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<h1>Irish speaking barman leaves job after being told ‘not to speak’<a style="background-color:rgb(88,88,88);border-radius:0%" class="gmail-at-icon-wrapper gmail-at-share-btn gmail-at-svc-mailto" tabindex="1"><span class="gmail-at4-visually-hidden">Email App</span><span style="line-height:32px;height:32px;width:32px" class="gmail-at-icon-wrapper"></span></a></h1><div class="gmail-shareTools" id="gmail-share_gutter">
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<p class="gmail-no_name">An Irish speaker from Co Kerry has left his job as a barman in a well-known <a class="gmail-search" href="http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_location=Cork&article=true">Cork</a> city pub after the owner told him that he did not want him speaking Irish on the premises. </p>
<p class="gmail-no_name">Cormac Ó Bruic, from an Fheothanach in Corca Dhuibhne, said he left his job at The <a class="gmail-search" href="http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_company=Flying&article=true">Flying</a>
Enterprise following a disagreement with owner Finbarr O’Shea. He said
he was told he could not speak Irish in the bar which is located near
the South Gate Bridge in the city. </p>
<p class="gmail-no_name">Mr O’Shea allegedly told Mr Ó Bruic he had received
complaints from customers and his pub was an “an English speaking
business” and he had no permission to speak Irish in the pub.</p>
<p class="gmail-no_name">A statement published on the pub’s <a class="gmail-search" href="http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_company=Facebook&article=true">Facebook</a>
page on Friday said: “We wish to clarify that Cormac was not fired or
dismissed nor did we intend to fire or dismiss Cormac in this regard.
However while Cormac did initially engage with the HR process he decided
to leave before the process was concluded.”</p>
<p class="gmail-no_name">The statement said management at the pub were surprised by the comments attributed to its former employee in the media.</p>
<p class="gmail-no_name">“We currently employ up to seventy people and of them
there are six different nationalities who all speak their native
language. They respect that while at work the most sensible and
practical language to speak is English.”</p>
<p class="gmail-no_name">The statement said it was a HR issue and that it
would be “unfair to Cormac if we were to discuss an internal HR matter
publicly.”</p>
<aside class="gmail-related-articles--instream gmail-has-3">
<ul><li class="gmail-internal"><a class="gmail-gtm-event" href="http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/generation-emigration/speaking-irish-in-new-zealand-to-my-maori-irish-son-1.2785638">
<span class="gmail-instream-headline">Speaking Irish in New Zealand, to my Maori-Irish son</span>
</a></li></ul>
</aside>
<h4 class="gmail-crosshead">No ‘prior difficulties’</h4>
<p class="gmail-no_name">Mr Ó Bruic (23), whose first language is Irish, said
he had supervised up to 12 staff and was entrusted with the keys to the
premises while working there. He told <em>The Irish Times</em> he had not had any prior difficulties with the owner.</p>
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<p class="gmail-no_name">“He respected me and I respected him. We were very friendly.”</p>
<p class="gmail-no_name">The Kerry native said he was asked by the owner’s wife on August the 4th to stop speaking Irish while working. </p>
<p class="gmail-no_name">The following day, Mr Ó Bruic said he met the owner
and “I thought he was going to apologise. Instead he said ‘it is
forbidden to speak Irish in my establishment’”.</p>
<p class="gmail-no_name">According to Mr Ó Bruic, he was too upset to work
that night and asked for a week to think about whether he should be
included in the following week’s roster. </p>
<p class="gmail-no_name">Mr Ó Bruic said he was subsequently informed in a letter from Mr O’Shea on August 11th that he was being given his P45.</p>
<p class="gmail-no_name">This letter stated that the <a class="gmail-search" href="http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_location=The%20Flying%20Enterprise&article=true">The Flying Enterprise</a>
was “an English speaking business” and that there had been complaints
from customers who felt “uncomfortable” with him speaking Irish, Mr Ó
Bruic said. </p>
<p class="gmail-no_name">Mr Ó Bruic said he was unaware of a language policy in the pub. </p>
<p class="gmail-no_name">“If there was a language code, I would not have
signed it. If there was a section that said I could not speak Irish, I
would never have signed,” he said.</p>
<h4 class="gmail-crosshead">Protest</h4>
<p class="gmail-no_name">The story has sparked an online debate with many
posting critical comments on the bar’s Facebook page. A protest,
organised by activist group Misneach, took place at 2pm outside the bar.
</p>
<p class="gmail-no_name">Misneach Cork’s spokesperson Lar Ó Tuama said “Irish
is the national language of Ireland and it is the right of every citizen
to use it if and when they please.” </p>
<p class="gmail-no_name"><em>The Irish Times</em> has made a number of attempts to contact Mr O’Shea.</p>
<p class="gmail-no_name">Mr Ó Bruic first discussed his departure from the pub on Thursday’s <em>An Saol Ó Dheas</em> on <a class="gmail-search" href="http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=RT%C3%89&article=true">RTÉ</a> Raidió na Gaeltachta. </p><p class="gmail-no_name"><a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/irish-speaking-barman-leaves-job-after-being-told-not-to-speak-irish-1.2785633">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/irish-speaking-barman-leaves-job-after-being-told-not-to-speak-irish-1.2785633</a><br></p><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
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