Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,
Cork Independent, 28 February 2013
“Technical Memories (Part 46) – Pitchforking Inefficiency
Delegates, gathering in Cork for the 1930 Technical Education Congress, were also shown what Cork had to offer. In the evening of day 1 on 11 June, the delegates, at the invitation of the Cork Reception Committee made a trip around Cork Harbour. Calling at Cobh on the return journey they visited St Colman’s Cathedral and at night attended a concert in the Crawford Municipal Technical Institute.
On day two of a three day congress, the afternoon discussion reveals insights into ideas that in time were to become major policies for vocational education in Ireland.The discussion on the Vocational Education Bill was opened by Fr Cotter, parish priest, Tipperary, who said the Bill as he understood it submerged the small technical committees into general County bodies, such as the County Councils. In Tipperary they had a very small technical body, composed of representatives from Tipperary town and the rural district adjoining. The management the Tipperary Technical School had been successful and a great deal of that was due to the work of the secretary and the local committee. He was afraid that if they were submerged into a general committee of the whole County Council, the personal contact would be lost. He did not think that a general committee, such as the County Council, working far away from the school in Tipperary, would have the same influence over the school as the local committee. He believed the Bill should be broadened so as to continue the extent local supervision and knowledge.
Mr O’Sullivan from Tralee highlighted another problem that existed in his town. They were an urban area with a highly developed scheme of technical education. They did not want to go in under a County scheme. He suggested that there should be some provisions under the Bill, which would prevent the Minister of Education from forcing a scheduled urban area to come into a County scheme- in other words, a provision, which would protect the urban area.
Mr Thomas Patrick Gill, former President of the Irish Technical Instruction Association, expressed the view that the smaller urban area committees did work successfully. However, through a sheer lack of accommodation, they were obliged every session to turn away hundreds of young people who were clamouring for admission. The figures every year had been growing, and the 1930 figures compared with the pre-war years (1912-13) were higher than ever. In Cork the increase in the demand for admission to the Technical School, as compared with 1912-13, was 54 per cent. In Limerick it was 39 per cent, in Waterford 41 per cent, in Drogheda, it was 37 per cent, and in Sligo 29 per cent. In some places the increase was particularly high. In Dublin it was no less than 228 per cent. In Galway, it was 201 per cent. The average increase for all the leading technical education institutes in the Free State was 118 per cent.
Miss Breen from Kerry felt that the Bill was a step in the right direction. However she thought that the financial set-up was a concern. She noted that ratepayers were not able to bear any more expense and the scheme should be financed from a central fund. It was also suggested that the secretaries of the County Councils should not be executive officers. She did not think there was one secretary of a County Council who knew anything about technical education, or about any other kind of education; she noted that: “inefficients should not be pitchforked into important positions of that kind”.
Writer and teacher Daniel Corkery, who spoke on behalf of the Irish teachers, referred to the necessity for setting aside a fourth part of the rate levied for technical education every year for adult education, by which he meant education to all students over sixteen years of age. He detailed:“it should be more obligatory on every Vocational Education committee to set up at least one sub committee to look after adult education, and at least one organiser of continuation adult education should be appointed in each county. There was a danger that not only would adult education be neglected, but that it would be thrown aside”. Commenting on the fact that not a word of Irish appeared on the programme of that congress, Daniel Corkery said that the number of pupils attending the classes in Irish conducted by the Cork County Technical Committee was equal to the number attending all the other classes, conducted by that committee.
Cork committee member William Ellis alluded to the fact that music was not included in the Bill originally. It was a resolution from the Cork Borough Committee which was instrumental in having it included. In Cork he noted there had been a School of Music, which was established over 52 years previously. It was only recognised in 1928 by the Department of Education. Dublin had a similar school for some years. In the committee stage of the Bill, Mr R S Anthony TD got the word “music” inserted in it. Miss Breen, a delegate, said she had no objection to the Cork and Dublin School of Music benefitting so long as other places were included in the Bill.
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:
680a. St Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh (picture: Kieran McCarthy)