Joan Freeman (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry I missed the presentations. I have a summary, however, and they look fascinating. Senator Frances Black said she and I had both attended the same school, but I did not attend St. Louis until I was aged 12 years as I had been living in England. Because of that I was not allowed to learn Irish and the only piece I have is the national anthem which we sang every single day, of which I am desperately proud. Mr. Daly believes it should be made compulsory in primary schools and he is absolutely right. Has anybody started that process? I agree with what Mr. Ring said about the Department of the Taoiseach and the text on its website should be changed immediately. However, I wonder if we should go one step further and sing the national anthem at the start of every sitting day, starting next September. As leaders of the country, surely we should lead the way in that respect. What are the opinions of the delegates on that matter?

I compliment Senator Mark Daly for highlighting this issue. Until he highlighted it, I did not realise how poor we had become in expressing pride in the national anthem.