I sent this note last week but it didn't appear and I just realized that it was sent from the wrong address! Please excuse the delay. >I have enjoyed reading what Jane Lyons wrote about the early Irish >schools. My ggg grandfather came to Canada from Leitrim in the late 1830s >and was a teacher after he arrived here, so I assume he probably was a >teacher there as well--his name was Bernard Reynolds. It seems there were >vast numbers of Reynolds in Leitrim--I see that Family Search has several >Bernards listed, none of whom seem to fit. > >Some of you may not be aware that the Canadian public school system was >modelled on the Irish system, thanks to Egerton Ryerson. Ryerson was not a >very nice man by some accounts, but he laid the groundwork for a pretty >good system of public education here (which our current government is >doing its best to destroy--unfortunately, they're well on their way to >succeeding). > >Thanks Jane. I enjoy reading your pieces--they have greatly enriched my >understanding of life in 19th century Ireland. Sharon M. Haggerty London, Ontario Canada Home Page (with links to Clarke and Reynolds pages): http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~sharonmh Full Data Base: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/~sharonmh Haggerty Lines Only (including Tanner of Ontario, and Boyd and Forbes of Mercer Co. PA): http://www.execulink.com/~haggerty/Family