‘There seems to be some misunderstanding’: church-state relations and the establishment of Carraroe comprehensive, 1963–67

Abstract

This paper charts the development of one of Ireland's first comprehensive schools located in Carraroe in County Galway. Through a systematic, historical analysis of Department of Education and diocesan correspondence, this article provides a unique insight into how official policy was reconciled at ground level. The analysis exposes the ambiguity of previous studies surrounding the role of the church hierarchy in educational reform during the 1960s and seeks to clearly identify key personnel involved in consolidating policy concerning the comprehensive school scheme. Underpinning this narrative, is the deliberate exclusion, by both church and state, of local school authorities from policy decision-making regarding the comprehensive school in Carraroe. In particular, this paper illustrates how a paradigm shift in Department of Education negotiation tactics provided the government with an effective means for introducing new educational policy measures in the future.

Keywords:

• educational reform
• comprehensive schools
• women religious
• co-education

Acknowledgment

The author gratefully acknowledges Tuam Diocesan Archives for granting permission to reproduce information obtained from their collection in this paper.

Notes

1 As a community of Catholic female religious the Presentation sisters were subject to the law of the Catholic Church, more specifically the Canon Law governing communities of sisters. The Canon Law provided guidelines for the establishment and organisation of female religious institutes and also included rules regarding the constitutions and vows adopted by the order. See Rev. Geser (1938). The Presentation sisters had been of pontifical right with simple vows since 1918. However, they did not realise this change to their status until sometime after Vatican II, 1962–65. See O’Reilly (2013).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Catriona Delaney

Dr. Catriona Delaney is a post-doctoral fellow at the School of Education, University College Dublin. She completed her PhD at the Department of History, University of Limerick in 2016. Together with Deirdre Raftery and Catherine Nowlan-Roebuck, she co-authored Nano Nagle: the Life and the Legacy (2019). She and has contributed articles to several peer reviewed journals and is a member of the steering committee of the H-WRBI.