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Elite Schooling and Social
Inequality
 Aline Courtois

Elite Schooling
and Social Inequality
Privilege and Power in Ireland’s
Top Private Schools
Aline Courtois
University College London
London, United Kingdom

ISBN 978-1-137-52276-4 ISBN 978-1-137-52277-1 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52277-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017941196

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018

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accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
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The registered company address is: The Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW, United
Kingdom
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book has developed out of my doctoral research, conducted under

the guidance of Anne-Catherine Wagner, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, and
Kieran Allen, University College Dublin, who were both extremely
helpful.
In the four years that have elapsed since I completed my thesis, my
research and thinking about elite education and its implications have been
considerably enriched through conversations with other scholars, in parti-
cular Anne-Catherine Wagner, Ciaran O’Neill, Claire Maxwell and the
other members of the Paris 1-Uppsala Social Sciences Research Network
on elite education.
I am also grateful to Pat Clancy, Ken Fennelly, Kathleen Lynch,
Monique Pinçon-Charlot, Michel Pinçon and Monique de Saint-Martin
for their expertise and useful advice.
I would also like to thank Francis Green, William Hederman, Mark
Lennox, Kathleen Lynch, Niamh O’Reilly, Sinead Pembroke, Amanda
Slevin, and especially Anne-Catherine Wagner, for reading parts of my
work at various stages and giving me valuable feedback and comments.
I am particularly grateful to Tony Cunningham and Theresa O’Keefe
for taking the time to read the full manuscript and to share their
valuable insights. I am also very grateful to them, as well as to Mark
Lennox, for their support and for keeping me motivated through the
process.
Funding from the Irish Research Council and the National University
of Ireland is gratefully acknowledged.

v
vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to include a special note for my gatekeeper, W., without

whom the most interesting sections of this book would not have existed.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the assistance I received from the
staff in the schools that I visited, as well as all my interviewees for their
time and their interest in this project.
 CONTENTS

1 Introduction 1

2 The Making of Irish Elite Schools 27

3 Which Fee-Paying Schools are Elite Schools? 47

4 Elite Schools: A World Apart 69

5 The Selection of Elite Students 95

6 The Construction of a Collective Identity 125

7 The Multiple Facets of Excellence 157

8 Conclusion 191

Bibliography 205

Index 221

vii
 LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 Type of school attended by individuals in the Who’s Who 60

Table 3.2 Number of entries by elite category and by type of school
attended 61
Table 3.3 Intersection of groups A, B and C 63
Table 3.4 Characteristics of schools in each group 64

ix
 CHAPTER 1

Introduction

This book explores the hidden world of elite schooling in Ireland. It

examines how, largely out of sight, a handful of schools protect class
privilege and train those who will shape Irish society. It is a sociological
study of elite education. At a time when wealth inequality has reached
critical levels, studies of elite education can help understand how elites
maintain their hold on wealth and power and how they shape social
inequality. They can also shed light on the myth of meritocracy and help
us understand the pervasiveness of social violence in our societies. The
Irish case is interesting in its own right. Despite the high profile of many of
their past pupils, elite schools in Ireland have remained largely under the
radar. Their responsibility in blocking social mobility has been largely
overlooked and successive governments have treated the matter as incon-
sequential, allowing the narrative of a meritocratic, classless society to
prevail.
Does this narrative hold up to scrutiny? Are there no elites in Ireland,
and no institutions facilitating their social reproduction? Is the impact of
selective private schools on Irish society as insignificant as the scant atten-
tion paid to them seems to suggest? Is the use of the term ‘elite schools’
even appropriate in the Irish case? This introductory chapter addresses
these questions and makes the case for a sociological examination of elite
schooling in Ireland. To begin, it clarifies what and who we mean by
‘elites’ in the Irish context. It then examines the impact of elite schooling
on social inequality as documented in other parts of the world. Next it

© The Author(s) 2018 1

A. Courtois, Elite Schooling and Social Inequality,
https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52277-1_1
2 1 INTRODUCTION

outlines the specific configuration of the private education sector and

introduces some of the schools, which will be central characters in the
book. The final sections explain the methodology used in this research,
tackle the thorny issue of anonymity and lay out the structure of the book.

