Japanese Ambassador to Ireland visits Cork secondary school
The Japanese Ambassador to Ireland Maruyama Nario visited the Edmund Rice College in Carrigaline, Cork earlier this week, where he met pupils who study Japanese, school principal Adele Flynn, and Japanese teacher Gretta Daly. Pic: Dan Linehan
A Cork secondary school had a very special visitor earlier this week when the Japanese Ambassador to Ireland visited the Edmund Rice College in Carrigaline.
The Japanese Ambassador to Ireland, Mr Norio Maruyama was making his first visit to Cork since his appointment as the new ambassador. His visit to Cork also coincided with the Japanese Film Festival which ran in the Triskel Arts Centre and the Gate Cinema over the past two weeks.
Mr Maruyama’s visit to the Edmund Rice College, Carrigaline also represented the first school visit he participated in during his visit to Ireland. He has a particular interest in Japanese language education and he requested a school visit as part of his itinerary.
Sixth-year student Axel Gill made the welcome speech for Mr Maruyama on the day.
The Edmund Rice College, Carrigaline accepted their first students back in 2016. Gretta Daly who teaches Japanese in the Cork secondary school said around 20 schools nationwide teach Japanese nationwide.
"We are unusual in Cork in offering Japanese as a Leaving Certificate subject. About 20 schools across Ireland teach Japanese as a Leaving Certificate subject. I am employed by Post Primary Languages Ireland (PPLI) and seconded to the school. PPLI has a remit of diversifying, enhancing, and expanding the teaching of languages,” she said.
“We have 16 students studying LC Japanese at Edmund Rice College,” said Ms Daly. “All Transition Year students take a year-long taster course in Japanese language and culture. The reasons my students choose to take Japanese include a fascination for the culture, in particular the manga, and gaming subculture, or an interest in history, technology, cars, or martial arts."
“Some students have a flair for languages and are keen for the opportunity to study a non-European language," added Ms Daly. "The school also offers Spanish, French, and German. Last October, I took 25 Leaving Certificate students to Japan for a ten-day study tour. The group included students from Edmund Rice College and also from an extracurricular class funded by the PPLI for students from other Cork schools who want to take Leaving Cert Japanese,” she added.
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