FORMER ARMAGH footballer Jarlath Burns expressed his disgust yesterday at an attack on his son and several other teenagers in west Donegal where they were attending an Irish college.
The 15-year-old son of the former Armagh captain and BBC commentator was one of eight students attacked by men with hurleys in the village of Loughanure.
One of the students from local college Coláiste Mhuire required stitches after being hit over the head with a hurley, while others were punched and dragged across a road.
Mr Burns, a school principal, said it was time for the people of Loughanure to decide if pupils from Northern Ireland were welcome there anymore.
“I am absolutely disgusted at what has happened. It is awkward for me because I am a teacher and I have such a love for Donegal and the Loughanure area. But I simply cannot stand by and allow this to happen again. Something just needs to be done about it.
“We are not talking about a little bit of a banter between some young fellas. These students, who are good young fellas coming to Donegal to be immersed in the Irish language, were attacked by grown men.”
Calling for dialogue between community representatives, the Garda and management from Coláiste Mhuire, he said: “We need to sit down and decide if the students from the six counties are welcome in Donegal anymore. This has been bubbling under the surface for some years now with smaller incidents.”
While he knew the mná tí and many other people in the Gaeltacht would be “outraged” by the attack, “the general community in Loughanure needs to ask itself: should we stand by and watch these young students be treated like this?”
Mr Burns said that, between fees and spending cash, the 1,000 students from Northern Ireland were worth more than £1 million to the local economy each year.
Six gardaí were called in to the normally quiet village on Wednesday following the incident to take a number of statements from students and staff at the college.
The joint principal of the college, Donal O’Neill, said the attack had come completely out of the blue. He stressed there was no question the incident would prevent the students involved from staying on for the last two weeks of their three-week course.
“They were shaken up by it, but they are in better form now and looking forward to the rest of the course. We have a very good understanding with the people of Loughanure and it is unfortunate that this group of thugs are intent on attacking our students,” he said.