CHAPTER XII

IRISH PRIMARY EDUCATION

State of Education in the Early Nineteenth Century: The Kildare Place Society.-Mention has been made in a previous chapter of the general state of education amongst the masses of the Irish people, in the closing years of the eighteenth century and the opening decades of the nineteenth. Much was done by the efforts of private charity for the most needy, while even poor peasants strove to pay the ten shillings or pound a year charged by some humble instructor for teaching reading, writing, and the simple rules of arithmetic to their children. Under such a system it was, however, inevitable that very large numbers-in fact, the great majority of even the boys, and still more of the girls-received no literary education at all. No aid was given by the State to any educational institution (save the clerical seminary of Maynooth) to which a conscientious Catholic could send his sons or daughters. Such money as was granted went to schools whose avowed aim was to alter the religion of the children and instruct them in the doctrines of the Reformed Church. Of such establishments there were many. The best known were the Charter Schools, founded early in the eighteenth century. On them a very large amount of public money was lavished. They continued till 1827.

In 1788, a Viceregal Commission was appointed to enquire into the state of education in Ireland, and to suggest reforms. The report which it issued proposed the extension of the system of parish schools, of which a good many already existed, all conducted under the supervision of the Protestant parochial authorities, and an alteration of their character, so that the religious teaching of the Protestant and of the Catholic children should be conducted apart by the clergy of their respective creeds. This advice was not followed, and public funds continued to be expended on the subsidising of institutions of the old type.

In 1811, a suggestion was made by Grattan that a system of instruction in the chief truths, regarding which all Christian denominations agree, and in the leading principles of morality, should be substituted

for the present Protestant doctrinal teaching in the parish schools. Of these, of course, a very much larger number would be needed, should the Catholics decide, as it might be hoped that they would, to avail themselves of the education which they afforded.

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Grattan's suggestion very probably influenced the policy of the Kildare Place Society, which began its labours in 1812. In its schools the Scriptures without note or comment " should be read aloud, “to the exclusion of catechisms or books of religious controversy." The arrangement was certainly not an ideal one, but the Catholics, eager to procure the benefits of education for their children, seem at first to have been inclined to accept it.

The subjects taught were no more than the reading and writing of English and the elements of arithmetic. Irish was, of course, ignored. A Parliamentary grant of nearly £1,000 a year was made to the Society, and for some years its schoolrooms were well filled. After a time, however, suspicions arose that the agreement with regard to the absence of doctrinal religious instruction was not being strictly observed.

Dr. McHale, Catholic Archbishop of Tuam, denounced the schools, and the same attitude was taken up by O'Connell. Owing to these circumstances, as well as to the opening of increased numbers of primary schools by religious orders, notably the Christian Brothers, the establishments of the Kildare Place Society began to be deserted by the Catholic pupils, so that it was felt that an attempt must be made to solve the Irish educational problem on other lines.

Stanley's Education Bill: Advantages and Defects of the "National Education System."--In 1830 Stanley, then Chief Secretary for Ireland, drew up a very extensive plan for Primary Education. A central Board was to be established in Dublin, consisting of Commissioners, of whom a third were to be Catholics. (This was subsequently changed to one half.) These were to administer the Government grant, and arrange all details regarding the schools. Primary schools were to be built all over the country. The cost of these, as well as the salary of the teachers, should be paid by the State. Children of all creeds should be received in the schools (it was not, however, till 1892 that the Compulsory Attendance Act was passed), and taught secular subjects together. At stated times, the ministers of each religion should attend and give religious instruction apart to the pupils of their own persuasion.

These proposals were embodied in a Bill, which passed successfully through Parliament (1831). On the whole it was well received, both by the authorities of the Catholic Church and by the laity. Its only serious opponent was Dr. McHale.

There can be no doubt that "National Education " has done much

good in Ireland. The proportion of illiterates amongst the population has steadily diminished, and the poor Irishman seeking employment no longer finds his chances of obtaining it diminished by his inability to read, write, or cypher.

On the other hand, the system had grave defects. The most serious of all was, not the lack merely to encourage, but the systematic attempt to discourage Nationality and Patriotism amongst the pupils. At the time of the foundation of the "National " schools, for at least a fifth of the children of school-age in Ireland, Irish was a mother tongue; for most of these it was the only one they knew. Yet the official attitude taken with regard to the ancient language of Erin was that it was a barbarous jargon, which, in the interests of "education," should be as soon as possible forgotten. The parents too often collaborated in this evil work with the teachers trained in the Government Colleges. In many schools it was usual to attach a wooden tally to a child's neck, on which a mark was cut every time that a word of the language, in which Patrick and Columcille and Bridget had taught and prayed, passed his lips. When these marks reached a certain number, a flogging was inflicted on the unfortunate little victim. Nor was this all. Many of the school-books used had been written in England for English children. One geography primer informed the Irish boys and girls that "the island in which we live was not always called England!" Even from those prepared in Ireland all allusion to Irish history or Irish literature, all lyrics breathing a spirit of Irish patriotism, were carefully excluded.

