Stories from Irish National School children, 1930s
Mmf.
Harry Molloy writes:
Thought people might be interested in this from Duchas [a project to digitize the National Folklore Collection of Ireland], if not then I’m sure your
windowless basementoffice will enjoy.It’s stories by primary-aged schoolchildren transcribed from every National School in the 1930s.
Amazing hand writing and you might find a grandparent :-)
The Schools Collection (Duchas.ie)
Sponsored Link
Très charmant!
National Schools, as in primary schools?
Christ on a bike, their handwriting at that age is a million times better than mine at any point in my life.
Truly a dying art. The probability that much of it was inculcated via the application of a metal-edged ruler to the knuckles barely diminishes its beauty
Back to the quill I say!
This is fascinating. What a great resource.
Lovely handwriting, I don’t know if they put such emphasis on it nowadays?
Thanks Harry.
I really wish they hadn’t put a stop to the old Irish writing. I think it would make it much more interesting for kids to learn. Also, it’s beautiful.
“I think it would make it much more interesting for kids to learn.”
Didn’t provide much of an incentive for their grandparents.
It is worth considering that this was an era (1930s) when few children expected to be in school beyond primary school & that even those in primary school were often unenrolled or absent.
Official daily attendance rates of 60% from the time are considered overly optimistic.
Something like 25% of the population was illiterate, never mind having a strong view on how interesting an clo gaelach might be.
I guess you might be referring to a later generation but the govt started to phase out the typeface(s) in the 1940s.
“Running under a donkey three times cures whooping cough.”
Love it.
Couldn’t find any Hoop relatives but a wonderful digitisation project all the same!
…spent a wonderful hour going through Inishkeen looking for Patrick Kavanagh before checking – he left school in 1916…I’m getting old
Of course the hand writing is perfect.
the teachers would have selected the best in the class to do it knowing how important it is.
The handwriting is lovely, also my Grandad used to tell us when we were kids that if they didn’t get the handwriting perfect they were whacked with a cane by the christian brothers or nuns, so that was also a motivation to get it right.
Damn, Daniel. Back at it again with the Grainneog.
My Da was beaten out of writing with his left, he does have lovely hand writing though.
The fear/dislike of left-handing writing was very weird, wasn’t it.
Apparently it still happens in China.
This is lovely, thank you!
lord save us tonight, i found my father’s schoolmaster, a guy he spoke fondly of often.
the internet, man
Thanks Harry! I found a number of stories that my late aunt collected from her mother and neighbour. Fascinating to read and my Da is going to love this when I show him…
that’s a real treasure, finding something like that.
didn’t find anyone belonging to me but saw some names that I would have heard my grandmother mention a lot and saw our house mentioned a couple of times