Sunday schools

Sunday schools had their origins in English towns and cities in the 1780s in response to rapid demographic growth and fears of lower‐class infidelity. They spread rapidly in Ireland in the first half of the 19th century, chiefly, but not exclusively, under the auspices of the Hibernian Sunday School Society formed in Dublin in 1809. By 1841 this interdenominational voluntary society had established over 3,000 Sunday schools, the majority of which were located in the province of Ulster. During the 19th century the original interdenominational ideal of the early Sunday schools largely collapsed under the weight of denominational competition as churches began to see their potential as recruiting agencies.

The primary aim of Sunday schools was to facilitate the reading of the scriptures and other religious literature, but they also inculcated the values of good manners, sound morals, and respectable appearance. In wider social terms they made a distinctive contribution to working‐class life through their anniversary celebrations, street parades, Whitsun outings, book prizes, and benefit societies. Through its loyal band of unpaid teachers and its supply of cheap educational benefits to the poor, the Sunday school movement probably made a bigger impact on the urban working classes than any other voluntary religious institution.

David Hempton