The Irish standard., 1917-09-15

to grow until the ninth century, but
during the Morse invasion, was plum
dered and burned no less than nine
times.
About the year 544 Saint Ciaran,
the carpenters son, founded an even
greater school at Clonmacnoise. This
school became the greatest university
in Ireland and produced some of the
most distinguished scholars. But it,
too, fell a prey to the barbarians.
Bangor, founded by Conigall on Bel
fast Lough, between the year $50 and
$50, was the greatest school in the
northern province. Other great in
situations were Neville in the County
Down, founded by St. Finnian about
500 A. d., Clonenaugh in Queens
County, Lismore, the great college of
southeast Ireland and others.
In addition to these a great num-
Der of lesser schools existed and they
were crowded with students not only
from Ireland, but from foreign lands.
Bede tells us of the crowds of Anglo
SaXons during the plague about the
year GG4 and how they We're warmly
welcomed by the Irish who took care
they should be provided with food
every day without payment on their
part and they should receive gratuit-
GUS instructions from Irish masters.
The Renaissance began in Ireland
seven hundred years before it was
known in Italy and in the sixth cen
tury-says Babington-"the old culture
lands had to turn for some little light
and teaching to that remote and late
ly barbarous land of Ireland Dur
ing the darkest period Of the middle
ages on the continent (siXth to eighth
century,, all study was at it's lowest
ebb. 1t was at this period, especially
toward the close of the eighth cen
fury, that the Irish nation, by general
reclamation the most cultured in Eu-
rope sent forth the swarms of scholars
to the continent to teach, preach,
found monasteries and preside over
schools. But with the evil days of
the Vikings came a change and for
two centuries the fierce Norsemen
plundered and destroyed. They rent
her shrines, her books; demolished
her beautiful ornamental temples, in
word, although there were a hun
dred sharp, ready, cool and never rest
ing tongues in each head and 100
loud unceasing voices from each
tongue they could never relate or emu
merate all the Gael suffered from
these valiant watchful purely pagan
people,"
One aim OF the Norscmen was to
destroy all learning. ut was not al
lowed writes Heating, Ito give in
struction in letters" Since the
Norman Invasion" wrote the late Miss
Stokes, 1.-The native character of Ire
land has best found expression in
her music No work of purely Celtic
art, whether in illumination of sacred
writing or in gold or bronze was
wrought by Irish hands after that cen
fury, that is the eleventh century.
After that commenced the permanent
warfare between the English and the
Irish which rendered all literary schol-
astic and artistic advancement prac
tically impossible. The Normans gen
orally set themselves from the first,
against native Irish institutions, es-
tablished churches and sanctuaries of
their own and to these institutions no
native Irishman was to be admitted.
Gradually, however, the bulk Of the
NOrmans became largely asSimilatcd
with the Irish, soon gave up talking
Norman French and spoke and wrote
1,;r1, o. 1,1 1r
Latin was spoken as second language.
Every one Of any education at all
spoke it fluently. They speak Latin
like vulgar language iearned in their
schools of teach craft and law where
at they begin children and holde on
sixteene or twentie yeares," wrote
Campion in 1874.
Elizabeth and Her Successors.
Elizabeths war did much to break
up the power of the native Irish and
with them their schools and institu
tions. In the Pale, however, there
were some good grammar schools con-
Quoted on English lines, which were
not interferred with and some of their
best scholars went on to Oxford and
Cambridge. James l, however, soon
prohibited by law any native Irish
man awaiting himself of this means Of
education. When tho confederate
Irish rose to arms in 1912 they strove
to re-establish their native schools and
we find Rory OMore, writing to Brus
sells and urging the learned fathers
at Loirain to hasten to Ireland with
their Irish printing presses so as to
open an Irish school before Elan Mac
Egan dies. The sword of Cromwell
however, put an end to this dream.