History

Knockjames National School opened on the 12^th of January 1857 having been built the previous year on a site which was provided by the Quigley family. A member of that family was a priest in California and it appears that he provided the money to buy the farm from which the site was provided. At that time Mr Quigley was the only Catholic in the Parish of Tulla who owned land. The school was situated about three and a half miles north of Tulla village. It was divided into two classrooms, both of which were used for about eighty years until the number of pupils became so small that only one room and one teacher were required.

The school was closed in September 1959 because it was in a very bad condition, and it was decided by the Department of Education that the children should attend the existing school in Tulla. The parents didn’t agree as they wanted repairs carried out and, as a protest, they set up school in the local chapel. A portacabin was set up by the Department in the grounds of the chapel on the 1^st of April 1960 and it remained in use until December 1960 when the children were sent by bus to Tulla National School.

During the school’s existence there were some interruptions. The first occurred in 1880 when a residence was being built for the teacher Felix Durnien. The parents complained that the children were being used to carry messages from Tulla for Mr Durnien, and they were also being used to bring stones from the nearby river for use in the yard of the house. As this happened during the winter months the children’s hands were frozen by the cold.

The Land League was formed in the Parish in the same year and pressure was put on everyone to join. As Mr Durnien refused to do so, he was boycotted from the 1^st of October 1880. The parents were told to keep their children from the school. A notice was put up at a nearby crossroads:

“Take notice if anyone assist this man there will be plenty of funerals. I remain yours truly, Rory of the Hills. 4^th of November 1880 “

Soon after a man, who had sent his children to the school, was taken from his home and severely beaten. Mr Durnien reported that on the evening of the 24^th of October 1880 three shots were fired at him as he was walking near his home. It was suggested locally that the shots were fired by Mr Durnien himself for the purpose of getting police protection. Two policemen were subsequently appointed for his protection. A letter signed “A Land Leaguer” was sent to the Munster News on the 12^th of February 1881 stating “Doubtless the public may have already heard of the lawlessness that is alleged to have existed in the now far famed Knockjames.“ The letter gave an account of the threat to the parents and the boycotting of Mr Durnien, and continued “… that as a result of the protection that was being supplied by seven constables, a threat arose of additional tax being imposed on the residents, who were mostly poor people whose prevailable characteristics were those of peace and order.“ The teacher left the school on the 21^st of March 1881 and peace was restored.

The next time that a dispute arose was in 1919. It seems that the teacher, Patrick O’Donnell was suffering from epilepsy and was accused of beating the children. He resigned on the 31^st of May 1919 and his son, who was also called Patrick, was appointed in his place by the school manager. A few local Republicans objected strongly to the appointed because Mr O’Donnell, junior, had been in the British Army during the Great War. It was pointed out that he was conscripted but that did not appease the objectors. Threats were made to any parents who intended to send their children to the school. Mr O’Donnell opened the school on the 2^nd of June 1919 and had a fair attendance. However, on the following day two of the male parents were walking towards Tulla and passed a man who was dressed as a woman. This man turned and fired shots which wounded both of them. Mr O’Donnell returned to his teaching job in England on the same day.

There were only four houses, including the school teacher’s house, in the townland of Knockjames [part of Affick townland] and children from all of them attended the school during its existence. All of the houses are now unoccupied. There is a tradition that the townland got its name when a man, named Seamus, returning to Ulster after the Battle of Kinsale, stopped at the hill and continued to live there. Most of the other townlands in the area are called after oak woods, which would appear to have covered a large area at one time before the land was occupied during the population explosion in the 18^th century.

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