School: Lattoon

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1. Local Schools (continued)

   

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   were in existence 90 years ago but the teachers would not allow the children to use them. The copy books used 120 years ago were almost of the same type of to-day. The writer of these notes has a copy book that was used by a scholar in the Munster schools, a boy named McKeon, a relation of the writer.
   Irish was not taught as a subject. It was only taught to the infants when they were learning the alphabet. The teacher explained and described the letters calling ''a'' ''cupla tíghe'' resembling the coupled timber of a thatched house. "B" was called "spéaclóir" because it resembled spectacles. "C" was called "crú capall" it being alike to a horse shoe and so on with the remainder of the alphabet. The elder scholars dare not speak Irish in the teacher's presence. Of course our present day writers state erroneously that teachers were unpatriotic in the hedge-schools but that is untrue, as parents sent their children to school with the sole object of learning the English language and urged the teachers to use every means in their power to achieve this end. At that time there was a population of 7 1/4 millions in Ireland. The potato crop was a total failure. The Irish people knew

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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

   Rose Mc Gennis

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Coragh, Co. Cavan

   Informant

   Mr P. Mc Gennis

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Coragh, Co. Cavan