11 January 2003

Book review: integrated education

In the subscription only Irish Times, biographer and critic Bernard Adams reviews 'A shared childhood: the story of the integrated schools in Northern Ireland' by Fionnuala O'Connor.

Evidently O'Connor has managed to traverse some extremely problematic territory with some alacrity:

"Brian Lambkin, once a teacher in the very first integrated school, Lagan College, states: "What we can say confidently now is that it can be done. You can educate Protestants and Catholics and others together, under the same roof, to a satisfactory level. There is no going back from that."

"Enemies, such as Sammy Wilson of the DUP and Monsignor Denis Faul, are given their say and O'Connor convincingly undermines the simplistic notion that if Catholics gave up their preference for their own schools and attended state schools all would be well."

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