In the early 1800s the Commissioners of Education carried out a number of Inquiries or reports into the state of education in Ireland. The most important of these was the Irish Education Inquiry of 1826. It contained the names of the Masters and Mistresses in 11,823 schools throughout Ireland with details of their pay, the condition of their schools, and the number and religion of their pupils. In this talk local historian Tony McCarthy will discuss the early stakeholders and pioneers of this period in Irish primary education. He will also give details of the schools and teachers in Skibbereen and surrounding parishes included in the 1826 report. Small charge for non-members