Collecting the Folklore of Ireland: The Schoolchildren’s Contribution

Abstract

Two years after its establishment in 1935 with the remit to ‘collect, preserve and publish’ the folklore of Ireland, the Irish Folklore Commission (Coimisiun Bealoideasa Eireann) (1935–70) organized a major collecting scheme involving the senior pupils and their teachers in the national (primary) schools in Ireland. The project, conducted during the years 1937–38, was very ambitious in both scope and objectives, and was also immensely productive. This article examines its genesis, operation, and results, set against political and cultural exigencies of the time. The article also assesses subsequent collecting initiatives focused on schools, such as that organized by the Committee on Ulster Folklife and Traditions for schools throughout Northern Ireland in 1955–57, and, later, sponsored folklore competitions for schools, some held on an all-Ireland basis, to commemorate the fortieth and fiftieth anniversaries, respectively, of the ground-breaking 1937–38 scheme.