Parents in a north Kerry community were left furious
this week after a priest suggested a group of young primary children
were “too old” to believe in Santa Claus, and implied that the man in
red does not exist.
Retired priest Fr Martin Hegarty was visiting
Scoil Mhuire gan Smal in Lixnaw last Thursday to talk about the birth
of Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas when what a relative of one
upset child described as an “awful mess-up” occurred.
As children from 4th, 5th and 6th classes sat and listened, a conversation began about Santa Claus.
During that exchange with the children, Fr Hegarty implied that Santa Claus did not really exist, and that the children were too old to believe in him.
But a number of the younger children, seated at the back of the classroom, became upset, and the matter was subsequently raised with teachers and the children’s parents.
The incident has caused upset among a number of children who have since been spoken to at home by their parents about Santa Claus.
A board of management meeting was scheduled for last night and it was expected that Fr Hegarty’s remarks would be discussed.
One man told Kerry’s Eye this week how his 11-year-old niece was clearly upset and left “bawling and crying” by what she had heard.
“What one child knows is different to what another child knows. I know one fella who was still talking about Santa Claus when he was in first year in secondary school. Parents have had to tell their kids afterwards that the priest was making it all up. It’s an awful mess up.”
Fr Hegarty - who is filling in for Fr Mossie Brick in Lixnaw - played down the incident this week and said that “no harm was intended”.
He said that he was subsequently made aware that at least one child was upset by his comments, adding that he was “surprised that same child was crying about Santa, because she comes from a fairly genuine family”.
“I didn’t even know they were upset. A sizeable number of 6th class children had raised their hands to say they’d given up on Santy two years ago,” he said.
“According to the statisticians, Irish kids get more presents at Christmas than their European counterparts. So they needn’t worry, the presents will come, whether Santy comes or not.”
The incident has been a talking point around Lixnaw in recent days, but a number of parents and members of the parents’ association were reluctant to be drawn into the controversy.
As children from 4th, 5th and 6th classes sat and listened, a conversation began about Santa Claus.
During that exchange with the children, Fr Hegarty implied that Santa Claus did not really exist, and that the children were too old to believe in him.
But a number of the younger children, seated at the back of the classroom, became upset, and the matter was subsequently raised with teachers and the children’s parents.
The incident has caused upset among a number of children who have since been spoken to at home by their parents about Santa Claus.
A board of management meeting was scheduled for last night and it was expected that Fr Hegarty’s remarks would be discussed.
One man told Kerry’s Eye this week how his 11-year-old niece was clearly upset and left “bawling and crying” by what she had heard.
“What one child knows is different to what another child knows. I know one fella who was still talking about Santa Claus when he was in first year in secondary school. Parents have had to tell their kids afterwards that the priest was making it all up. It’s an awful mess up.”
Fr Hegarty - who is filling in for Fr Mossie Brick in Lixnaw - played down the incident this week and said that “no harm was intended”.
He said that he was subsequently made aware that at least one child was upset by his comments, adding that he was “surprised that same child was crying about Santa, because she comes from a fairly genuine family”.
“I didn’t even know they were upset. A sizeable number of 6th class children had raised their hands to say they’d given up on Santy two years ago,” he said.
“According to the statisticians, Irish kids get more presents at Christmas than their European counterparts. So they needn’t worry, the presents will come, whether Santy comes or not.”
The incident has been a talking point around Lixnaw in recent days, but a number of parents and members of the parents’ association were reluctant to be drawn into the controversy.