Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent,  21 February 2013

“Technical Memories (Part 45) – Away from Drudgery

“The new Vocational Educational Bill, which replaces in the greater part of the country the Acts of 1889, 1891, and 1899 is in many respects a revolutionary measure, and it will be your duty during the Congress to consider its merits and demerits, and how far the changes which are proposed therein will affect your particular area” (Mr P Bowen, President of the Irish Technical Education Association, 11 June 1930, Cork).

At the Cork Congress in 1930, 46 technical instruction committees from the Free State were present with 10 from Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Ministry of Education was represented. Rev Dr Dowse, Bishop of Cork noted: “The Congress unites the whole of Ireland, North and South”.

Mr P Bowen, President of the Irish Technical Education Association, spoke at length at the congress. Responding to the new Vocational Education Bill he noted of the provision of Technical Education in any country: “It is almost automatically connected with the industries of the country and the success or failure of the industries has a vital effect on the provision of the associated technical training”. He stressed that home industries needed support and encouragement; “A vigourous campaign for the support of home-manufactured needs to be waged”. He gave the example of the first industrial Development Association, which was inaugurated in Cork. That example gave a lead to other districts to establish similar associations. By the aid of such associations, local industries gained the support they deserved and “supplied a field for the absorption of the youth trained in the technical schools”.

Mr Bowen also referred to the teachers of Irish. In his view many had laboured for years in the teaching of the national language, often voluntarily without remuneration and “at considerable inconvenience, before being employed by committees”. Their work was a national work and a labour of love. The position of these teachers under the new Bill was not very clearly provided for. “It would be well if the Department of Education gave facilities for the training of these teachers in other subjects on the curriculum of Continuation Education, particularly as owing to the abolition of the special rate for Irish under the Bill”.

In the matter of curricula for continuation education, the free scope was welcomed by Mr Bowen. He detailed the importance of teaching craftsmanship to young people: “The encouragement of craftsmanship was very desirable at an early age and the inclusion of some craft in the programme of work for both boys and girls would help considerably to develop the individual tastes and inclinations of the student”. Indeed D J Coakley, Principal of Cork Chamber of Commerce, in a speech after Mr Bowen outlined the potential of Cork’s youth. He detailed that in Cork City there were 37 primary schools with an enrolment of 14,500 students, 12 secondary schools with an enrolment of 1,670 students, 1 day trades preparatory school with an enrolment of 130 students, 4 municipal schools with an enrolment of 3,200 students. University College Cork had an enrolment of 600 students whilst the Munster Institute comprised 50 students. There were also a number of private schools.

Mr Edward Morton, Head master of City of Dublin Technical Schools, Kevin Street, contributed a paper on the Electrical Equipment of Technical Schools”. Mr Morton treated the subject from the point of view of equipment for the teaching of the simple principles of electrical engineering, as applied in the electrical trades and the general principles of electrical engineering practice. The point of interest lay in whether it was essential to equip certain schools for electro-technology classes, and if so to what degree.

After Morton’s Speech, Dr T A McLaughlin, Managing Director of the Electricity referred to a special exhibition which his board had fitted up in Cork institute. He described that the domestic section was equipped “with all those appliances which definitely take the drudgery out of a woman’s work at home, enabling her to carry out her household duties with the minimum of physical effort”. He spoke about how the old type of kitchen with its coal range and the consequent dirt and dust and labour was being replaced by a clean electric kitchen. The electric washing machine replaces the wash tub and the “drudgery” associated with it; “An electric motor does the washing in a tenth of the time “without the exercise of human labour”. Commenting further he noted; “An electric vacuum cleaner replaces the sweeping brush, and numerous small electric appliances take over the other tasks in the home”.

Dr McLaughlin felt that the domestic economy of Ireland’s technical schools should be equipped with electrical appliances and that female students should be taught the elementary factors in the electric wiring of a home, the use of electric fuses and how to replace them; “I suggest to you that the technical schools in our towns and villages should take the lead in teaching womenfolk how their sisters in other lands have solved the problem of house-work in this modern age. The homes of our towns and villages will be the better and happier for elementary scientific management”.

To be continued…

Wanted: looking to talk to people about their memories who attended the “Crawford Tech”, c.1930-c.1970, contact Kieran, 087 655 33 89

Caption:

679a. Advert for ESB exhibition, Crawford Municipal Technical Institute (source: Cork City Library)