Grammar School - Grammar Schools in Other Countries - Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Education in the Republic of Ireland has traditionally been organised on denominational lines. Grammar schools along the lines of those in Great Britain were set up for members of the Church of Ireland prior to its disestablishment in 1871. Some schools remain, as private schools catering largely for Protestant students. These are often fee-paying and accommodate boarders, given the scattered nature of the Protestant population in much of Ireland. Such schools include Bandon Grammar School, Drogheda Grammar School, Dundalk Grammar School and Sligo Grammar School. Others are among the many former fee-paying schools absorbed into larger state-funded community schools founded since the introduction of universal secondary education in the Republic by minister Donogh O'Malley in September 1967. Examples include Cork Grammar School, replaced by Ashton Comprehensive School in 1972.