National school (Ireland)

In the Republic of Ireland, a National school is a type of primary school that is financed directly by the State, but administered jointly by the State, a patron body, and local representatives. There are other forms of primary school, often private denominational schools attached to secondary schools – unlike their second level counterparts, these primary level private schools receive no support from the state.

In National schools, most major policies such as the curriculum and teacher salaries and conditions are managed by the State through the Department of Education and Skills. Minor policies of the school are managed by local people, often directed by a member of the clergy, as representative of the patron, through a local board of management. Most primary schools in the Republic of Ireland fall into this category, which is a pre-independence concept.

It was formerly common for national-school teachers to use the post-nominal letters N.T.

National schools, established by the British Government with the Stanley Letter in 1831, were originally multi-denominational. The schools were controlled by a State body, the National Board of Education, with a six-member board consisting of two Roman Catholics, two Church of Ireland, and two Presbyterians. In the National Schools, there was strict delimitation between religious and non-religious education, where the teacher had to declare that religious education was beginning, hang a sign on the wall or door indicating that religious education was in process, and remove all religious symbols and objects from sight when religious education finished. Also, parents had the right to remove their children from this period of religious education if it conflicted with their religious beliefs. Lastly, schools who failed to abide by these rules or who refused admissions of different faiths to the patron were denied state funding. These rules largely remain in place today, but are no longer well recognised by the State, the patron bodies, or the general public.

In the early nineteenth century, in a climate of animosity between the churches, the multi-denominational system was strongly opposed: the established church (Protestant Church of Ireland), though the church of the minority, held a special position and a right to government support in promoting Protestantism. Both the Catholic Church, which was emerging from a period of suppression in Ireland, and the Presbyterians, who had also suffered under the penal laws, had sought state support for schools of their own tradition. In particular Bishop James Doyle was an early proponent, seeking to improve on the informal hedge school system.Doyle spoke before a Parliamentary Committee as follows:

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