School: Crury (roll number 3134)

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1. Hedge-Schools

   

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   Long ago the only means of education the Irish peasantry had was what they were taught at the local hedgeschool by the hedgeschool masters.
   Around this district the hedgeschool was in Kilbarron in a field owned by McIntyre. To this place or school flocked all the pupils for miles around. The teacher was a famous scolar [sic] named Jim Gildae. In this school the pupils sat on stools around a small fire, the master sat also on a stool and taught the pupils from a spelling book of there was only one. He taught them to write on a slate on which wrote with a chatted stick.
   The master was lodged and supported by the parents of the pupils, every night he went to a different family and spent the time there.
   This little house or school consisted of one apartment. There was a little window on the sidewall with one glass pane in it. There was no chimney but the master or pupils lit a fire on the middle of the floor and the smoke went out on the door. The floor and the smoke went our on the door. The floor was earthen and the roof was thatched with rushes, this hedgeschool was attended by grown up boys and girls as well as by children. As well as teaching spellings and writing to his pupils, the master also taught them Irish, aritmetic and

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. objects
      1. man-made structures
         1. buildings
            1. schools (~4,094)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Mary Regan

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal