vaxxers and conspiracists.
And ending exams will only entrench privilege.
@john smith iv: our education is good considering the chronic underinvestment but there are still a myriad of obvious ways in which to improve.
PISA is not the only measure of success and Asian educational models should be avoided at all cost.
We aren’t trying to copy the USA in terms of education system but we must always be open to good ideas regardless of where they come from.
Education doesn’t lead to anti-vaxxers or conspiracy theorists, that would be the lack of it.
Agree re exams but they should be the be all and end all either. A balance can be achieved while still being meritocratic.
Gonna leave your “failed state” nonsense alone.
@Graham Manning: I said ideas of “critical thinking” leads to conspiracy theories. The only people who can really discuss climate change and vaccination etc would be educated in science and statistics. Yet, this piece didn’t really mention science or STEM but “philosophical studies” which at best are woolly and at worst are just another form of indoctrination, depending on the philosophy.
It does reference the US public school system though, which may be secular but isn’t very good. A certain kind of Irish person can only see the world through a American lens.
Many teachers I have spoken to feel the combine accreditation and exam process is the fairer solution. Some kids just don’t do well at exam time. The biggest problem would be how to get ‘fair’ accreditation….we can see the problems caused this year and the impact on CAO points.
@CarlAnne Greene: removing the bell curve would be a start.
@Graham Manning: totally agree
There has never been a better time for Educational reform. The general consensus is that the Leaving Cert is outdated and not fit for purpose and the CAO system is broken.
There’s no fairness in a system where a student can achieve a perfect Leaving Cert and subsequently fails to be offered their first choice course because of random selection.
Sick to death of these highly politicised ideologically driven articles on the journal. Not a news site but a propaganda site. Time to delete the app.
@Ken Hickey: this isn’t the airport mate, you don’t need to announce your departure.
@Ken Hickey: But not wrong perhaps….not just the journal though many media outlets just lazy and trot out the propaganda they are fed imo
While I broadly agree it’s the amount of “broadness” and vague statements that’s the issue with this. Specifics and how to achieve them rather than generalities would be far more helpful.
I’d also cite the paucity of AEN supports as an enormous issue.
All comes down to cash and we invest the least percentage of GDP in EU on Education. The biggest improvement we could make??? Bring that up to at least the average or, shock horror, strive for more than just average.
This seems quite populist, a bit like talking about the cost of uniforms in late August…the education system is constantly reforming…the COVID system for me for LC was not a good one…assessment by the student’s own teachers was not a success: would have been better to have schools anonymous sharing corrections or something: but that would have cost more perhaps.
@Spartacus Ireland: that’s essentially the usual system just less centrally organised.
Reciting in exams what you’ve retained doesn’t make you intelligent if you don’t understand it
@Paul: which specific exams does this happen in?
I dont think that anyone will argue that we have a bad education system but I absolutely believe there is lots of room for evolution and improvement. For example, why not reduce secondary school by 2 years and introduce 2 years of interim micro and macro courses that help guide students to their most suited route through college, university or otherwise? Its also a great way to gain valuable credentials in the meantime and lines up nicely with the world of Continuous Professional Development in business.
Perhaps the four goals of education need revisiting. 1. Education is for personal development 2.Education is for socialisation. 3 Education is to facilitate career choice. 4 Education is to provide workers for the Irish economy. Before you simplistically throw out the complex interaction that is Irish Education you should present your philosophy of the person?
Does anyone remember the sheer hell of changes to the Junior Cert? And the resistance that met every single proposed change?
@Jules:
Just look at what happened in 2020 and 2021 when enforced changes were required during the pandemic.
Lobbying on all sides, teachers seeking legal indemnity, resistance from unions and more..
The pressure brought on the department led to an inflation of grades in these years and I believe this has discredited the leaving cert entirely.
Educational standards should be comparable over time, even if the methods change. This clearly isnt deliverable in Ireland
have your say