Ardclough Sedition Case was a complaint and threat of prosecution leveled against “Nora J Murray” (1888–1955), an Irish poetess and school teacher, during the revolutionary period

Irish War of Independence

The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...

.

Complaint

Ms Murray’s teaching of history in Ardclough

Ardclough

Ardclough, officially Ardclogh , is a village and community in the parish of Kill County Kildare, Ireland, two miles off the N7 national primary road. Amongst its buildings today are a national school, a church, Ardclough GAA Club, and one shop "Buggys". Ardclough also contains the historic round...

 National School was the subject of a complaint from local Unionist landlord Bertram Hugh Barton (1858–1927) in 1916.

Late in 1917 these allegations reappeared in the form of a complaint about “seditious teaching” filed to the National School commissioners in the name of Mrs Bourke, who said that her child had been discriminated against because he was the son of a British soldier.

Mrs Bourke informed the Commissioners that the teacher “instructs the children always to hate the British and tells them when they grow up she hopes they will fight and die for an Irish Republic,” phrases uncannily similar to the complaints used by Bertram Barton.

She alleged that Ms Murray taught children the nationalist poetry written by Emily Lawless

Emily Lawless

Emily Lawless was an Irish novelist and poet from County Kildare.-Biography :She was born at Lyons House below Lyons Hill, Ardclough, County Kildare. Her grandfather was Valentine Lawless, a member of the United Irishmen and son of a convert from Catholicism to the Church of Ireland. Her father...

 (1845–1913) who had been born in nearby Lyons

Lyons Hill

Lyons Hill is a restored village, and former parish with church, now part of the community of Ardclough in north County Kildare. At a time when canal passenger boats travelled at Lyons was the nearest overnight stop to Dublin on the Grand Canal. On the hilltop is a trigonometrical point used by...

 and who was a granddaughter of United Irish leader Valentine Lawless 2nd baron Cloncurry (1773–1853). She also alleged that Ms Murray had allowed songs composed by Thomas Davis

Thomas Davis

-Politicians:*Thomas Davis , Irish-American member of United States House of Representatives*Thomas Aspinwall Davis , American Mayor of Boston in 1845*Thomas Beall Davis , U.S. Representative from West Virginia...

 and Peadar Kearney

Peadar Kearney

Peadar Kearney was an Irish republican and composer of numerous rebel songs. In 1907 he wrote the lyrics to "The Soldier's Song" , now the Irish national anthem.-Background:...

 to be sung in class. Influences of all three writers can be found in Murray’s own poetry.

Response

In October 1917 the Commissioners notified the manager of the school, John Donovan that the complaint had been received. He responded that, contrary to Mrs Bourke's accusations, that there had been no instances of seditious teaching in the history class, which had focused mainly on the Norman period, that the charge of victimisation of Bourke’s child was “absolutely false” and that the numbers attending the school had not, as alleged, fallen as a consequence of a loss of confidence in Miss Murray.

Fr Donovan referred to “the celebrated tongue” Mrs Bourke had in the neighbourhood.” He claimed that the teacher was both efficient and popular, and that any songs that may have been sung in class were so widely known that “no-one attaches any significance to them.”

Enquiry

A sworn enquiry organised by Commissioners was postponed, pending a prosecution for sedition by the Dublin Castle administration in Ireland

Dublin Castle administration in Ireland

The Dublin Castle administration in Ireland was the government of Ireland under English and later British rule, from the twelfth century until 1922, based at Dublin Castle.-Head:...

. A defence fund was organised by local people and after considerable publicity no sedition proceedings were initiated.

The only demand on Miss Murray from the Commissioners was that she was required in future to submit all songs to be sung in class for prior approval. Mrs Bourke’s children moved to a Protestant school run under the patronage of Barton in Straffan demesne.

Significance

The case was regarded as a turning point in the battle between the Colonial authorities and the Irish National Teachers Organisation and school managers for freedom of expression in the Irish classrooms at a time when teachers were instructed to force children to recite poems such as “a happy English child.”