Exclusive: A young Donegal man who was kicked out of a taxi for speaking Irish says he has still not received an apology from the driver.
Anthony Blair has still not received an apology.
Glasgow cab-driver Alan McKinnion was suspended from driving for one month and ordered to go on a customer courtesy course as a result of the incident.
But student teacher Anthony Blair, 20, from Gaoth Dobhair says he has still not received any contact from the driver or the cab company Hampden Cabs.
Anthony said “I am glad he has been sent on a course to learn how to treat customers with respect but he has still not bothered to apologise to me.
“We haven’t even heard from the taxi company so it means nothing to me,” said Anthony, who is studying at St Patrick’s College.
Anthony his brother Joseph and two friends were in the cab at 1am after a night out when he began speaking Irish to his brother which is their first language.
The brothers had travelled to Scotland to visit their grandmother Mary O’Donnell.
However while on their night out driver Alan McKinnion told them to “stop speaking in that language” and that they should speak English when they were in Britain.
The passengers objected and the driver said that if they didn’t like it then they could get out of the taxi which they did.
Driver Alan McKinnion was banned from the road for a month after Glasgow City Council declared he had breached some conditions of is license.
He was accused of offloading four passengers at the side of the road after they confronted him when he demanded they stop speaking Irish in his cab on December 19th last.
A representative for Mr McKinnion said he had been driving for 19 years and said the incident was an “aberration.”
Donegal man Anthony Blair said he was glad the case went ahead and that he hoped lessons had been learned.
“It was a serious incident and you can call it racist. The Commonwealth Games are coming up in Scotland late this year and there will be people of all nationalities using taxis in Glasgow.
“Does this mean that people can only speak English when they are using taxis or public transport. Hopefully the case has highlighted what is obviously still a problem for some people but will teach them that it is not acceptable in 2014,” he said.
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