“Soup Schools” in Corrán (1941)

There was two “soup schools” here in Corrán, one of them was two stripes back from this house where the “pound” is now. The pound is just where the oul’schoolhouse was. Twas only a small thatched house . Oul’Pat Sweeney was the teacher. Pat Sweeney at the Sound is his son . Oul’Pat, the teacher, turned a Catholic and got married to a girl named Mary Mc Cann. There never was many scholars goin’to the school and it didn’t last very long. Oul’ Pat Sweeney left and it went over to Kildownet and he was teaching there for a while. Then another teacher named Cafferkey from Ballycroy came here to the school here, but he didn’t stay long. The people didn’t like him and anyhow they didn’t go to the school very much Cafferky left and went to Meelin (a townland north of Dooega in the southern part Achill Island) Cafferkey was teaching after that for a long time in Meelin. Some of his people ( his descendants)are there yet and they are jumpers’ yet.
There was another “soup school” behind at Gallagher’s house is near where the road that’s going over to Poll a ‘Cric meets this road that’s goin’from her to the Sound ((Gob a ‘Coire) twas in the corner where thee two roads are meetin’ the oul’ school was. You can see the track of the schoolhouse yet on your right hand side when you turn over from road (rd to sound). That school didn’t last very long at all. There was only one teacher ever in it. He was a man of the Flynn’s (s m) Newport that was the master in it , but he wasn’t long in it when a man Ryan from Newport got a least of the land wher the school was and of the first things he done when he got the land was to knock the school and Flynn, the master had to go. The road that’s goin’over to Poll a Cric from this road (rd to Achill Sound from Corrán) is called “Bóitrín Ryan”yet after that Ryan that had the land and knocked the school.
The “Soupers” never got much of a hold here in Corrán. All the landlords here at the time were catholics and they wouldn’t let any school on their land unless it was made on commons or someplace like that. But down the Island (Achill Island) the “soupers”were very strong and had schools and churches and ministers and bible readers. Nangle was their headman, and they had a college in Meelin called “Trinity College.” Twas in that college they used to train their own ministers and bible readers. The best and cleverest lads that were going to the soup schools were sent to “Trinity College” in Meelin where they made ministers and bible readers of them. Some of them then went to England and never came back and some more waited at home in Achill preaching for the “jumpers”. Nangle had a paper, a newspaper called the “Achill Herald.” It was printed in the “Colony”(a village at the foot of Sliab Mór on north east side. The village got its name when a colony of settlers (protestants) were planted there in Nangle’s time about 1836 or so S.M).
It was only a small paper I heard, I never seen it, but I heard it was a man named Daly that used to print it. They had a machine for printing it like any paper. Once a month I think it used to come out.
“Trinity College” in Meelin was a big place and there was a big church along with the college in it and houses where the students used to sleep in. They had a big farm in it too and the students used to work the farm. You could see the ruins in it yet I believe.