A Brief History of Catholic Education in Ireland from the Penal Laws to Founding of the Free State (1922) and Beyond

This chapter provides a brief historical overview of some of the main developments impacting upon Catholic education in Ireland. Beginning with the penal laws (1695-1829) and the founding of the national system of schooling in 1831, it charts the rise and reach of Catholic education from the founding of the Free State in 1922 up to and including the contemporary context. It outlines the growth of the Church's influence in primary and secondary education in the early decades of the twentieth century after the State ceded management of the vast majority of primary schools to religious bodies. In outlining the special relationship between the Catholic church and the state in the twentieth century, it charts the growth of Catholic education as the major power-broker in Irish education. In recent years, in the face of persistent criticism of a Catholic monopoly of education and in light of the multiple abuses of power, most horrifically manifested in child-sex abuse scandals and industrial schools, Catholic education continues to undergo a period of soul searching and repositioning.