The Minister for Education calls for an examination of how history is taught in Irish schools.
Minister for Education Richard Burke has referred to the teaching of Irish history in schools as biased. The minister was speaking at the opening of the Anglo-Irish history course at St Patrick's Training College in Drumcondra which he hopes will provide historians with a new perspective on the past.
In the context of the conflict in Northern Ireland, he says that the problems of biased history and international misunderstanding are now a matter of life and death.
Richard Burke is advocating for a more critical, objective approach to teaching history in Irish schools. He wants a move away from romanticising Irish history which can glorify violence. It is hoped that the new course at the teacher training college will examine the bias and prejudice that can be found in textbooks.
The ideology of one particular tradition has been over emphasised.
The minister argues that the motivation for examining this bias is educational and not political.
History teaching and learning should be a vicarious, human and satisfying experience for the child.
Richard Burke says that he is not apportioning blame for bias, but rather acknowledging that it exists.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 24 July 1973. The reporter is John McAleese.