1 ELITES IN IRELAND?
The core argument of the book is that a small number of schools con-
tribute to the reproduction of social inequality in Ireland; and that they do
so by protecting and amplifying the privilege of a specific segment of Irish
society. This segment is referred to as the ‘elites’, and at different points in
the book I argue that it behaves as a distinct and mobilized social class.
This makes it necessary to clarify some of the inevitable conceptual issues
around elites and class, which are further complicated by the complex
nature of class relations and class formation in Ireland.

1.1 Ireland’s Old and New Aristocracies of Wealth

The notions of inherited privilege, and more broadly those of class and
elites, are at odds with the national narrative and are rarely part of national
conversations. Class relations are less immediately discernible than in the
neighboring UK. For instance, Ireland is believed not to have an upper
class. Indeed, Ireland is a former British colony: its upper class was a
colonial elite, which was overthrown in the wake of Irish Independence
(1921). The industrialization of Ireland happened at a relatively late stage
and was only partial, which hindered the formation of a capitalist class
rooted in industry. The opening to foreign capital in the 1950s then
forced a significant reorganization of the emerging local bourgeoisie. As
a result, Ireland does not have a significant upper class descending from
landed aristocrats and early corporate barons. Upon closer examination,
however, heirs of the colonial elite still controlled large sectors of the Irish
economy well into the 1950s (Kelleher, 1987), and today several of their
descendants feature on The Irish ‘Rich List’ – most prominently the
landowning Lord of Iveagh. Perhaps more importantly, Ireland has its
own indigenous dynasties of wealth: political families, industrial and retail
empires (Dunnes’ Stores, Barry’s Teas, Brennan’s Bakery, Musgrave
Wholesales and, most famously, the Guinness dynasty), landlords owning
hundreds of properties for generations, and so on: the longevity of inher-
ited wealth is as much a reality in Ireland as it is anywhere else.
 1 ELITES IN IRELAND? 3

McCabe (2011) argues that rather than having a capitalist class in the
conventional Marxist sense, Ireland has been dominated by a class of
‘middlemen’, consisting of stockbrokers, bankers, builders, lawyers or
accountants, positioned between foreign capital and the resources of the
Irish state. Finance and property, rather than land and industry, have been
key to their prosperity and influence. This was particularly visible in the
1990s and 2000s (the ‘Celtic Tiger’ years), as ‘light-touch’ regulation and
ad hoc tax breaks opened a space for the spectacular rise of new fortunes
rooted in finance and property. Ireland, the poor man of Europe for a long
time, soon became a poster child for neoliberalism, boasting one of the
most globalized economies in the world, as well as bearing a striking
pattern of accelerated wealth concentration.
In 2007, the magazine Wealth: Creating, Investing, Spending was
launched in Ireland. ‘Tailored to an Irish high net-worth audience’, the
part-lifestyle, part-wealth management magazine offered advice on pur-
chasing fine art, vineyards, yachts, helicopters and even ‘the ultimate status
symbol: your own private island’. It included interviews with Ireland’s
wealthiest individuals and promised to keep readers up-to-date with the
CLEWI (Cost of Living Extremely Well Index), modelled on the cost-of-
living index but based instead on ‘a basket of luxury essentials’, including
Gucci shoes, a Rolls Royce and a yacht. At the time, Ireland counted six
billionaires and 30,000 millionaires for a population of 4.5 million
(O’Sullivan, 2007). The housing market was at its peak, propelling inves-
tors to the dizzying heights of the annual Sunday Times Rich List, along-
side music and media celebrities, financiers, industrialists and heirs to
retailing empires. Meanwhile, aided by the profitability of the financial
and property sectors, the high wages in the top ranks of the professions,
civil service, media and business, and by a favorable tax regime, a section of
the middle class became increasingly wealthy. This reinforced, rather than
challenged, the national narrative of a meritocratic society with no fixed
class structure – even though social mobility remained limited throughout
the period and a substantial section of the population continued to live in
poverty (Causa and Johansson, 2009).
The credit crunch of 2007 and the burst of the property bubble
triggered a severe economic crisis, which deepened the wealth divide.
Under the successive austerity budgets, wages, social welfare benefits
and public expenditure were reduced; unemployment, indebtedness,
homelessness and mass emigration reached a new peak. The crisis first
affected the financial, construction and property sectors, and thus
4 1 INTRODUCTION

