[lg policy] Ireland: Irish speaking barman leaves job after being told ‘not to speak’ Irish

[Harold Schiffman]

 Irish speaking barman leaves job after being told ‘not to speak’Email App


An Irish speaker from Co Kerry has left his job as a barman in a well-known
Cork
<http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_location=Cork&article=true>
city pub after the owner told him that he did not want him speaking Irish
on the premises.

Cormac Ó Bruic, from an Fheothanach in Corca Dhuibhne, said he left his job
at The Flying
<http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_company=Flying&article=true>
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.

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.

A statement published on the pub’s Facebook
<http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_company=Facebook&article=true>
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.”

The statement said management at the pub were surprised by the comments
attributed to its former employee in the media.

“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.”

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.”

   - Speaking Irish in New Zealand, to my Maori-Irish son
   <http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/generation-emigration/speaking-irish-in-new-zealand-to-my-maori-irish-son-1.2785638>

No ‘prior difficulties’

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 *The Irish Times* he had not had any prior difficulties with
the owner.
ADVERTISEMENT

“He respected me and I respected him. We were very friendly.”

The Kerry native said he was asked by the owner’s wife on August the 4th to
stop speaking Irish while working.

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’”.

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.

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.

This letter stated that the The Flying Enterprise
<http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_location=The%20Flying%20Enterprise&article=true>
was “an English speaking business” and that there had been complaints from
customers who felt “uncomfortable” with him speaking Irish, Mr Ó Bruic
said.

Mr Ó Bruic said he was unaware of a language policy in the pub.

“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.
Protest

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.

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.”

*The Irish Times* has made a number of attempts to contact Mr O’Shea.

Mr Ó Bruic first discussed his departure from the pub on Thursday’s *An
Saol Ó Dheas* on RTÉ
<http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=RT%C3%89&article=true>
Raidió na Gaeltachta.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/irish-speaking-barman-leaves-job-after-being-told-not-to-speak-irish-1.2785633


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