ABOUT 22,000 children, between the ages of 10 and 18, attend Irish summer colleges between June and September, where they each spend about three weeks. Sixty four colleges are involved and according to Donal O Lionsigh of CONCOS, the co ordinating body for the colleges, the "industry" is worth about £7.5 million annually, with each student subsidised to the tune of £80 each from the Department of the Gaeltacht and another £23 from the Department of Education.

"Very, very few are sent home," reports O Lionsigh, and those that are only sent home as "a last resort".

Niall Kelly (13) is from Rathfarnham in Dublin. His parents decided to send him to a college on Inis Mor for three weeks last June to brush up on this Irish, they heard about Colaiste O Direain at Cill Ronain, from a friend. They booked Niall in last February and had paid his fee of £279 in full by May 1st, as required. He had been interviewed and approved for attendance at the college and his mother, Angela, had attended a two night familiarisation course last March where a brochure was produced and the college rules were explained.

On Inis Mor on his first evening, after he had met his bean a ti, Niall and the other five boys staying in the house were brought to a ceili at the college. He and another lad were caught that night speaking English. His name was taken and he was reprimanded.

The following Tuesday night he was caught speaking English again, and the next day he was caught using English in class. His parents were received a telephone call telling them that Niall was being expelled. Speaking English was "a very serious offence," they were assured, and he had to go. The remainder of his fees would be confiscated.

"Words" were exchanged (in English) and "the rules" were cited in response. So on the Thursday morning, less - than a week after he arrived, Niall was taken to Galway and put on the train for Dublin.

Three others from his group also were expelled for speaking English - Andrew Wade (13) from Ranelagh in Dublin survived a day longer than Niall Kelly, and again he was not allowed stay on, even until the following Sunday, when his parents were due to visit.

A friend of the two boys, who survived the full three weeks, told The Irish Times that "everyone spoke English at one time or another at the college, especially at the ceilis, but that the thing was not to get caught".

Sean O Flaithearta, ardmhaistir, has no doubt that such strictness is indeed in the interests of learning Irish. He estimated that six pupils (3 per cent) were expelled from the three, three week courses this college this summer - for speaking English.

It is a question of standards, he said, and the policy is that once expelled, pupils are immediately sent home. This, he insisted, "was made very clear" to all parents well in advance, as are all the rules involved. These are "clearly stated in the brochure," and "we enforce them to the best of our ability", he said.

"It is why we are successful: either you have rules or you don't."

He also said that the must compensate the bean a ti affected by the expulsion of her resident, at the rate of £3.50 a night for the remaining nights of the "offender's" course. "We do have a good school and we want to keep it that way," he said.

But Angela Kelly, Niall's mother, said the principal did not make clear in advance how strictly the college's rules were to be enforced, nor did he emphasise how strictly the rule about speaking English would be implemented.

He just spoke about instilling "a love of Irish" she said. She is at a loss to understand how this treatment of her son will encourage him or his fellow students to learn and love Irish.