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The Republic of Ireland is the second largest British isle, covering 27,136 square miles and bordered to the northwest by Northern Ireland; in the past it went by the Irish Free State (1922-1937) and Eire (1937-1949). Eire is still used by many persons as their name of choice for Ireland, also causing some confusion outside the country's borders. The capital city is Dublin, containing one-t…
The fundamental rights of citizens to an education are among the rights guaranteed in Article 42 of the 1937 constitution of Ireland. The constitution was largely prepared by New York-born Eamond deValera (1882-1975), Ireland's most visible leader following the granting of independence from Britain, and the country's two-time president. The constitution acknowledges the responsibilit…
Around 1800 the Anglican Church was responsible for supervising the education of boys and girls at both the primary and secondary levels. But many areas of the country that were heavily Catholic were resistant, and some rural Catholic areas either had no schools or offered little financial support for them. There were a few superior schools in Ireland, the education historian R.B. McDowell has wri…
Irish children tend to start school at a younger age than do other world children. Both junior and senior infant classes are the equivalent of preschool classes in most other countries. Ninety-five percent of all five- to six-year-olds are in senior infant classes, and 59 percent of four- to five-year-olds are in junior infant classes. Provision in national schools for children aged four and five …
A national system of education was established in 1831 that was intended to be nondenominational, but struggles between the Catholics and Church of Ireland members made that a near impossible goal to accomplish. That principle was reaffirmed in 1878 when the government established the Intermediate Education Board. In the first half of the twentieth century, Catholic parochial schools included both…
University, non-university, and private colleges provide higher education in Ireland. The number of applicants for places in third-level colleges outnumbers openings for students, and the dropout rate of first-year students is a national concern, causing critics to question the quality of the nation's secondary schools. Perhaps the most important occurrence in the behind-the-scenes running …
In 1834 a systematic teacher-training program began in Dublin at certain model schools for male and female students. There were about 25 model schools there by 1850; the training period lasted six months. For a time, both Protestant and Catholic students attended these schools, but in the mid-1860s Catholic authorities forbade students from attending, not wanting the Protestant influence on the ch…
Since the 1960s, the Irish have been aware of serious deficiencies in the educational system. Reforms, however, have been incomplete and less than satisfactory, as several studies and self-studies note. In 1966, a research team headed by educator Patrick Lynch completed a thorough analysis of the primary and secondary systems and produced a scathing report called "Investment in Education.&#…
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