An international conference to be held in Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, in May will examine the origins of the primary school system in Ireland.

The event will look, in particular, at the role of educationalists Richard Lovell Edgeworth and his daughter Maria before the Education Act 1831, which introduced a formal primary-education system in Ireland.

The conference, entitled ‘The Education of a Nation – The Role of the Edgeworths’, takes place in the Maria Edgeworth Centre on Friday 5 May.

Registration is now open.

International speakers

This year marks the 225th anniversary of the publication of Maria Edgeworth’s major work on education, Practical Education.

Both Richard Lovell Edgeworth’s Education Bill of 1799, and Maria’s essays are seen as being the catalysts who laid the foundation stone for the passing of 1831 act.

Speakers from Ireland, Scotland, England, Italy, and the US will discuss whether the vision of the Edgeworths has a contemporary message, at a time when school patronage and religious instruction is such a contested issue in Ireland.

The conference is part of the wider Maria Edgeworth Festival of Literature and Art.