Kevin’s lecture will be an introduction to the history of education in Ireland, drawing broad strokes across a wide canvas. He will examine what we know of education from earliest times up to much more recent times, and identify some key formative influences. He delves into the roles of power, religion and classicism in directing much of Ireland’s educational history up to the latter quarter of the 20th century. He will also discuss the extent to which Ireland may be in the midst of an educational revolution as we reach the end of the first quarter of the 21st century.
Biography:
Dr Kevin McCarthy spent twenty years teaching History and English at the CBS Secondary School in Dungarvan, followed by seventeen as a senior inspector with the Department of Education. Kevin has written school textbooks during his teaching career, and latterly several sports histories, including the award-winning Gold, Silver and Green: The Irish Olympic Journey 1896-1924 (Cork University Press). He has represented Ireland on education committees at both the European Union and Council of Europe and was coordinator of the Department of Education’s programme for the Ireland 2016 commemorations and Decade of Centenaries up to his retirement in 2018.
