The barman at the centre of a dispute with a Cork pub over his right to speak Irish at work has spoken about the reaction to the story.
Cormac Ó Bruic has spoken about the reaction to news that he left his job as a Cork barman because his boss objected to him speaking his native Irish language while working.
Ó Bruic, 24, left The Flying Enterprise having worked their for eight months. He had had a disagreement with owner Finbarr O’Shea, and claimed that he was told that there had been complaints from customers over his decision to speak Irish while on the job.
A statement on the pub’s Facebook page on Friday said: “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.
“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.”
Protest outside Flying Enterprise pub, Cork.
'English-only' policy bans use of Irish by staff.(Via @GaelTacaChorcai) pic.twitter.com/hkIwXlPUKi— Seán Mac an tSíthigh (@Buailtin) September 10, 2016
Ó Bruic has spoken about the national coverage of the story to The Irish Times.
“It is unbelievable altogether – I never expected this to happen,” he said.
“I never expected that a protest would be held outside the pub or that people would write comments on Facebook.
“I don’t wish any ill-will to the pub or anything like that but I am very thankful for the comments made in support of the Irish language.”
When he was asked a possible boycott of the pub, he replied: “Well, I won’t go in (to the pub) – I know that much, but, if others want to go there then that is up to then.
“On a personal level, there are plenty of places in Cork that are more than happy to welcome everybody, no matter what language they speak.”
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