| dc.description.abstract | The population in the Republic of Ireland (hereafter, Ireland) has become increasingly
diverse over the past two decades. New demographics in terms of culture, language and
belief systems are enriching her once relatively homogeneous society and a school system
which continues to reflect the country’s historic relationship with the Roman Catholic
Church.
During penal times in Ireland, generally, schools for Catholics were forbidden until the
Relief Acts of the late eighteenth century when Nano Nagle, Catherine McAuley and
Edmund Rice, among others, began to establish schools for Catholic children. Following
Catholic emancipation in 1829, Catholics sought to assert their new-found freedom and
to establish schools which reflected their empowered sense of identity. This has resulted
in the Roman Catholic Church being responsible for the patronage of 90% of primary
schools and approximately 50% of post-primary (second-level) schools in the Republic
of Ireland today.
While the majority of the country’s population still identify as Roman Catholic, there has been
a rise in the number of people in Ireland declaring that they have no religion and an increase
in those loosely attached to their Christian identity. The 2016 census highlights the decline in
numbers of people identifying as Roman Catholic, falling from 84.2% in 2011 to 78.3% in
2016 (CSO 2017). While these figures are still high, religious practice rates, particularly
among young people, have declined considerably. Mass attendance dropped from 91% in 1971
to 35% in 2012 according to some estimates (Ganiel, 2016).
Parents within minority faith groups and parents who wish for multi-denominational or
secular schooling for their children in Ireland are now seeking to establish primary and
second-level schools which reflect their own identity and ethos, for which the Irish
constitution allows. However, educational provision has not yet caught up with
developments in Irish society. This has resulted in many Catholic schools welcoming a
growing religiously and secularly diverse student body within their school communities, both
enriching and posing challenges for the schools. | en |