The aim of this policy was evidently to conquer the rebellious spirit which was supposed to exist in Ireland, and to produce, instead, a respectful admiration for the greatness and benevolence of England, and a wish to imitate her ways The desired end was not, however, achieved. It is true that the decay of Irish as a spoken language, which had already begun, became more rapid; and that generations grew up possessed of little knowledge of, and consequently little reverence for, their country's past; but that no love or admiration for England, no contentment with her rule followed, the history of the remaining decades of the nineteenth century was to show.

CHAPTER XIII

YOUNG IRELAND. END OF O'CONNELL'S

CAREER

The "Young Ireland" Party.--As O'Connell advanced in age, he tended to become more autocratic and less able to endure amongst his followers independence of views or divergence of method. Just at this time, as it happened, there was gathering round him a circle of young men who, while they admired and respected him, were too able themselves to be content to be mere echoes of his opinion or servants of his will. Amongst these "Young Irelanders," as they came later to be called, were several brilliant writers of prose and of verse, such as Thomas Davis, Charles Gavan Duffy and John O'Hagan.

For literary talent of this sort there was, in O'Connell's scheme of politics, no place. The ends he sought were immediate; the means in which he believed direct. His treatment of the Irish language may be taken as an example of the strange limitations of his mind. Speaking it fluently himself, he never-save once to trick some Government reporters-used it on a public platform, even when addressing an audience, many of whom were unacquainted, or very imperfectly acquainted, with English. In the ancient tongue of Ireland he saw not a valuable national asset, not a worthy object of national pride, nor even a useful barrier against the influx of English ideas. To him it appeared merely an obstacle to Ireland's commercial prosperity, and therefore a thing to be cleared as speedily as possible out of her path.

Very different from this was the view of the majority of the Young Irelanders. In The Nation newspaper, founded by some of the most prominent of them in 1841, the preservation and cultivation of Gaelic was urged on the Irish people as a duty. There were articles on Irish place-names; descriptions of historic sites; old legends and folk-tales ; episodes of Irish history. Spirited poems were written; old airs revived. Present-day politics were not forgotten, but they were not treated quite as O'Connell would have treated them; there was more hostility to England, a bolder and more democratic tone. Nationality was more

strongly insisted on as the great bond of union amongst the people of Ireland.

O'Connell viewed all this with a good deal of distrust and even jealousy, although his own position was as strong as ever. To the people at large he was still " the Liberator," in whom their confidence was boundless. He told them that Repeal was at hand, and they believed him. He himself can scarcely have felt at all so certain of success as he strove to appear. Only by the will of Parliament could Repeal be peacefully obtained. Parliament had, however, so far declined, by a very large majority, to as much as consider the question of dissolving the Union.

The "Monster Meetings": Alarm of the Government.-O'Connell now (1842-1843) tried another method, and organised in various parts of Ireland huge assemblies, known as "monster meetings," to which the people came in thousands; at one held at Tara at least a quarter of a million persons were present. A platform was erected from which O'Connell spoke, but, wonderful as was the power of his voice, its tones could reach the ears of only a relatively small part of the vast multitude. All, however, stood quietly in their ordered ranks; never was there the least impatience, the slighest interruption or sign of disorder. O'Connell had impressed on them the necessity of avoiding any disturbance, and no one dreamt of disobeying him.

Meanwhile, the Repeal Association had been infused with new life, and at "Conciliation Hall," a building newly erected in Dublin, frequent meetings were held. Arbitration Courts were set up, to which persons were invited to bring their disputes for adjustment, instead of having recourse to the ordinary processes of law.

The Government, thoroughly alarmed, used severe measures. It was declared that, if other means failed, the Repeal Movement would be suppressed by force. O'Connell answered with words of defiance. For some time he had begun to depart, in language at least, from the peaceful and law-abiding attitude which he had hitherto assumed. "I belong to a nation of 8,000,000," he said. "If Sir Robert Peel has the audacity to cause a contest to take place between the two countries, we will begin no rebellion, but-if he invades the constitutional rights of the Irish people-then vae victis between the contending parties." This language, if it meant anything, meant that O'Connell was willing to approve of the use of physical force as a last resort, if the aim for which he strove could not be reached by other means. Yet all this while he was boasting, publicly and privately, of the completely peaceful character of the agitation, and constantly warning his adherents to abstain from violence or disorder. The people obeyed him, but the belief was