Irish Society for Promoting the Education of the Native Irish through the Medium of Their Own Language

The Irish Society for Promoting Scriptural Education and Religious Instruction of the Irish-speaking population was a Protestant missionary organization founded in 1818 by members of the Church of Ireland. It aimed to proselytize among Irish-speaking Roman Catholics through education and religious instruction, primarily using the Irish language. The society operated until 1914 and was led by key figures such as Henry Joseph Monck Mason and Bishop Robert Daly. Its headquarters were located at 16 Upper Sackville Street in Dublin. The society emphasized education, establishing charity schools that taught through the Irish language to allow natives access to scriptures for the first time. By 1835, it reported 514 salaried teachers and over 14,000 pupils inspected. By 1844, it had an extensive system of elementary education across twenty-four counties, including schools, teachers, supervisors, and distributors of religious literature. In 1849, it claimed to have distributed over 30,000 books, mostly in Irish. The organization faced opposition from the Catholic Church, which condemned its schools and sometimes led to violent conflicts. Despite this, the society continued its work, including translating the Book of Common Prayer into Irish in 1861. Mason played a significant role in promoting the study of the Irish language at Trinity College Dublin, where scholarships and a professorship were established. The society also partnered with the controversial Irish Church Missions to Roman Catholics (ICM) in 1848, though this alliance was strained due to the ICM’s aggressive anti-Catholic stance. In its later years, during the Home Rule movement, the society advocated for ...