'It's not fair and it's not right. All I want for my son is what any mother wants' [IrishTimes]
- Published: 26 July 2011
THE MOTHER of the Traveller boy at the centre of yesterday’s court case expressed her disappointment at the court’s decision and said she will go to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary to vindicate her son’s right to be educated in his home town.
Mary Stokes said she felt “very let down by the judge and the court and the whole education system” after Judge Tom Teehan set aside a ruling by the Equality Tribunal that her son, John, had been the victim of indirect discrimination by Christian Brothers High School in Clonmel. “I’m devastated, to be honest, but I’m not going to leave it at this – I’m going to appeal it. All I want for my son is what any mother wants, the best education they can get. He’s a bright enthusiastic boy who’s willing to learn and all we seem to meet are obstacle after obstacle.”
With no place in the school, John must catch a bus at 7.30am to travel the 10 miles to Fethard, and doesn’t get home until 5.30pm each day, with the transport costing the family some €30 a week, she said. “It’s not fair and it’s not right – we’re Travellers and proud to be Travellers but we want to be treated as equals with everyone else,” said Ms Stokes, a mother of seven who, along with her husband, has been living in Clonmel for 16 years.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
