Have the snakes come back?: The family and the defence of Catholic educational structures in Ireland (1957–1975)

Abstract

The transformation of the Irish educational system between the late 1950s and the mid-1970s was dictated by the reforming policies adopted by the Irish state. This period saw a dramatic expansion of the educational system, particularly at post-primary level, along with the tentative beginnings of secularisation. The state moved abruptly from a conservative and largely passive function in supporting educational provision to a central role in directing and implementing educational policy within the space of two decades. The Irish state's pro-active agenda in education presented the first real challenge to traditional Catholic educational structures in almost a century; this provoked considerable tension in church-state relations and caused a great deal of resentment among traditional stakeholders, including religious orders and clerical managers. The educational initiatives promoted by reforming politicians and officials inspired a particularly hostile reaction in the pamphlet Have the Snakes Come Back?, which portrayed the increasing power of the government in education as a threat to the family and the Catholic faith. This publication provides a striking commentary not only on controversial developments in education, but also on the liberalisation of Irish social values and on the decline of clericalism in Irish politics. The pamphlet was not an isolated event but part of a wider process of resistance to the state's policies in education. The advocates of educational reform did not have it all their own way and it was not inevitable that they would succeed; the defence of traditional institutions by established stakeholders, associated particularly with the Catholic Church, was an important variable within the politics of expansion.