ABSTRACT
The fundamental principles underlying the educational system of Ireland are set out in Articles 42-44 of the Irish Constitution. The present system of primary education was introduced in 1831 to assist local patrons in providing free elementary schools and supplying them with trained teachers. For historical as well as organizational reasons, it will be convenient to consider the denominational aspects of the Irish system under the headings primary, secondary, and vocational. The present secondary system originated with the Intermediate Education Act of 1878, and incorporates Protestant schools dating back to the seventeenth century, and Catholic schools whose foundation was made possible by the relaxation of the Penal Laws at the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth century. In contrast to primary and secondary schools, vocational schools owe their existence almost entirely to state action, and in particular to the Vocational Education Act of 1930 which established 38 Vocational Education Committees.
