national schools were the government's response to the demand for an acceptable system of state‐funded elementary education, especially on the part of the Catholic community which rejected the existing provision by largely Protestant and sometimes proselytizing voluntary societies. The national schools were also intended to supersede the sporadic and largely unsupervised provision previously made by
hedge schools and parish schools. The government established a Board of Commissioners for National Education (1831) which comprised three members of the
Church of Ireland (including the duke of Leinster (see
kildare) as chairman), two Catholics, and two Presbyterians. Both archbishops of Dublin were among the commissioners.
The principles on which the system was based were set out by Lord Stanley, the lord lieutenant, in a letter to Leinster. They provided for state support for local initiative, and while it was open to persons of standing such as landlords and clergy to apply for recognition of their schools, there was a particular welcome for applications from denominationally mixed groups, in line with the commissioners' policy that children should receive ‘literary’ education together and ‘religious’ education separately.
The local sponsors were expected to provide the site and to contribute to maintenance costs and the salaries of teachers (whom they appointed and dimissed). The commissioners contributed most of the costs of building and of salaries, operated an inspectorial scheme, and published textbooks. Their practice in both inspection and publishing owed much to the
Kildare Place Society model, as did their emphasis on teacher‐training and
model schools.
The principle of ‘mixed’ education, on which the system rested, fell short of the expectations of the churches. Presbyterians objected to the right of clergymen of different denominations to have access to the schools. The established church resented the infringement of its prerogatives in popular education, and set up its own system, under the
Church Education Society. The Catholic authorities, though supportive at first, became increasingly critical, especially under
Cullen's leadership, of some textbooks and of other features of the scheme. Gradually, the churches won concessions that moulded the national schools to meet their demands. The report of the Powis Commission (1870) accepted the denominational nature of most schools.
Powis made wide‐ranging recommendations, which introduced ‘payment‐by‐results’ for teachers. However, this practice was abandoned, as being harmful in effect, on the advice of the Belmore Commission (1898), which also advocated a broader curriculum that took more cognizance of children's aptitudes and introduced manual and practical subjects
The number of pupils grew from 107,000 in 1833 to over half a million by the end of the century. Though falling short of some of the ambitions of its founders, and open to criticism for an undue emphasis on the didactic and for neglect of the children's Irish environment, the national schools, a form of state intervention in popular education that was unique for its time in these islands, played a major part in promoting literacy in Ireland
Kenneth Milne
