The Catholic Case Stated; or Principals, Working, and Results of the System of National Education. By a Catholic Layman. Dublin: Mullany, 1859. First Edition. Pp xvi, 447. Original clopth boards, title lettered in gilt to upper cover & spine. Cloth worn along spine hinges, contents pages in good condition.

A primary source for understanding the fierce mid-nineteenth-century Irish debates over the National Education system.

It emerged at a critical moment when the Catholic hierarchy, led by Archbishop Cullen, was actively mobilising to demand separate denominational schools, a position that would eventually lead to the dismantling of the “mixed” or non-denominational National School system.

The preface expresses gratitude to the “Liberal section of the Irish Press” for supporting the cause of Catholic education, indicating the book’s role in a wider political movement.