The Life and Writings of Helen Waddell; Sod turned for Cork school’s €6.5m redevelopment; JLB Deane – Lifetime dedicated to Church of Ireland; Martin wants commission set up into Smyth cases; Quinn: I’ve been caricatured as enemy of the Catholic Church; 42,000 teachers yet to be vetted by gardaí; Horrors of human trafficking revealed; Shambles of preschool places could take two years to sort out; Northern Ireland’s £60m bill for calling up substitute teachers; Project to help jobless launched
The Life and Writings of Helen Waddell
There will be a conference on the life and writings of Helen Waddell (1889-1965).11th – 13th May, in the Humanities Postgraduate Centre, Queen’s University Belfast, 18 College Green.
Helen Waddell, who graduated from Queen’s in 1911 had a very successful career as an independent medieval scholar, writer and translator. Among her most well-known books are ‘The Wandering Scholar’ and ‘Peter Abelard’. The conference will bring together international experts to explore her writings in their literary and historical contexts. There will also be an exhibition on Helen in Queen’s McClay Library during the conference.
For more about Helen Waddell, the full conference programme and registration
Sod turned for Cork school’s €6.5m redevelopment
Examiner – One of Cork’s best known schools is to undergo a €6.5m redevelopment.
Details of the work, to be completed by Sept 2013, were announced yesterday at Ashton School on the Blackrock Road in Cork City.
The current building will be replaced with a modern, three-storey school.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/sod-turned-for-schools-65m-redevelopment-192792.html
JLB Deane – Lifetime dedicated to Church of Ireland
Irish Times – JLB Deane. Known as “the Canon from Bandon”, JLB (Barry) Deane, who has died aged 88, was chairman of the Church of Ireland Pensions Board for 15 years and played a major role in putting the scheme on a sound footing to the benefit of clergy, …
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/obituaries/2012/0505/1224315652036.html
Martin wants commission set up into Smyth cases
Irish Times – An independent commission of investigation ought to be set up to inquire into the abuse of children by Fr Brendan Smyth, the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has said. This was necessary as “the Brendan Smyth story is of such a dimension,” he said earlier today.
Where Cardinal Brady was concerned he said “I’ve never called for anybody’s resignation, I’ve never done that. Everybody has to make their own decisions.”
Asked about the censuring of Irish priests by the Vatican he believed the best way to deal with such cases was to address them first in Ireland. “I think the Theological Commission of the Irish bishops has not been carrying out its function as in other countries where this dialogue would take place as a first stage and then be resolved without it necessarily being dealt with from Rome directly,” he said. He “would have preferred that these matters be dealt with in a dialogue…in a robust dialogue within the Irish church.”
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0506/breaking14.html
Quinn: I’ve been caricatured as enemy of the Catholic Church
TheJournal.ie – The education minister said the debate around school patronage had become distorted.
http://www.thejournal.ie/quinn-ive-been-caricatured-as-enemy-of-the-catholic-church-441434-May2012/
42,000 teachers yet to be vetted by gardaí
Examiner – More than 42,000 teachers have yet to undergo Garda vetting, but plans to bridge the gap could be restricted by Government staffing restrictions on the body responsible. The Teaching Council is subject to the same recruitment ban as the public service, even though it is funded by teachers’ registration fees.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/42000-teachers-yet-to-be-vetted-by-gardai-193108.html
Horrors of human trafficking revealed
Examiner – There were 57 alleged victims of human trafficking — including 13 children — reported to gardaí in 2011. Of those, 37 were victims of sexual exploitation, 13 of labour exploitation, two were victims of both labour and sexual exploitation and five were victims of “uncategorised exploitation”. The Annual Report of Trafficking in Human Beings in Ireland was compiled by the Department of Justice’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/horrors-of-human-trafficking-revealed-192499.html
Shambles of preschool places could take two years to sort out
Belfast Telegraph – Changes in selection criteria for preschool places may not be introduced until 2014, a parental pressure group claims.
Northern Ireland’s £60m bill for calling up substitute teachers
Belfast Telegraph – The cost of supplying substitute teachers in Northern Ireland has soared to more than £60m, it can be revealed.In the last academic year (2010/11) almost £61.5m was paid out for substitute teachers —£8.6m more than 2006/07 when it cost just under £53m.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/northern-irelands-60m-bill-for-calling-up-substitute-teachers-16152413.html
Project to help jobless launched
BBC – A new project to help those who have lost their jobs or have fallen into debt in NI is being launched.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-17885919