Ms Zoe Fleming:

I agree. It is all about the inclusivity and being able to have those resources there for people, because when it comes to my music it just fell into my lap. I managed to become friends with someone on my road and they knew about it and they decided they did not want to do it so they gave it to me. I went up and it was right around the corner from me. It is run out of a school. It is the Finglas concert and marching band if people want to have a look. We are great. It was right around the corner from me and I had no idea. We went up and I have been there since. I have never stopped and I do not intend to but it is all about having those resources there for people. Had I had something like that for ISL or if I had a friend younger who was dealing with that I would have learned a lot quicker and would have had more of an interest in it.

When it comes to the curriculum and that kind of stuff, even if it was put in as a little activity or a class in primary school it would build up a lot more talk about it and a lot more interest. My little cousin is so interested in Japanese. I do not know where she got it from but she is so interested and she was talking about it. My school does it after school. She said my school does not do it and I told her it does, but it does not start until leaving certificate. She is still in primary school and she will have to wait, so I have her doing Duolingo and that kind of stuff and she is learning on her own. It is about having those things accessible to people. Even with the Irish language, I feel like the way that is taught is ridiculous. It is not taught the way it should be at all and I have taken on trying to learn it. My friend went to an Irish school and she is completely fluent, so any time I see her I try my best to just talk. I do not like the way it is taught. It should not be taught the way it is.

The way it is taught is like "Here is a poem, learn it off and say it back to me" whereas I feel it should be more spoken. It is the same with ISL, music and all that kind of stuff. It should be more talked about and more put into our curriculum. When it comes to the Irish culture it is not present enough in our lives, particularly when it comes to inclusivity. I will continue to mention ISL. It needs to be available for more people to be able to learn. If people do not want to learn, that is okay but for those who want to learn and would love to be able to, to include all of them is so fundamental.