DOWLING, Patrick John. The Hedge Schools of Ireland. With an introduction by the Rev. T. Corcoran.

Dublin: Phoenix Publishing, n.d. (c.1935). Octavo. pp. xvii, 182. Quarter linen on green faded cloth. A very good copy. Very scarce.

Hedge Schools became widespread during the eighteenth century in order to provide education for Catholics who were prevented by the Penal Laws from attending schools at home or abroad. W.E.H. Lecky, the historian, wrote: ""The legislation on the subject of Catholic education may be briefly described, for it amounted to universal, unqualified, and unlimited proscription"". The origin of hedge schools can be traced back as far as the seventeenth century and the curriculum included Latin, Greek, Arithmetic, Irish, English, History and Geography.

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