dislodged some of the new fortunes from the apex of the rich list. The
total income of those declaring earnings over €275,000 fell by nearly 40
percent between 2007 and 2011 (FitzGerald, 2014), yet the share of
national wealth owned by the top one percent of the population remained
stable throughout the 2000–2014 period at about 27 percent; and
between 2007 and 2014, the number of Irish millionaires more than
quadrupled (Shorrocks, Davi and Lluberas, 2014, p. 125, p. 111). The
process of wealth concentration at the apex of the social pyramid remained
unabated as the state continued to protect the beneficiaries of financial
capitalism (McCabe, 2011).
We may at this stage have formed an idea of who the Irish elites might
be: financiers, property investors, heirs to industrial fortunes, landowners,
and so forth. What else, beyond wealth and conspicuous consumption,
might bring this rather ‘mixed bag’ together? Is it closed to outsiders or
relatively open? Do elites have a common culture and common interests?
Are they just a collection of disconnected individuals occupying specific
positions or do they constitute an ‘active social group’ (Scott, 1991, p. 2)?
In other words, do they form a cohesive group able to recognize and
defend their own interests? These are important questions, which have
historically structured debates in the field of the sociology of elites.

1.2 Are the Irish Elites a Class?

There are different theories of class, elites and power, which are sometimes
framed as competing with each other, but their explanatory power can be
amplified by blending them together, because mechanisms of domination
are complex and require several concepts and theoretical viewpoints to be
better understood (Shore, 2002). Class theory and power elite theory are
particularly useful. Thus, we may consider that the small group we might
call the ‘power elite’ overlaps with the broader capitalist or social upper
class, because the former is largely recruited from - and acts in - the interest
of the latter (Scott, 1991; Useem, 1984; Sklair, 2001; Domhoff, 2006).
With respect to the broader capitalist class or social upper class,
Bourdieu’s concept of ‘dominant classes’ is useful, as it does not posit
ethnic or cultural homogeneity and keeps the focus on the relational
nature of domination. Dominant classes or groups are not superior: they
owe their position to the marginalization and subjugation of others rather
than to their own intrinsic qualities. The term ‘elites’ is used with the same
intention by many researchers working with Bourdieu’s concepts.
 1 ELITES IN IRELAND? 5

McCabe’s disproportionately influential ‘middlemen’ or ‘comprador class’

