Emmet Donnelly

WE NEED MORE TEACHERS LIKE THIS! BRAVO STEPHEN LYNCH! 👏💥 👏💥 👏💥 👏💥 Below is an open letter to the organisers of the TUI conference, written by Cork-based teacher Stephen Lynch. This letter was shared with Gript Media and we believe it to be in the public interest to publish it in full. Dear Sirs, Stephen Lynch, Chair of Cork C&C here, but presenting my own personal opinions. I was deeply offended, shocked, and frustrated by the running of Congress this year. It was taken over (hijacked) by the far left. For years now, I’ve been concerned with the direction the union has been going: too much focus on far-left ideology, too much involvement with political ideas (left-wing politics in particular), humanitarian issues, foreign policies, and climate activism. I am not arguing against these causes, but I pay my subs to the Teachers’ Union of Ireland for you to work to preserve, improve, and fight for the pay and conditions of teachers, here in Ireland! If members of the TUI, the Executive, and/or paid staff want to march for Palestine or be involved in climate activism, for example, they should do so on their own time, in a personal capacity. The TUI is not a political party. Back to Congress: this year, just like last year, there were many speeches and references to the rise and threat of the far right in Ireland. I too would be concerned about the rise of the far right, but what concerns me most is the stranglehold that the far left has on our union. In all my 16 years (and counting) of attending Congress, I’ve never encountered “the far right,” but I have increasingly been accosted by the far left. Last year, I was scowled at by several members of our union at the entrance to the Congress hall because I handed back a leaflet that was given to me on entering — it was the Communist Party of Ireland’s leaflet. I have no interest in communism, and it has no place at Congress. This year, I had the same experience and reaction when refusing a leaflet from a Socialist Party member, and again when I declined an invite to a special meeting in aid of Palestine. I was made to feel like an outcast and faced derision and accusatory looks. Also, last year, a member spoke from the podium about the need to rewrite our rulebook to make all pronouns gender-neutral. He received plenty of applause and support — far left again! I was offended by such a suggestion, as I believe there are only two genders, and gender-neutral pronouns offend me. This year, again, I encountered the Communist Party at Congress, the Socialist Party, and People Before Profit — all very aggressive and intimidating. There was far too much time spent on the war in Palestine and Israel during Congress this year and last year. There was a threatening air of antisemitism. Again, I am not arguing for or against either side, just highlighting that this isn’t the forum for it. Our speaker spoke at length about the plight of the left in Turkey (we even watched a video shown to us in Turkish) and about the threat of the far right. Again, I have never felt the threat of the far right at Congress, in teaching, or in Ireland. But I am constantly accosted and threatened by the far left at Congress, in teaching, and in Ireland. John spoke about how the far right are coming for us, for our children, and for our curriculum. Again, I see zero evidence of this, and I am at the frontline in school! What I do see is the far left infecting our curriculum through sex education and gender ideology, with conservative, concerned parents pushing back. That’s not the rise of the far right. The biggest joke of this year’s Congress was that we ran out of time to discuss one full section with several motions put forward by paying members: Equality. It’s so ironic that our event was hijacked by the far left at the expense of equality. It seems equality for us paying members of the TUI isn’t as important or equal to the plight of others in society and abroad!