The history of Ireland is closely entwined with that of Britain, and it might be assumed
that on both islands education evolved along parallel if not identical lines. However, this
is not the case. Although Ireland, meaning the present Republic of Ireland, assumed
autonomy as the Irish Free State in 1922 and full independence in 1937, Britain and
Ireland continue to share a commensal if not symbiotic relationship in matters of
education. There is a staff-room addage which claims "wait 20 years and the new thing in Britain will be in Ireland". Whether meant unkindly or not, there appears to be some truth in it and specifically the structure and methodology in primary education, the use of Anglocentric textbooks, the role of continuous assessment in schools, and the small-scale implementation of British educational projects belie a dependence that few natives here
would admit. Of course, wait 20 years, and if the thing proves to be a mess, one might
have a lucky escape. In this overview, I will attempt to align the development of the education system of the Republic of Ireland with the UK, noting specific peculiarities. I will focus on mainstream science education rather than include vocational education in the technological subjects. I will present the Irish education system as a balance point between societal pressures, with the government emerging as a proactive force or reactive force of change and
development as opposed to the care-taker role it tended to adopt in former times.
Government policy in education exists because the civil service, parents and teachers insist on it, and some might suggest in spite of it. Ireland achieves a relatively high
quality output for its capital investment, but such a mismatch can only be a stop-gap
rather than long-term policy. I highlight the issue of so-called free education at second
and third level, and that issue, combined with curricular reform, needs to be assessed on
the back of the basic question posed to society in general: "what do you want from the
compulsory education system?"