Master Waldron of Knock

An early nineteenth century school teacher, described by Daniel Campbell
of Knock Co. Mayo and Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England

[From The Waldron Journal, No. 2, 1997]

Contributed by John Carty

The Apparition of The Blessed Virgin, St. Joseph and St. John, at Knock, County Mayo on Thursday the 21st of August 1879 turned a previously quiet, and rather ordinary part of rural Ireland into an internationally renowned place of pilgrimage. It thrust the tiny village and parish of Knock into the glare of international media attention. Daniel Campbell, the author of the text that follows, was born in Knock in 1825, and emigrated to England in 1849. Upon reading newspaper accounts of the Apparition, and the many subsequent miraculous cures which occurred there, he decided to commit to paper his memories of Knock, his native place, and of his childhood there. It is a fascinating document detailing everyday life in Knock in the 1830s and 40s. It includes descriptions of many locals whom Daniel knew, and whom had an influence, in one way or another, in his life. Daniel's teacher in the 1830s was a man by the name of Thomas Waldron. Daniel's description of Mr. Waldron is, at times, unflattering, but he makes the point that there were few who could match his teaching abilities, especially since he was sought after as a guide and mentor by those intending to follow in the same profession:

"I went sometimes to school to Mr. Waldron who lived in a little house about forty yards from the church. It may be interesting to hear a little of the schoolmaster, school and scholars, of which I was one, but very young. But I remember many things that happened there at the time. There are many living in this country (i.e. England) now, I dare say, that can remember Mr. Waldron's school."

"It was a long, low-roofed thatched house with no windows and no light but what the door admitted. I think there was a window or hole on the western side. We used to bring two turfs under our arm to make a fire, and if we did not do that we would not be let to the fire and would be caned if we did not bring our two sods of turf. Though we were rude and unmannerly enough on other occasions, we were obliged to call Mr. Waldron 'Master', so he went generally by that name. He had scholars varying from three to twenty-two and I could name some of them, and I believe some of them were older. I knew three young men that came from near Claremorris, namely John Brogan, John and James Concannon, a distance of five or six miles, to finish their education, for they were to be schoolmasters themselves and the town of Claremorris could not boast of a schoolmaster that could compare with Mr. Waldron."

"I will give you a little about the schoolmaster's appearance and his personal habits. He was a man of about forty-five, or perhaps fifty at the time I went to school to him. He was a slovenly man, careless in his dress, an old bachelor living in the above named schoolhouse with his old mother - Mother Mongan - as we always called her. His dress was slovenly, for I never knew him to wear a good suit of clothes. He generally wore an old frieze coat and corduroy breeches buttoned at the knees; generally one or two grey or blue stockings with broken heels rising above his low, ungrazed or unbuttoned shoes or brogues; an old hat made, perhaps twenty years before by Carter, the hatter of Claremorris, or perhaps Wilsons of the same place; a yellow white shirt of coarse linen, sometimes buttoned and other times loose about the neck. Sometimes he wore a collar handkerchief and sometimes not. So now you have a description, as well as I can give it, of Mr. Waldron. But I am not yet done with the school and the scholars, for I must give a little description of Mother Mongan or Mrs. Waldron."

"She was, at the time, between seventy and eighty years and always sat by the fireside. Her bed was up in the corner of the school, the turf and potatoes in the other corner and, being a mixed school, boys and girls varying in age, as I said before, from three to twenty-two or perhaps older, you cannot think of the mischief some of them were guilty of. The master's time was taken up the first hour mending and making pens and writing headlines for his scholars. He was a bad pen-maker, but if he happened to get a good pen by one of his scholars he took possession of it until he wrote about forty or fifty headlines of large hand, round hand and small hand, perhaps. At the same time he was giving instruction to his high learned scholars or solving a proposition in Euclid or giving a lesson in surveying, or teaching the A B C or simple addition to one of his scholars. His mother would cry out: "Now Tom, why don't you come here? Turn these from the fire!! Tom, Tom, don't you see these; they're roasting the praties!" Then Tom would soon come and hit the youngsters with his cane in the shins, for very few of them wore shoes or stockings, unless it was the big and mischievous ones who did the harm and always put the blame on the little ones, myself included - for I was often scratching my head and rubbing my shin bone when the rule or cane dropped heavy on me, which was very often."

"In the Winter quarter the little schoolhouse was full and the little children did not learn much off the master, for he was engaged by the young men who went to school when they had nothing else to do - and did not do much at school either, for they were more for mischief than anything else."

"Now I will tell you about our pass or permit when we wanted to leave the school for a few minutes. There was one pass or permit and no one should leave the room without it. I believe it was a human bone taken from the churchyard or burying ground which was close by. At least we thought it was, for we would be afraid to take it unless we wanted to go out. I will bid adieu to Mr. Waldron and his school for a bit, but I must return to him again for I am not done with him yet."

Master Waldron and his school were involved, unwittingly, in a particularly famous episode of Knock history. In the 1830s or 40s an attempt was made by a native of Knock, who had returned from England, to introduce Protestantism to the parish of Knock. Master Waldron had an assistant working with him whom the proselytiser coaxed into working on his behalf. The assistant teacher started teaching his pupils to read Protestant tracts and Protestant Doctrine, but he was soon discovered, and the offending literature was duly burned by the Parish Priest.

"Master Waldron was spoken of publicly and denounced by the priest from the altar [for his part, however unwitting, in the proselytising scheme]. He was to be excommunicated unless he made public reparation for the scandal given, And so he did. He came bare-headed and bare-footed to the church in the presence of the whole congregation to ask forgiveness for his offence against the Church. So he was once more restored to the friendship of the priest and people of Knock. And so I will leave him, for I lost sight of him since 1848 for I am a stranger to Knock and its inhabitants ever since."

Additional Note

The second Report of the Commission of Public Instruction Ireland (1835) contains the following description of Master Waldron's school:

• Description of school
• Sources of support
• No. of children on the books at time of inspection
• Average daily attendance
• Attendance increasing or decreasing
• Kind of instruction
• Hedge-School at Carraghmore kept by Thomas Waldron.
• Payment by children 1s per Qtr.
• No list produced
• 25
• Increasing
• Reading, Writing, Arithmetic & Roman Catholic Catechism.

Master Waldron's school was situated near the site of the International Hotel in the village of Knock. No relatives of his are known to live in the Knock area at present. His relationship to other Waldron families in the general Knock area is not known, though there are two likely possibilities as to his place of origin. Firstly, he may have belonged to the Waldron family who lived in the townland of Lecarrow, which adjoins Carrowmore. Secondly, he may have come from the Claremorris area since his mother's maiden surname 'Mongan' is associated with that area more so than with Knock, and also, he seems to have been well known there since he had a number of students from that general area.