Madam, - Exactly a week after your Education pages of March 24th lamented the fact that "male primary teachers face extinction by the year 2035" we are reminded that the late John McGahern was sacked from his post as a primary school teacher. He lost his job because he was marrying a divorced woman and the fact that his book The Dark (1965) was banned didn't help his case.
Although we cannot look at history through modern spectacles, we can however learn from our mistakes. John McGahern's insight into our national psyche was as unique as it was balanced. We need more McGaherns in the teaching profession in an Ireland where the presence of male teachers is ever diminishing. The reasons are many, but this is not the time to muse over this alarming statistic. Immediate action is needed. - Yours, etc,
BRENDA MORGAN, Asgard Park, Howth, Co Dublin.