History of Waterford Training College book launch

The much anticipated official launch of Fergus Dunne’s ‘De La Salle Teacher Training College Waterford 1891 to 1939’ will take place on Thursday June 17th, with all Lasallians invited to attend via Zoom at 7.30pm.

The De La Salle Teacher Training College was one of the most important third level institutions in Ireland and during its 48-year existence not only produced thousands of high quality teachers but also set the standards for other training colleges.

The college holds a very special place in the Irish Lasallian tradition and all the hard work from Fergus has paid off as he has produced a comprehensive history that has been warmly received and highly praised.

The De La Salle Teacher Training College opened its doors in Waterford in 1891 to both lay and religious trainee students and built up its reputation as a training college for male primary teachers until it was forced to close in 1939. During the 48 years of its existence as a training college, it is estimated that over 4,000 teachers were trained there who were employed in primary schools throughout the 32 counties of Ireland.

Over the first three decades of its existence, the Waterford training college operated under the rules and regulations laid down by the Board of National Education which was answerable to the British government in Westminster.

Having developed through years of national upheaval and political unrest, the training college transferred to the Free State structure after 1922. The high standard and calibre of candidates qualifying for teacher training during this period was remarkable, yet by 1934 the Irish government was forced to drastically reduce the number of teachers qualifying from the system. The end result was a decision to close the training college in Waterford in 1939 for economic and demographic reasons.

This history of the teacher training college in Waterford is mostly based on primary source material including many letters, documents and handwritten accounts held in the De La Salle archives in Waterford and Castletown. There are reams of original documents, for example, giving the most detailed specifications for every aspect of the building. The Articles of Agreement between the De La Salle authorities and the building contractor George Nolan and signed in February 1892, are retained in De La Salle College.

This 282-page volume covers many aspects of the training college development including the following:

· How the training college came to be located in Newtown and the construction of the De La Salle College building

· The contribution of Brother Potamian O’Reilly, world renowned scientist

· The Irish language and activities of the Gaelic League in the training college

· How the college managed through periods of national unrest from 1912 to 1924

· The transfer of responsibility from Westminster to the new Free State government in the 1920s

· The contribution of the college to the GAA

· The connection with the INTO, the primary teachers’ union

· The impact of socio-economic changes in the 1930s

· Proposals in the 1920s and again in the 1940s to set up a university in De La Salle College Waterford

· The decision by the de Valera government to close the college in 1939

It is probably true to say that many people living in Waterford today and who pass the De La Salle College building in Newtown on a regular basis, do not know that there was a thriving third-level institution in the city for 48 years and that over 50 per cent of male primary school teachers from all over the country were trained there before 1939.

De La Salle Teacher Training College Waterford 1891 to 1939 is published in hardback (282 pages) by Creative Print and Design Wexford.

It is on sale both instore and online in:

The Book Centre, Barronstrand Street, Waterford

Telephone: (051) 873823

Website: www.thebookcentre.ie

Email: website@thebookcentre.ie

Price €15