From the Blackboard to the Grave: A Teacher’s Legacy in Rathanna
by Hilary McDonagh, M.A.G.I.
“ Keating – April 21st 1908 at Rahanna Cottage, Borris, Co. Carlow Thomas Keating. National Teacher. Interred on Thursday after Office and Mass at Rahanna. Deeply regretted by his wife, family and large circle of friends[1].”
A short notice marking the death of a National Teacher from Rathanna, Co. Carlow. One could be forgiven for not giving it a second glance. But scratch the surface of the Department of Education records, and much more can be gleaned about this man.
According to relevant Department files, Thomas Keating was employed as the principal of the Boys’ National School in Rathanna, Kiltennell, Co. Carlow (Roll No. 665) between 1865 and 1908
He was appointed to the role[2] in August 1865, following the retirement of the previous teacher, Edward Moran, which led to the school’s temporary closure earlier that year. A 1905 Department of Education report[3] recorded his age as 57 years and 6 months on 31 March that year, with a total service of 38 years and 2 months. It also confirmed that he had attended school in Goresbridge, Co. Kilkenny, and trained at the Bagenalstown Science and Art School, Co. Carlow.
The school registers[4] provided the probable evidence of how Thomas met his wife, Catherine Collier. Catherine was born in 1850 to George Collier and Catherine [maiden name unknown], in the nearby townland of Coonogue. She was baptised in the local Church of Ireland parish of Kiltennell. Appointed to the staff on 1 September 1863, she was promoted to Senior Monitor at Rathanna Female National School (Roll No. 666) on 1 September 1866. Thomas and Catherine married at the RC Parish of Rathanna on 29 Jan 1871 (the bride converted to Catholicism). They set up home in the allocated teacher’s residence adjoining the school, where they raised their eight children.
The school Inspector’s reports were notably subjective: one lauded Thomas’s skill and experience, while another stated that he “had not much skill” but “attended punctually and worked hard.” In 1906, he received a letter stating that the school was contravening Rule 127(b) by admitting boys under the age of seven. How times have changed!
The school roll books confirmed that among Thomas Keating’s 75 pupils in 1903 was his four-year-old grandson, Patrick Joseph McDonagh (student no. 490), who attended 164 Infant classes during that academic year. Patrick, Thomas’s eldest grandson, lived for a time with his maternal grandparents and his eldest sister (who sadly died in 1903). Thomas Keating’s death on 21 April 1908 led to the school’s temporary closure. However, the connection between the Keating family and the school endured for another year. The school manager (the local priest) made repeated efforts to evict Thomas’s widow, Catherine, from their home. But having received no offer of support or compensation as “the late teacher’s wife,” Catherine firmly refused to leave. The house had come with Thomas’s role as principal, and she rightly refused to surrender it without being provided for. It took a full year to resolve the matter.
One might speculate whether her original religious affiliation influenced the priest’s actions—but there’s little doubt that Thomas would have been very proud of her.
School registers for most counties are available online at www.findmypast.ie, but for some reason, Co. Carlow is omitted. If you wish to view the registers, roll books, and Inspector files for this county, a visit to the National Archives of Ireland will be required. The rewards, however, are well worth the effort.
Hilary McDonagh, B.A., M.A.G.I.
[1] Nationalist and Leinster Times (2 May 1908, page 4)
[2] Reports of Inspectors 1903-1909, Waterford Circuit Centre, District 19B
[3] Teachers in the Service of the Commissioners of National Education on the 31st March 1905’, National Archives of Ireland
[4] School Registers, District No. 39. 1855-1873r Times (2 May 1908, page 4)