could be located in this broader group, with some effectively active within
the power elite. Professionals enjoy a particular status in Ireland; while
they would be characterized as middle class, some achieve very high levels
of remuneration and it is not uncommon for accountants, business con-
sultants, barristers and surgeons to invest in property developments and/
or secure positions in corporations or government. We can therefore
hypothesize that access to the ‘power elite’ in Ireland is conditioned
primarily by economic capital and social capital, facilitated by inherited
wealth and positions; and that a broader group designated in Ireland as the
upper-middle class is the pool from which the ‘power elite’ is recruited.
Further work is required to identify the Irish ‘power elite’ more pre-
cisely, but for the time being we can accept that corporate interests are
dominant and more relevant to class production and relations than, say,
the opinions of the still influential Catholic clergy. We can also assume that
elite networks are tighter in a country the size of Ireland. Very high levels
of interlocked directorships and frequent crossovers between the public
and private sectors (Clancy et al., 2010) suggest that the corporate/policy
elite is highly cohesive and organized. Its ability to mobilize and influence
state policy has been well documented by Allen and O’Boyle (2013) and
McCabe (2011), among others, with additional insights from non-aca-
demic works examining the close-knit world of banking (Ross, 2009) or
construction (McDonald and Sheridan, 2008) and their influence on
policy-making.
In terms of a common, exclusive culture, it is worth noting that a
section of the new (or not so new) elite adopted the cultural repertoire
of the former Anglo-Irish ruling class, as shown by their taste for castles,
horses, nobility titles (Sir Michael Smurfit, Sir Anthony O’Reilly, Sir Bob
Geldof), private members’ clubs, boarding schools in Ireland or in the
UK, fine art collections, philanthropy and even fox hunting – all of which
are associated with wealth and are reminiscent of the social and cultural
exemplars set by the colonial elite. The level of integration of this new
aristocracy of wealth to older wealth is not known precisely; yet by adopt-
ing such consumption patterns and exclusive social spaces, some of the
‘new rich’ have in effect become a separate social group. Conspicuous or
discreet havens for the wealthy dot the landscapes of Ireland’s countryside
and cities: the K-Club resort, where holiday homes can only be purchased
by carefully selected candidates, is but one example of the many mechan-
isms of social, symbolic and spatial separation sought by members of this
6 1 INTRODUCTION

group. As far as Ryanair’s multimillionaire CEO Michael O’Leary is con-

cerned, his conspicuous ‘down-to-earth’ demeanor must not obscure the
fact that through his relentless attacks on trade unions, workers’ rights and
social welfare, he is also actively defending class privileges, making visible
the interests he shares with other factions of the Irish elites.
Do the Irish elites constitute a class in and for itself, conscious of shared
interests and mobilized to defend them? The question remains open. But
education plays a part in class formation, and by examining elite schools,
the book will provide some insights into how these institutions lead
children from a cross-section of upper-middle class backgrounds to view
themselves as a separate, cohesive and superior social group.

2 SCHOOLING AND INEQUALITY

2.1 The Role of Education in Social Reproduction
Social scientists speak of social reproduction to describe the transfer of
social positions from one generation to the next. While education systems
are expected to equalize life chances by providing equality of opportunity
and redressing disadvantage, in practice, outcomes still differ widely in a
way that correlates to parents’ educational achievement and social class.
Some sociologists have argued that education alone cannot minimize the
impact of class position on educational outcomes: without equality of
condition, equality of outcome is impossible (Lynch, 2001, pp. 398–
399). Others argue that education systems not only fail to rectify inequal-
ity, but in fact reproduce and even amplify it. Bourdieu and Passeron
examined how schools favor children from privileged backgrounds
(Bourdieu, 1984, 1996; Bourdieu and Passeron, 1977, 1979).
Individuals and groups present different levels and forms of cultural capital.
Cultural capital manifests itself through educational qualifications and
cultural possessions; it also encompasses incorporated dispositions fostered
by family socialization, such as knowledge, tastes, habits, ways of speaking
and so forth. Cultural capital is a source of symbolic capital, signaling social
excellence and thus legitimating dominant positions. Its relative value
varies across time and space and it may compete with economic capital;
but as a social relation, it remains a significant principle of legitimation,
underpinning the domination of some and the marginalization of others
(Serre and Wagner, 2015; Stich and Coylar, 2015). The way schools assess
students’ performance, motivation and behavior is supposedly objective
 2 SCHOOLING AND INEQUALITY 7

