The Irish Church Disestablishment Act (1869) and the general synod of the Church of Ireland (1871): the art and structure of educational reform

Historians have observed that the period 1860–1890 was educationally progressive. This paper identifies the renaissance with the creation of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland in the aftermath of Church Disestablishment. Disestablishment legislation facilitated the inclusion of the laity in Synod. The paper argues that the lay-clerical dynamic generated educational reform at all levels of provision. Post-Reformation denominational divisions qualify the discussion. The structure of Synod – General Synod, Diocesan Synods, Boards of Education and Education Committees – was the outcome of an intense debate as the post-Disestablishment Church of Ireland sought to reinvent itself. The ‘art’ of the title refers to Synod’s adroit use of this structure in promoting educational reform that mitigated tensions surrounding the religious-secular conflict which characterised Irish post-Famine modernisation. Synod’s role as agent of educational reform constitutes the theme. The paper aims to contribute to what, regretfully, remains an undeveloped historiography.