SINGING the national anthem ‘Amhrán Na bhFiann’ is up to the discretion of each school’s board of management, a meeting heard, writes Kieran O’Mahony.

Cllr Peter O’Donoghue (Aon) raised a motion at a council meeting calling on the Minister for Education to make teaching and singing the national anthem a compulsory element of the curriculum in primary and secondary schools.

‘Other countries make it mandatory and the children know their national anthem off by heart but I can’t say the same about here. It’s a failure of the Irish State that people are not learning it,’ he said.

Cllr Ben Dalton O’Sullivan (Ind) seconded the motion and recalled a time when Amhrán Na bhFiann’ was played on RTÉ every night. Cllr Gearóid Murphy (FF) said he supported the general thrust of the motion and that it is a very good idea to foster civic pride. He said he wasn’t sure if this would fit in with secondary schools but would be very suited towards primary schools.

Cllr Eoghan Fahy (SF) agreed that the national anthem should be promoted in primary schools and said his party raised this in the Dáil last month.

‘The Minister came back to say that it’s up to each individual school,’ he said.

Cllr Daniel Sexton (Ind Ire) said it should be promoted in all primary schools.