and class-blind. However, the cultural capital acquired in middle-class

families is highly compatible with the culture and values upheld by schools.
It is often interpreted as intellectual superiority and consecrated through
high grades and, ultimately, educational credentials. The belief that educa-
tional institutions are neutral gives even more symbolic power to their
judgments and legitimizes the social violence inflicted on working-class
pupils. On the surface, credentials signal merit and intelligence, while in
fact, their acquisition is largely conditioned by social class properties.
Schooling naturalizes and amplifies social class differences through a
class-based distribution of supposedly neutral educational judgments and
titles, thus facilitating the reproduction of social inequality.
While these mechanisms operate below the surface, education systems
are also unequal in more visible ways. With each higher level of educa-
tional achievement comes a higher status and chances of higher earnings in
adult life. To these vertical status distinctions can be added horizontal
status hierarchies. With the expansion of access to education, subtle and
less subtle status hierarchies have developed, generally favoring older,
more expensive and selective institutions, as well as certain disciplines
over others (Croxford and Raffe, 2013). A degree from Harvard or
Oxford is almost certainly more prestigious and beneficial to its holder
than a similar degree acquired in a more obscure college. Families with
higher levels of economic, social and cultural capital are better able to
navigate such status hierarchies. This is exacerbated in situations where
education systems have adopted market principles, allowing the wealthier
to purchase educational advantage through private education, often from
the earliest stages of schooling (Ball, 2003; Dronkers, Felouzi and van
Zanten, 2010). Elite schools are often located in the private sector, at the
higher end of the education market.

2.2 Elite Schooling

A field of study dominated by seminal works by Wakeford in the UK
(1969), Cookson and Persell in the US (1985) or Bourdieu in France
(1996) has been revitalized and expanded with influential ethnographic
monographs, in particular those by Chase (2008), Gaztambide-Fernández
(2009a), Howard (2008), Karabel (2005) and Khan (2011), as well as
numerous edited works.1 This body of research now incorporates studies
of elite schooling in countries as geographically, politically and economic-
ally diverse as Argentina, Singapore, Barbados, Bulgaria, China, Nigeria,
8 1 INTRODUCTION

South Africa, Sweden and many more.2 Even in countries believed to have
relatively egalitarian education systems, researchers are now charting new
maps of educational inequality focused on emerging (or established but
long ignored) elite institutions (Börjesson et al., 2016 on Sweden; Deppe
and Krüger, 2016 on Germany), suggesting this is indeed a world-wide
phenomenon.
While elite schools share common features across borders, there is
no fixed, universal model of elite education (Kenway and Koh, 2015),
and comparative studies have uncovered significant variations. As
already mentioned, the relative value of different forms of capital may
vary from one field to another, from one national context to another,
and over time. Elite schools need to provide the form of capital most
relevant to the field they operate in. For instance, they may successfully
adapt to a changing structure of power, becoming more modern,
academic or international – whichever is required or desirable – and
thus maintain their legitimacy (Cookson and Persell, 2010), or instead
lose ground to new contenders in the market and vanish into (relative)
insignificance (Rivzi, 2014). Earlier works suggested that guaranteeing
social and cultural homogeneity was central to the mission of elite
schools; Bourdieu in particular spoke of ‘social paradises’ to describe
these socially harmonious environments. Contemporary literature on
elite schools in Anglo-Saxon countries – on which we will focus for the
time being, due to the influence of the British model of elite education
across these countries, of which Ireland is one – suggests that elite
schools have broadened their recruitment as meritocracy has gradually
replaced inherited privilege as a principle of legitimation (Cookson and
Persell, 2010; Khan, 2011; Weis and Cipollone, 2013). However,
while they may operate scholarships, they tend to remain expensive
institutions, located in privileged areas affordable only to a minority.
Their fees have increased much faster than inflation over time, meaning
that the economic barrier to entry has risen rather than been lowered.
In addition, scholarships legitimate rather than challenge the exclu-
sionary practices at the heart of elite schooling. When they are
recruited, atypical students are marginalized or expected to conform:
elite identities remain strongly raced, classed and gendered in elite
schools (Chase, 2008; Gaztambide-Fernández and DiAquoi, 2010),
which perhaps reflects the enduring centrality of white, upper-class
(and golf-playing) masculinity in apparently ‘diverse’ elite circles
(Zweigenhaft and Domhoff, 2006). Importantly, due to the intricacies
 2 SCHOOLING AND INEQUALITY 9

