Culture Minister brands ‘curry my yoghurt’ Irish joke ‘pure ignorance’

During Oral Questions on Monday (November 3) Mr Campbell addressed the Principal Deputy Speaker, Mitchel McLaughlin, with: “Curry my yogurt can coca coal yer,” an apparent parody of “Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle,” which is the Irish rendering of “Thank you, chair/speaker.”

Mr Campbell continued: “The Minister has outlined what she is talking about in terms of the Irish language strategy and an Ulster-Scots strategy.

“Would it not be more inclusive to have a minority languages strategy so that nobody would feel left out?”

The current Culture Minister Carál Ní Chuilín, who Mr Campbell was addressing through the Chair, responded angrily by stating: “If what you have just done is anything to go by, we do not need a strategy for pure ignorance.

“That was pure ignorance. Your conduct is not befitting a Member of this Chamber, and it does not warrant an answer.”

Mr Campbell has raised the hackles of Sinn Féin and Irish language enthusiasts before.

In 2007, in a debate over parity of funding for Irish and Ulster Scots, prompted by a question tabled by Mr Campbell, the Assembly was treated to the following interlude.

“Were I a satirist, “ said Mr Campbell. “I might begin my question to the Minister with the words, ‘Cora my Yogi Bear, a can coca colya.’

“However, setting humour to one side, the information provided by the Minister confirms what I established from the direct rule Minister last year - that the Irish language obtains 30 times more public funding than the Ulster-Scots cultural outlook.”