In 1824, a commission of inquiry was established
to survey the state of Irish education. Part of this enquiry involved
the collection of statistical data on the number of Catholic schools,
their teachers and pupils, in each parish. This census was taken over
3 months in 1824 and an abstract was published as Appendix no. 22 to the
Second Report of the Commissioners of Irish Education Enquiry, 1826-27.
The returns showed that the majority of Catholic children received their
education in hedge schools. The returns give details on each school surveyed
including the townland in which it was situated, the name, religion and
income of schoolmaster or mistress, a description of the schoolhouse,
details on funding and the number of male and female children attending.
There are two sets of returns given, from both Protestant and Catholic
observers.
