Denominational education in the Republic of Ireland


is mostly denominational at primary and secondary level. That is to say, most schools are associated with a particular religion or Christian denomination. Denominational schools include most national schools at primary level and most voluntary secondary schools, both of which types are publicly funded by the Department of Education. The school's patron or the chair of the board of management will often be a cleric or religious. The denomination influences the ethos, although in subjects other than religion a standard curriculum is prescribed by the Department of Education for all publicly funded schools. Denominational schools can give priority of admission to pupils of the given denomination but not refuse to admit pupils based on religion.
The continued prominence of denominational education is controversial among advocates of separation of church and state. Since the 1970s Educate Together and other groups have founded multi-denominational schools. In addition, the prevalence of Catholic schools is questioned in light of Ireland's changing demographic profile brought about by secularisation and immigration since the Celtic Tiger. The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, has expressed a desire to divest the archidiocese of some of its schools to provide more choice for non-Catholic parents.

Church schools

In the Republic of Ireland, the vast majority of the country's primary schools are owned or managed by religious organisations. In 2007, and of the national total of 3,279 schools, 3039 were controlled by the Catholic Church, 183 were controlled by the Church of Ireland, 0.7% were controlled by other religious organisations while 1% were controlled by organisations which were not affiliated with any particular religion. This system of religious control was instituted according to the Stanley Letter of 1831. Amongst the country's secondary schools, voluntary secondary schools, comprehensive schools and community schools, the majority are again generally controlled by religious organisations.
Fintan O'Toole has criticised this aspect of the educational system, as has Seán Flynn, education correspondent of The Irish Times. Former Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald has also criticised the denominational system. The Humanist Association of Ireland, Atheist Ireland and other groups have likewise objected to the denominational system, believing that it introduces artificial divisions within Irish society. The Irish Primary Principals Network conducted a survey that found that 72% of parents wanted primary schools to be managed by the state with all religions given equal opportunity.
In June 2009 and referring obliquely to the events of Diswellstown the previous year the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, said that the current denominational system is "not tenable" and that "the current almost monopoly is a historical hangover that doesn't reflect the realities of the times" and has called for the Catholic Church to cede control of many schools. As of August 2010, the Catholic Church has yet to cede control of any schools. The Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference, however, supports denominational education, as does The Iona Institute, a small organisation based in Dublin which campaigns upon a range of issues of interest to conservative Catholics.

Jewish education

There is a small National School partnered with a Secondary School Stratford College in Rathgar, which has a Jewish ethos in Dublin. The National/elementary school was set up in 1934 by Rabbi Herzog, as the Zion National School in Bloomfield Avenue. The Secondary School was set up by the Chief Rabbi Jakobovitz and the Jewish community in the 1950s, initially with classes in the Dublin Talmud Torah School, but in 1953 they ceased with the opening of Stratford College. In 1980 the National School moved to the Stratford College location in Rathgar.
However throughout the years members of the Jewish community attended schools with a Christian ethos such as the Methodist run Wesley College, Dublin, where the future president of Israel Chaim Herzog attended.

Islamic education

While Muslims do attend Christian ethos schools or multi-denominational schools, in recent years there has been a growth in the number of Muslim National Schools being established, these are funded by the Department of Education.
Traditionally Muslim students have attended Christian schools and received Islamic training, separately. There are plans to establish an Islamic secondary school in Dublin.
There are also plans to set up an Islamic University in Citywest in Dublin, funded by Saudi Arabia.