Intolerable Cruelty

January 1, 1998. Two months previously, I had turned 17. On that fateful New Year’s Day, I discovered that I was pregnant. 
 
I was petrified. What would my parents think? How was I going to tell people? What would everyone say to me? And, more worryingly, what would they whisper behind my back? Along with those feelings of sheer terror came the everyday thoughts of an ordinary 17-year-old girl. I won’t be able to go out with my friends! What will I do when it starts to show? How will I hide it from the neighbours? I won’t fit into my favourite jeans anymore! 
Luckily, my parents were very supportive. So too were the parents of the father of my child. And the majority of the staff in the secondary school I attended at the time were also very good to me. Being pregnant at such a young age is difficult enough to deal with. People look at you, they judge you and they pass comment. When I was 16 weeks pregnant, my doctor thought I had lost the baby. I was sent straight to hospital where I was coldly dismissed as a hypochondriac by an unfriendly nurse. I decided that I wanted to go private for the duration of my pregnancy to avoid being distressed like this again.
I had my son the day I was due to return to school for my final year. I was the youngest mother on the ward. I took five weeks out to recover, went back to school in October and went on to sit my Leaving Cert the following year. 
With the exception of one deeply unpleasant nun, who singled me out because of my ‘condition’, I experienced no hostility or disapproval. I was afforded the opportunity to carry on with my education and I am eternally grateful for it. That was almost 14 years ago. 
Compare my experience to what has taken place recently, at St. Joseph’s College in Borrisoleigh, Co. Tipperary. A teenage mother, who has not been named, left school to work after completing the Junior Cert. However, when it was discovered that she was pregnant, she decided to return to school and applied to St. Joseph’s. She was initially refused entry to this private school, on the grounds that she was pregnant. Following the birth of her child, she reapplied and was again refused – this time because she was a mother. In November 2010, the school wrote to the girl’s mother: “We do not take single young girls who are mothers. This is not a suitable school for such.”
 
You might argue, on the basis of the sheer clumsiness of the writing, that it is not a suitable school for anyone, but we will let that pass. 
Padraig O’Shea, the founder, patron and former principal of St. Joseph’s, who is now the school manager, was unapologetic about the stance adopted by his school, insisting that St. Joseph’s “is not a haven for young pregnant people or for young mothers.” 
Arguing that pregnancy outside marriage is against the Catholic ethos of the school, he claimed that the school’s decision is “for the greater good.” 
Where he sees “the greater good”, I see naked bigotry. And having lived through a similarly difficult time, I know just how devastating the decision to refuse her admission to the school must be for this vulnerable young girl. It is shocking that a school manager can get away with this kind of treatment of a young girl in 2012 in Ireland. But apparently he can.
It has begun to emerge now that St. Joseph’s has a track record in this regard. For example, an inspectors’ report on the school, published in 2007, pointed out in no uncertain terms that improvements to admissions policies and safety standards were necessary there. It has also come to light that a second girl was actually expelled ten years ago for becoming pregnant while attending the school.
What makes this all the more unpalatable is that the school received €275,033 in State funding during 2011, and so far this year has pocketed €120,475 of taxpayers’ money. Also highly unsavoury are reports of a tabloid knocking on doors in Borrisoleigh and neighbouring Thurles and offering up to €10,000 for information about the newly-pregnant mum.
The Children’s Ombudsman, Emily Logan, has voiced her concerns, recommending that the school apologise to the girl. But what is the point? The girl has been denied access to school – and there seems to be nothing she can do about it. 
It is an appalling indictment of the Irish educational system that a school can act in such a prejudiced and judgmental way. The fact that it is located in a small town, where the choices are hopelessly limited, makes it all the more cruel and unjust.

The issues surrounding teenage pregnancy are complex. The majority of teen mums leave formal education.
Almost inevitably, they then become dependent on social welfare. More often than not, they stay on welfare because attempting to better yourself through work or education ends up costing you more.
I know this because I lived it. I was in a constant state of apathy. I wanted to work but I had no-one to look after my son. If I worked, my rent allowance would be cut. If I paid a child minder, I’d wind up working just to pay that bill, leaving me in a worse quandary than before.
Why is there no legislation in place to protect girls like this? 
While the figure has been relatively stable over the past 30 years, it remains the case that Ireland has a higher rate of teenage pregnancies than most, if not all, of the rest of Europe. Is that a surprise? Pregnant teens here are faced with a terrible dilemma: have the baby, or travel to England to have an abortion. Leave the country you were born in to take a trip filled with fear and shame – and come back to us when the deed is done.
There is of course only one realistic answer to all of this and that is to legalise abortion. Give these girls an option. 
If that seems like I’m being negative, well, nothing could be further from the truth. It is the discriminatory policies of the likes of Padraig O’Shea that are negative.
As a one-time teenage mother, what I want to see is girls being treated with love and respect. Why not support teenage mothers instead of ostracising them? Excluding pregnant teens and teenage mothers from education breeds a welfare culture. So what’s the answer? Provide childcare! Imagine how many bright young things are lost to the world of work, productivity and opportunity due to the lack of support they receive when trying to educate themselves? 
The judgmental attitudes and exclusionary tactics from the likes of Padraig O’Shea make these vulnerable young girls feel as if they’re worth nothing. They are shamed, embarrassed and isolated in a way that crushes any hopes they may have of a better life. 
Padraig O’Shea epitomises everything that is wrong with this country when it comes to our treatment of vulnerable people. Shame on you, Mr. O’Shea. Shame on you.