The 1830’s saw the establishment of national, non-denominational schools in Ireland.  Prior to that, Irish Catholics wishing to be educated had the option of converting to Protestantism or studying in clandestine ‘hedge’ schools.  Such schools were established in the barns and small, out-of-the-way buildings (i.e., behind the hedgerows) of rural communities in circumvention of the Penal Laws (finally repealed in 1829) which forbade Catholic education.  Hedge school students learned Latin, math, history, folklore, poetry, grammar and, of course, the Catechism.  The hedge masters were either learned local men or travelers who’d accept payment in-kind for a few weeks or months of instruction.  Naturally, with the repeal of the Penal Laws and the establishment of the National School system, the need for hedge schools declined.

One wonders whether a hedge school student was better prepared to emigrate than one who’d attended a national school.  In all likelihood, neither student had traveled more than a few miles from home during his life, so the sight of cities like Galway, Limerick or Liverpool would be awesome enough – but New York?  Imagine what new immigrants experienced after stepping off the boat in that harbor.  Were they overwhelmed?  Terrified?  Excited?  Most probably all three.  I suspect, though, that hedge school students who’d learned at the knee of a fellow Catholic versed in the oral tradition and adept at storytelling had the edge over those educated in the structured environment of an English school.