Ireland and the Home Rule MovementMcDonnell, Michael, Sir
History
Ireland and the Home Rule Movement
McDonnell, Michael, Sir
Home rule -- Ireland; Ireland
Of other institutions affording opportunities for higher education in
Ireland, the three Queen's Colleges in Cork, Galway, and Belfast were
destined by their founder, Sir Robert Peel, who established them in
1838, to supply the higher education which was lacking among the
Catholics of the country. The Protestant "atmosphere" of Trinity being
the great obstacle in the way of Catholics who wished for higher
education for their sons, it was thought that by removing this and
setting up undenominational colleges all would be well and the religious
difficulty would be solved. It was as great a mistake as it was possible
to commit. They were stigmatised by a leading Protestant of the time as
godless colleges; they ran counter to all Catholic principles of
education, which demand at least some connection between secular and
religious teaching, and the taboo to which they have in large measure
been subjected has to a great extent resulted in making a failure of
Cork College, and still more of Galway College. The undenominationalism
of Queen's College, Belfast, not being in opposition to the consciences
of the Presbyterians of that city, has resulted in the fact that the
College there has succeeded to a far greater extent than have the other
two.
The Royal University, founded in 1882, is, as I have said, nothing more
than an examining body, established on the lines of the London
University as it existed at that date, with power to award scholarships
and fellowships. About fifty years ago John Henry Newman founded the
Catholic University in St. Stephen's Green. Unendowed and depending on
the voluntary contributions of the poorest people in Western Europe, it
is not surprising that the venture failed. From it, however, rose the
University College, controlled by the Jesuit Fathers, which occupies the
same buildings, and the pupils of which compete for the degrees of the
Royal University as those of the Queen's Colleges have done ever since,
on the foundation of the Royal University, the Queen's University--of
which the three colleges were components--was destroyed. The indirect
mode in which the Catholic University College is endowed is worthy of
attention. The Royal University, out of its income from the Irish Church
Fund, maintains twenty-nine fellows, each with an income of £400 a year
on condition that they should act as examiners in the Royal University,
and in addition give their services as teachers in colleges appointed by
the Senate (namely, the three Queen's Colleges, University College,
Dublin, and the Magee College in Derry). Of these Fellows fifteen are
allotted to University College. On the assumption that of their salary
one-quarter represents the payment as examiners to the University--and
the estimate is generous in view of the payment of only £30 to each
examiner in the Cambridge Triposes--if this be assumed to be the case,
the remaining £300 stands for the salary given as teacher in University
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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