Schooling of Students from the Gaeltacht and the National Policy of “Saving the Language” Through All Primary Schools, 1922–1965

Abstract

The Department of Education in the Irish Free State came into existence on 8 June 1924. This chapter is concerned primarily with schooling in the Gaeltacht between then and 1965. Each of the three main types of schooling that existed in Ireland over the period, namely primary schools, secondary schools, and vocational schools, is detailed, both in relation to the situation in the country as a whole and also specifically in relation to the Gaeltacht. Further, within the account on secondary schooling, two particular types of secondary schools are given special consideration. The first of these types is what were known as “preparatory colleges”; these were established in order to provide at least half of the intake of about 150 students per year to the primary school teacher training colleges, with the other half to be filled by open competition. The second type of school belonged to a group termed “lay secondary schools”. In reading the chapter it is helpful to keep in mind that the vast majority of schools were Catholic schools.