Posted online: Jun 23rd, 2010

By Lauren Harte
reporter

The Government has been slammed for allowing a question about the work of Donegal poet Cathal Ó Searcaigh to appear on this year’s Leaving Cert exam.
Ó Searcaigh’s ‘Níl Aon Ní’ made an appearance on last week’s Irish Higher Level Paper Two.
It was the first time students were questioned about the Gortahork poet’s work since a 2008 RTÉ documentary ‘Fairytale of Kathmandu’ raised concerns about his relationships with young men in Nepal.
The controversial documentary by Donegal film-maker Neasa Ni Chianain portrayed his relationship with Nepalese teenage boys. Ó Searcaigh admitted that he has sex with teenage boys and young men during his frequent visits to the Asian country.
At the time, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) decided that his work should remain on the syllabus despite the controversy. Members argued that the private life of any artist should not be a factor in assessing suitability for inclusion in exam texts.
John Kelly of the Survivors of Child Abuse (SOCA) is due to meet representatives of the Department of Education in Dublin on Thursday. He told the Donegal Post that he will be seeking assurances that Ó Searcaigh’s work doesn’t appear on Leaving Cert papers again.
“I don’t think the Department of Education should use Mr Ó Searchaigh as a role model for children. He believes that it is appropriate to have sex with young people when it’s totally inappropriate. This is an example of the Department’s laziness and they really need to focus in future on who they pick for any part of the curriculum. There are plenty of other poets they could have used in the exam.
He added: “I’m afraid that children, who are impressionable, will be taken in by this man’s views and look up to him. Children can be easily influenced and that’s where the Department have really slipped up. I will be seeking assurances from them that his work doesn’t appear in the Leaving Cert again.”