By Conor Curran
Published in Sport in History, January 2025.
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Abstract

This article examines the implementation of physical education in Ireland’s reformatory and industrial schools, which were established in the latter half of the nineteenth century. It will focus on the years from 1858 until shortly after the partition of Ireland in 1921, while acknowledging the general bias towards the role of authorities in official reports. It will identify the systems of physical education utilised in these schools and will offer a comparison with primary and intermediate schools in the pre-partition years. It will show that external and internal drill instructors were utilised and that pupils participated in physical displays to highlight the progress made and to encourage discipline. Some also took part in competitions held before dignitaries and patrons, and at times made use of local facilities. In this way, the reformatory and industrial school education systems were not unlike more mainstream schools in those years, but facilities were often limited and lacked the development of those in more affluent intermediate schools.