Irish In British Schools

Sir, - It was a very generous gesture by the British Education Minister David Blunkett to make the Irish language an approved language in British schools. I feel Mr Blunkett's gesture will go a long way towards fostering good relations between the two islands. However, I was very disappointed by the way RTE television covered this event. Its reporter seemed to think it wasn't realistic to expect that British pupils would want to learn Irish.

When the study of the Irish language was introduced in Charles University, Prague, there were 30 applicants for 18 places. - Yours, etc.,

Anna R. Quinn,

Hyde Park Avenue,

Blackrock,

Co Dublin.