STUDENTS ATTENDING the country’s biggest Irish-language summer college in the Donegal Gaeltacht are to get escorts home from céilís and discos after an incident in which a number were attacked with hurleys last year.
A meeting between gardaí, college authorities, public representatives and mná na tithe was held at the weekend to discuss measures aimed at stopping a repeat of last year’s attack.
The incident, in which a number of students from Northern Ireland were attacked by older locals from Loughanure in Co Donegal, put a serious question over this year’s courses.
Former Armagh footballer, school teacher and BBC football pundit Jarlath Burns, whose 15-year-old son was struck with a hurley stuck and needed hospital treatment, asked afterwards whether people in Donegal really wanted visitors from Northern Ireland or not.
Other students from the group were punched and kicked and one was dragged across a road.
Earlier this week, letters were sent to mná na tithe of Coláiste Mhuire in Loughanure asking them to attend the meeting at which the health and safety of students coming into the area for Easter week and the summer months would be discussed.
The media were not allowed into the meeting and nobody from Coláiste Mhuire would speak about the meeting afterwards.
A number of decisions were made in an effort to ensure students can continue to come to the college in safety. These include an agreement that a man or woman aged 18 or over from each house where students stay accompany them from céilís and discos back to their accommodation.
Students have been prohibited from taking pictures in the homes where they are staying. Meanwhile, a special emphasis has also been placed on road safety.
Last year’s vicious attack does not appear to have had an impact on the numbers of students, with all three courses at Coláiste Mhuire already booked out this summer.
More than 100 pupils are about to start a week-long Easter revision course.
A source at Coláiste Mhuire admitted some “tough talking” had taken place after last year’s incident, but said it was all for the betterment of the college.
“What happened last year was a disgrace and it must never be allowed to happen again. Parents were concerned, and that was very understandable.
“However, the vast majority of people in Loughanure love to see the students coming. These measures simply had to be put in place to make sure nothing else like this happens again,” the source said.
It is estimated more than 1,000 visitors come to the Loughanure area each year between students and families, generating almost €1 million for the local economy.
Michaela Harte, the daughter of Tyrone GAA boss Mickey Harte who was killed on honeymoon in January, was one of the many teachers involved in the Donegal college.