of social class and academic performance, ‘meritocracy’ still rewards the

privileged (Kenway and Koh, 2015).
Elite schools have also adapted to the changing and unchanging
demands of the elite job market. Elite education offers tangible benefits,
such as privileged learning conditions (better facilities, smaller classes and
higher expectations), but is also key to the constitution of social networks
and admission to the most coveted higher education institutions (Dunne,
King and Ahrens, 2013; Khan, 2010; Zimdar, 2010). In turn, these elite
colleges bestow prestigious credentials, normalize a sense of superiority
and ‘funnel’ their graduates toward elite professions (Binder, Davis and
Bloom, 2015). Academic credentials are now more important than ever
and elite schools have raised their game accordingly. But they provide
more: in times where high-earning positions are becoming scarce, there is
a fear among the middle classes that credentials may not be enough
(Brown, 2013; Tomlinson, 2008). Work experience (in particular intern-
ships in prestigious organizations), volunteering and international travel
are now integral components of the elite educational experience, in addi-
tion to the traditional team sports and extra-curricular activities. Thus
despite signs of opening and change, elite schools continue to play an
active role in the social reproduction of the most privileged. In fact, the
‘private school premium’ (in terms of earnings in later life) has increased in
recent decades in the UK: the impact of elite schools on social inequality is
now more significant than it was in the 1980s (Green et al., 2012).
Statistical analyses, such as the one just mentioned, are extremely valu-
able, as they objectivize the most salient aspects of privilege. But the
necessary data is not always accessible (it is not in Ireland); and even
when it is, figures may only tell part of the story. To complement existing
quantitative studies, several scholars have examined the ‘character’ of elite
schools, the culture they promote and how their students internalize elite
status. Excellence is multifaceted and elite schools often boast that they
provide a ‘total education’, shaping students intellectually, socially,
morally, physically and spiritually. They instill a sense of social and intel-
lectual superiority in their students, building their self-confidence, sense of
entitlement and ‘assured optimism’ (Bourdieu, 1996; Howard, 2008;
Maxwell and Aggleton, 2013; Forbes and Lingard, 2015). When discon-
nected from social class and type of school attended, the cultivation of self-
confidence and expectations may not affect career outcomes significantly
(Green et al., 2015), but they contribute to the sense elite students have
that they deserve their positions and that social hierarchies are fair (Khan,
10 1 INTRODUCTION

2011, p. 196). For all these reasons, the impact of elite schools on society
is considerable. The culture of elite schools, as well as the dynamics at play
within the field of elite schooling, can shed light on the mechanisms of
domination that shape social inequality in a given national context – for
these are neither fixed nor universal. This is particularly relevant in the case
of Ireland, where social science has not given elites the attention they
deserve.

3 EXAMINING ELITE EDUCATION IN IRELAND

3.1 The Irish Education ‘Market’

The Irish second-level school system largely owes its existence to private
initiatives led by religious orders and congregations, often motivated by
local demand rather than following requests from the state. Unlike coun-
tries where education systems have recently embarked on processes of
privatization (and unlike the situation at third level in Ireland), the Irish
post-primary system was originally essentially private, with the state get-
ting involved at a later stage. Today these state-subsidized, privately
owned and privately run schools (called secondary schools and distinct
from state-run community or comprehensive schools) cater for slightly
over half of the school-going population. Another distinguishing feature
of the Irish education system is that the vast majority of primary and post-
primary schools, private or not, are denominational: mostly Catholic,
sometimes Protestant, occasionally Jewish or affiliated to the ‘School of
Philosophy’, with a handful of multi-denominational institutions. In addi-
tion, one third of post-primary schools are single sex, a higher proportion
than is the norm internationally.
Access to secondary education became free in 1967, relatively late by
European standards. With the ‘Free Education Scheme’, the state offered
to pay students’ fees directly to schools. A handful of schools chose to
remain outside the scheme and to continue charging fees. Therefore,
while all secondary schools are technically private, only a minority charge
fees, which is why the term ‘fee-paying schools’ is used here to avoid
confusion with the wider private sector, most of which is accessible at no
cost. Unlike the situation in the UK for instance, fee-paying schools are
not independent institutions: they receive significant subsidies from the
state in the form of teachers’ salaries and various grants. Yet, and also
unlike the British situation, they are not required to demonstrate that they
 3 EXAMINING ELITE EDUCATION IN IRELAND 11

