‘Day Scholars are received from the age of ten to twelve at £2, paid quarterly in advance.
‘The Incorporated Society have abundant cause for believing that the introduction of Boarders into their Establishments has produced far more advantageous results to the public than they could, at so early a period, have anticipated; and that the election of boys to their Foundations only after a fair competition with others of a given district, has had the effect of stimulating masters and scholars to exertion and study, and promises to operate most beneficially for the advancement of religious and general knowledge.
| Arrangement of School Business in Dundalk Institution | |||
| Hours | Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. | Tuesday and Thursday. | Saturday. |
| 6 to 7 | Rise, wash, etc. | Rise, wash, etc. | Rise, wash, etc. |
| 7 " 7½ | Scripture by the Master and prayer. | Scripture by the Master and prayer. | Scripture by the Master and prayer. |
| 7½ " 8½ | Reading, History, etc. | Reading, History, etc. | Reading, History, etc. |
| 8½ " 9 | Breakfast. | Breakfast. | Breakfast. |
| 9 " 10 | Play. | Play. | Play. |
| 10 " 10½ | English Grammar. | Geography. | 10 to 11 repetition. |
| 10½ " 11¼ | Algebra. | Euclid. | |
| 11¼ " 12 | Scripture. | Lecture on principles of Arithmetic. | 11 to 12, Use of Globes. |
| 12 " 12-3/4 | Writing. | Writing. | 12 to 1, Catechism and Scripture by the Catechist. |
| 12-3/4 " 2 | Arithmetic at Bookkeeping. Desks, and | Mensuration. | |
| 2 " 2½ | Dinner. | Dinner. | Dinner. |
| 2½ " 5 | Play. | Play. | Play. |
| 5 " 7½ | Spelling, Mental Arithmetic, and Euclid. | Spelling, Mental Arithmetic, and Euclid. | The remainder of this day is devoted to exercise till the hour of Supper, the hour of Supper, after which the Boys assemble in the Schoolroom and hear a portion of Scripture read and explained by the Master, as on other days, and conclude with prayer. |
| 7½ " 8 | Supper. | Supper. | |
| 8 " 8½ | Exercise. | Exercise. | |
| 8½ " 9 | Scripture by the Master, and prayer in Schoolroom. | Scripture by the Master, and prayer in Schoolroom. | |
| 9 | Retire to bed. | Retire to bed. | |
| The sciences of Navigation and practical Surveying are taught in the Establishment; also a selection of the Pupils, who have a taste for it, are instructed in the art of Drawing. | |||
| Dietary | |||
| Breakfast.—Stirabout and Milk, every Morning. | |||
| Dinner.—On Sunday and Wednesday, Potatoes and Beef; 10 ounces of the latter to each boy. On Monday and Thursday, Bread and Broth; ½ lb. of the former to each boy. On Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, Potatoes and Milk; 2 lbs. of the former to each boy. | |||
| Supper.—½ lb. of Bread with Milk, uniformly, except on Monday and Thursday; on these days, Potatoes and Milk. | |||
‘The districts for eligible Candidates are as follow:—
‘Dundalk Institution embraces the counties of Louth and Down, because the properties which support it lie in this district.
‘The Pococke Institution, Kilkenny, embraces the counties of Kilkenny and Waterford, for the same cause.
‘The Ranelagh Institution, the towns of Athlone and Roscommon, and three districts in the counties of Galway and Roscommon, which the Incorporated Society hold in fee, or from which they receive impropriate tithes.
(Signed) Cæsar Otway, Secretary.’
[31] The Proprietary Schools of late established have gone far to protect the interests of parents and children; but the masters of these schools take boarders, and of course draw profits from them. Why make the learned man a beef and mutton contractor? It would be easy to arrange the economy of a school so that there should be no possibility of a want of confidence, or of peculation, to the detriment of the pupil.
[32] ‘I want to go into a coal-mine,’ says Tom Sheridan, ‘in order to say I have been there.’ ‘Well, then, say so,’ replied the admirable father.