National Schools (1941)

I remember when the oul’ school (old N school) was made. You can see the walls of the oul’ school yet behind at the Schoolhouse (The present N.S in Corrán). Before any schoolhouse was made in Corrán there was a master from Newport be the name of Flynn goin’around to some of the house in Corrán teaching their children. Twas this Flynn that was teaching my uncle, Father Mick, only a few families that used to go to school to him. The Gallagher’s the Ó Máille’s and the Pattens mostly (that used to attend). Indeed he had no school only goin’ from house to house or anywhere he would get a barn to bring his scholars into. This was not the Flynn I was tellin’you about before that was in the soup school but a namesake of his.
I didn’t know much about the schools or the masters on this side of the channel because it was on the other side (west side of channel) in Kildownet I went to school. A man named Donnellan was our teacher but I don’t know where he came from, when he left Kildownet he went to Ballycroy we used to have states and oul“weathered” shells from the shore were the pencils we used to have sometimes. Everyone of us hadn’t a state. The master used to have a big slate hangin’ on the wall. Pike the landlord, was the manager of the school and he used be putting masters in and out as he liked himsel’ I couldn’t remember anyone of them but Donnellan because they usedn’t we left long in it, women mostly that used to come. Some of them used to get eleven shillings a week and some more and I believe some less. I don,t know who used to pay them. The school I went to in Kildown’et was where the school is now. (Derreen N S) We never learned any Irish at school, but the master used to speak Irish and he never stopped anyone from speaking it. It was Irish we used to speak always besides. I never heard of the “bata scóir or anything like it, we were learning reading writin’ and sums at the school.