provide ‘public benefit’ (Davies et al., 2010) and are not expected to
operate scholarships – although in practice, some do. They are held by
rules applying to the rest of the sector in terms of inspections, curriculum
and admission policies, which, as we will see, leave these schools consider-
able latitude. As opposed to the French situation, where the structure of
funding is not dissimilar but where private institutions charge relatively
modest fees, several Irish fee-paying schools charge fees unaffordable to
the vast majority of the population.
The legitimacy of the private and private for-profit sectors and that of
the ‘right to choose’ are strong features of the Irish education system.
Today, between the schools that opted out of the scheme in 1967, those
who came into existence at a later stage and minus a small number that
joined the Free Education Scheme in recent years, there are 53 fee-paying
secondary schools out of a total of over 732 post-primary schools.3
Together, these schools cater for 6.7 percent of the school-going popula-
tion. There is also a growing independent (non-state-subsidized) for-
profit sector, characterized by institutions offering additional tuition
(‘grind schools’), as well as full-time education, thus competing directly
with the state-funded sector and extending the landscape of the education
market. Independent institutions exist at primary and higher levels as well.
At primary level, there are over 40 independent schools, often acting as
feeder schools for the post-primary fee-paying sector. These receive no
state subsidies, and with annual fees in the €5,000–10,000 range, they
represent a significant financial investment.
Parents’ right to choose public, private, independent or home educa-
tion for their children is enshrined in the Irish Constitution and the state is
not supposed to interfere with parents’ decisions in this respect. Unlike
other jurisdictions, Ireland does not have a centralized system by which
school places are allocated on the basis of catchment areas. For their part,
schools are allowed to establish lists of priority criteria and to select their
pupils accordingly. Schools may, for instance, give priority to a given
religious denomination, siblings of already enrolled pupils, children of
past pupils and/or children from their feeder schools. Some schools, in
particular in the fee-paying sector, are more in demand than others and
may therefore allocate a substantial proportion of places to children of past
pupils, to the detriment of others. This is legal and legitimate as long as the
admission criteria are openly available and not blatantly discriminatory,
namely not based on ethnicity or academic ability. Thus, in Ireland,
schools are advised not to select pupils on academic grounds, which jars
12 1 INTRODUCTION

with trends observable in other jurisdictions, where ‘meritocratic’ selec-

tion is considered fairer than selection based on kinship ties. There are
some talks about limiting the number of places reserved for past pupils’
children and challenging the right of schools to select pupils on the basis
of religion, but at the time of writing, given the mobilization of the
Catholic Church, of fee-paying schools and their past pupils, it seems
reasonable not to expect any meaningful change to the current legislation.
As elsewhere, the ‘right to choose’ leads to significant social and ethnic
segregation (Kitching, 2013; Lynch and Moran, 2006; Smyth et al.,
2009). Progression rates to higher education vary widely from one school
to another, as shown in annual league tables (for instance, Irish Times, 27
November 2014; see also McCoy et al., 2014). In the Irish case, while
parents can choose, so can schools, and where their strategies converge,
the impact on social segregation is amplified.

