The first school in Poyntzpass was built in in 1813 in the townland of Brannock, in today’s Chapel Street, financed by local charitable donations. Thomas McCreash was the first teacher and in 1826 his income was recorded as being £16, from school fees paid by 24 pupils. [BIF Vol 5, 1991] McCreash was also well known locally as a builder of sun dials[2], which he made for three local churches – Ballyargan RC Chapel (1826) and two Poyntzpass churches, St’s Josephs and Acton Parish Church.
The 1826 Commissioners of Irish Education Enquiry report listed teachers in Poyntzpass and the surrounding areas.
| Location | Teacher | Religion | Annual pay | Premises |
| Poyntzpass | James Whigham | Seceder | Abt. £40 | Rented |
| Poyntzpass | Thomas Salmon | Estab. Church | Abt. £30 | Rented |
| Poyntzpass | Thomas McCreash | R. Catholic | Abt. £16 | Rented |
| Poyntzpass | Jane Shaw | Estab. Church | Abt. £5 17s | Small cottage |
| Acton | David McConnel | R. Catholic | Abt. ££8 | Built by Manor of Acton |
| Tyrone’s Ditches | — | Presbyterian | Abt. £12 | Thatched house |
| Taniokey | William Ellis | Estab. Church | Abt. £12 | Seceders meeting house |
| Ballynaleck | James McKeever | R. Catholic | £7 or £8 | Held in a barn |
Whigham had 59 pupils, and Salmon had 47. There were 66 male pupils and 50 females. Thomas McCreash had 24 pupils and Jane Shaw had just nine.
In the following year, Whigham is listed in the report of The Society For Promoting The Education Of The Poor Of Ireland—thankfully, it had a shorter informal name, the Kildare Place Society—as a teacher in Poyntzpass, but Salmon is not. It also mentions Whigham’s school as being ‘associated’ with the Society.
The Kildare Place Society was formed in 1811 as a non-denominational organisation. The bible was to be read to pupils, but with no doctrinal interpretation placed on the text. This provoked the ire of the Catholic hierarchy, and as a result the society later became formally associated with the established Anglican Church, although Catholic children were still accepted. Its activities became the basis of the Irish National Schools system.
The children of Poyntzpass did not receive free education; they all had to be paid for. If we assume the teachers’ incomes were all from pupils’ fees, the average annual cost[3] to educate a local child in 1826 was about 13 shillings (65 pence today).
Poyntzpass’s second purpose-built school opened in 1828. Its construction on what is now Railway Street was funded by Col. Maxwell Close, and it is thought to have been designed by the prominent Newry-born architect William J Barre[4].
In 1832 the original school on Chapel Street became Poyntzpass 1st National School.
Small boarding schools were also relatively common. In March 1842, Mr J Irvine, an “English, mercantile, mathematical and classical teacher” and “a teacher in Drumbanagher school for nearly sixteen years” advertised that he was opening a day and boarding school in Annabawn House, Donaghmore.
Boarding rates were £14 a year for those under eleven, £16 a year for those over eleven, and £20 a year for ‘parlour boarders’. The latter lived as part of the family, ate their meals at the family table, had their own private bedroom, and had access to all family facilities including, important in the winter, the warm fire in the living room, while the other boarders shivered in unheated dormitories!
Tannyoky School was built in 1840 by public subscription on land donated by Col Close.
In February 1909, the Newry Reporter reported a fundraising bazaar for Poyntzpass National Schools being held in the Petty Sessions building.
“For many years [the school buildings] were maintained in excellent order by the Close family, but since the National Board of Education assumed control, the buildings have been allowed to go very much to ruins…it is also very strange that…heating supplies have to be paid for either by the teacher out of an already meagre salary or by levying a tax on the pupils.”
The Armagh Guardian of 16 Oct 1857 also mentions “Drumbanagher Model School Farm.”
*** building of new RC and state schools ***
In the summer of 1972, after almost 150 years, the old primary school on Railway Street finally closed, and the new one on Tandragee Road opened in time for the new school year.
Evening Classes
On 1st January 1866, evening classes, mainly but not exclusively for those aged seventeen and over, were started in the National School, under teacher Archibald McVeigh, aged 23. Later that year, an application was made to the Commissioners Of Education for financial support; the school was inspected and received a favourable report. Subjects taught were “Reading, writing, dictation, arithmetic and some geography and grammar.”
Classes were held from 6pm to 9pm in the winter months, and 6.30 till 9.30 in summer, on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, except during July and August and day-school holidays. Pupils had to pay 1½d per week. Out of the 52 enrolled – 60% male and 40% female – average attendance was 29. “With one exception, the males are engaged in farming operations. Most of the females are engaged in ‘hem-stitching’[5].” The inspector’s conclusion was:
“As the school is held in a purely agricultural neighbourhood, I believe that in the course of a few months the attendance will become irregular and insufficient. Should the present attendance be maintained the school would be of considerable use. Many of those present at my visit are quickly beginning to read and write. On the whole I beg to recommend the application to the…consideration of the commissioners.”
The tradition of vocational evening classes continued into the 20th century. Poyntzpass Technical School[6] was a two-roomed wooden building next to the Presbyterian church. It was built sometime before 1927 and was an offshoot of Portadown Technical College. It provided evening classes from 7.30pm to 9.30pm – woodwork for boys and cookery and needlework for girls. In 1927 its principal was Mr Jamison; in 1943 it was Miss Sinton. Pupils were mostly in their late teens or early 20s but could be older. Even as late as 1946, when Margaret Lockhart taught the girls, the caretaker had to carry water for the cookery classes from the village pump in the square. The last local newspaper advert for evening classes appeared in 1954.
The building was demolished about 1988, and a bungalow was built on the site.
Acton Schools
Teachers
Poyntzpass No. 2 National School, later Poyntzpass Public Elementary School, Railway Street – James Watson (? – 1889), Robert Judge (1906-1931). Robert Harvey[7] (1932-1954). Mrs Minnis (1954-???)
[1] See “Three Local Schools” by Griffith Wylie, BIF Vol 5, 1991
[2] See “The Sun Dials of Thomas McCreash” by Frank Watters, BIF Vol 12, 2013
[3] Today, the average annual cost of educating a child is about £7,000!
[4] See “A Genius Architect in Poyntzpass – William J Barre” by Barbara Best, in BIF Vol 14, 2017
[5] Presumably this consisted of finishing individual pieces, such as tablecloths and napkins, for the linen industry.
[6] See “Sponge Cakes and Butter Sandwiches” by Margaret Lockhart, BIF Vol 12, 2013
[7] See “The Photographs Of Robert Harvey”, BIF Vol 5, 1991