There is now a gaelscoil operating in every county in the State. But what's behind the boom - real engagement with Irish language and culture, or old-fashioned snobbery and elitism? Louise Holdenreports

It's about snobbery and status. It's a post- Riverdancecultural zeitgeist. It's the circling of ethnic wagons in a multicultural storm. The rise and rise of gaelscoileanna - schools where learning takes place through the medium of Irish - has been attributed to some rather unlovely motivations recently.

"It's snobbery, plain and simple," the headmaster of an English-medium school in Moville, Co Donegal, whose enrolments have been decimated, was quoted as saying in a local newspaper last month.

David McWilliams, author of The Pope's Children, regards the rise of the gaelscoil as a socio-economic rather than a cultural-linguistic phenomenon. "The aim of the HiCos (Hibernian Cosmopolitans) is not to turn themselves into gaeilgeoirí but to get the best for their family," he reckons. "As with everything they do, gaelscoileanna allow them to pick the best bit from what the Hibernian menu has to offer and move on. It is an economic free lunch, spiced with the virtue of authenticity."

The gatekeepers of the gaelscoileanna have had quite enough of loose accusations against their sector and its clientele. "We've been accused of elitism for as long as I can remember," says Donaill O'Conaill, chief executive of Foras Patrúnachta, the group that now acts as patron for over 50 gaelscoileanna throughout the country. He recalls defending the movement against similar charges in the 1970s when gaelscoileanna really began to take off. "We were inclusive then and we are inclusive now. This is a grass-roots, demand-led movement and anyone who wants to be part of it is welcome."

The latest CSO figures reveal that one in 10 people in Ireland is a non-national. Predictably, this ratio is not reflected in the gaelscoileanna yet. Out of almost 27,649 students in primary Irish-medium schools in the 26 counties, only 108 do not speak English as their first language. At post-primary level, there are 40 non-English speakers in a student body of 6881. This, says Blaithnead Ní Ghréacháin of the representative body for lobby group Gaelscoileanna, is changing fast as local gaelscoileanna strive to present an open and inclusive ethos.

Donaill O'Conaill can't understand the accusation of elitism when the sector is, he says, embedded in all Irish communities and excludes nobody. "We are a body that accepts all kids from all backgrounds. We absolutely reject the suggestion that we are exclusive. We have schools in Ballymun in Dublin, South Hill in Limerick and in every county in Ireland. Not one of our schools, at primary or secondary level, is fee-paying. We accept every child, regardless of his or her cultural or social background. It's mischievous to suggest that we are cherry-picking."

However, a spirit of inclusivity is no guarantee of diversity. Clued-in, academically motivated parents are signing their children up to gaelscoileanna when they are born; those with less savvy have a slim chance of getting in the door when the waiting lists are full years in advance. According to Blaithnead Ní Ghréacháin, this is a symptom of under-resourcing in the sector, especially at post-primary level, where there is massive demand but limited availability.

"At primary level, if you can find a suitable site for a school, the Department of Education will pay 75 per cent of your rent," Ní Gréacháin explains. "However, the system is different at secondary level. It's much harder to get funding to establish a new school, and we are competing against the VECs, who have far higher levels of funding than we have. This is the biggest challenge we face as a sector. We are part of the free scheme but we are not State schools, so we don't enjoy the resources of a State school. There is massive demand for Irish-medium schools but our strategic needs are not being recognised."

But can the Department of Education really justify the ramping up of resources for gaelscoileanna and gaelcoláistí when many established State schools are struggling to stay viable? This is where the notion of parental choice really comes into play, says O'Conaill. Parents cannot be obliged to use the local State school just because there are free places there, when what they want is a gaelscoil or gaelcoláiste.

According to the Department of Education and Science, the criteria for approving new schools couldn't be clearer. "The procedures for establishing new schools are extremely fair and transparent," says a Department spokesperson. "All potential sponsors of schools, whether the patron is one of Catholic, Protestant, Muslim or Jewish faith or one such as Educate Together or the gaelscoileanna movement, are treated on an equal basis.

"Where a demand for provision of a school is clearly demonstrated, where no alternative exists, and to cater for the diversity of need, within a reasonable distance, provisional recognition is granted. Once viability is demonstrated, permanent recognition is granted and the school can then be considered for capital funding."

"Diversity of need" is the key phrase here. If a group of parents or another applicant body can prove that they have 20 students in search of an Irish-medium education and no gaelscoil within reach, then all they have to do is find a site and they have an excellent chance of getting funding.

The result is a large number of small gaelscoileanna springing up all over the country, founded and fostered by groups of highly motivated and involved parents. These are naturally attractive schooling options for other parents with a higher-than-average desire to take ownership of their children's education. Waiting lists start to accumulate and some State schools are suffering.

Blaithnaid Ní Gréacháin insists that there is no mystery to this demand. "There is an increasing awareness of the advantage of bilingualism, especially in a multicultural society," she says. "In an age of cultural diversity there is an increasing respect for our heritage. There are well-documented benefits of immersion education internationally. There is a great commitment to Irish among both the middle classes and the working classes in Ireland."

Ní Gréacháin is not blind to the allure of the league table, where gaelcoláistí have been punching above their weight. Of the 13 non-fee paying schools in the top 25 university feeder schools, six are gaelscoileanna. "Nothing succeeds like success," Ní Ghréacháin admits, "but Irish has to be the basic motivation."

One parent from south Dublin whose child has recently started in a gaelscoil made his reasoning quite clear. "We are not Irish speakers in the house but we would like our child to have the option of attending a gaelcoláiste because the academic standards are so high. We're trying to speak more Irish around the house to support our child, but sometimes it can be tough when we haven't used Irish ourselves since leaving school. We're enjoying the process, though."

South County Dublin is not a microcosm of Ireland, however, and Donaill O'Conaill wants to dispel the myth that every gaelscoil is full to bursting with McWilliams's points-hungry "HiCos" who couldn't care less about Irish.

"Look at the map of our locations. We have schools in Whitehall, Cabra, Ballymun and Ballybrack. If we have waiting lists it's because we have unresolved accommodation issues."

O'Conaill dismisses the notion that Irish-medium schools are leeching students from the State sector. "If a principal has a problem getting students to enrol in his school it's up to him to solve it. It's got nothing to do with the gaelscoileanna."