3.2 The Elusiveness of Irish Elite Schools

Unlike the situation in the US, the UK or France, the Irish higher educa-
tion landscape is stratified, but not to the extent that a separate elite
category (such as the Ivy League, the Russell Group or Grandes Écoles)
emerged. The educational background of the most visible elites, such as
political elites or famous businesspeople, varies significantly, with no
apparent connection between educational credentials and power, at least
on the surface. Several studies have examined the Irish private education
market and stated that it furthered the advantage of middle-class students
(Hannan and Boyle, 1987; Lynch, 1989; Lynch and Moran, 2006) – or
did not (Booroah, Dineen and Lynch, 2010). These schools are generally
not viewed as playing a significant role in the reproduction of power and
privilege, beyond the protection of middle-class advantage – although
historian Ciaran O’Neill eloquently challenged this view in a national
paper (2014b) and some scholars have begun to examine the schools in
this light (e.g., Kennedy, 2009, 2014).
Charging fees over €15,000 a year, occupying castles and boasting alumni
famous in politics, business or literature, a number of schools were
prime suspects in my investigation of elite educational spaces. The ban on
academic selection and the scarcity of bursaries and scholarships suggested
that these schools were out of reach even for ‘talented’ or ‘deserving’
children from the lower classes, and for that matter, for large sections of
the middle classes as well. The preferential treatment afforded to children
 3 EXAMINING ELITE EDUCATION IN IRELAND 13

of past pupils evoked a closed system of straight social reproduction. The

phrase ‘understated powerhouses’ used by Forbes and Weiner (2008) to
describe elite schools in Scotland came to mind. However, my endeavor was
initially met with much skepticism, including in academic circles. The diver-
sity within the fee-paying sector, the relative affordability of some of these
schools and the existence of high-performing schools outside the sector were
among the objections raised (by contrast, several past pupils agreed that their
schools were indeed extremely privileged and exclusive). Historically, Irish
schools grew in the shadow of their more prestigious British neighbors,
which were a favorite destination for the children of the Irish elites over
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (O’Neill, 2014a). Arguably, public
schools such as Eton and Harrow epitomize what we understand to be elite
schools: their deep connections with the British establishment have been
well documented, and beyond scholarly circles, they exert a certain fascina-
tion on the British psyche. Their long history, prestigious associations,
physical character, their perceived aristocratic culture, their rituals and
the air of scandal that has at times surrounded them, all contribute to
make them objects of fascination. By comparison, the main characteristic
of the Irish Clongowes or Saint Columba’s in the Victorian era was ‘anon-
ymity’ (Flanagan, 1977, p. 31). A recurring objection was that given the
generous subsidies provided by the state, fee-paying schools were affordable
to teachers or police officers – again, unlike an Eton in the UK. Another was
that the connection between these schools and power was tenuous, with few
visible figures of the political and economic world known to have attended
them. Arguably, a school would not be an elite school if it did not at some
point produce elites; thus the latter objection deserves consideration and
will be addressed in detail in Chapter 3. For the time being, it is worth
stressing that the clientele of elite schools is rarely exclusively upper class;
in addition, not all their pupils achieve elite positions. Answering the former
objection is somehow easier: as is the case in other countries, private or fee-
paying does not necessarily mean elite. Fee-paying schools have to do with
privilege, but different schools can be associated with different levels of
privilege, including different levels and forms of capital. Day fees vary
from less than €3,000 to over €13,000 and boarding fees from less
than €7,000 to a staggering €25,000. Size, history, demographics,
physical characteristics and academic results also differ greatly
from one school to another. It is necessary therefore to distinguish
schools that cater for elites and play a significant role in their
social reproduction from the rest of the fee-paying sector. This
14 1 INTRODUCTION

is done in Chapter 3, where four groups of schools are identified

according to their level of exclusivity, prestige and relevance to the
production and reproduction of elites. Ten schools are thus identified as
elite schools (‘Top Elite’ and ‘Elite’) and are the main focus of the book.
Another 20 schools are identified as ‘Sub-Elite’ schools. These are of
importance as, firstly, some schools within this group aspire to the same
standards as elite schools and share similar pedagogic and organizational
features. Secondly, this status hierarchy is fluid and by no means definite:
even in recent years, a subtle re-ordering has taken place, and as suggested
by other researchers, the field of elite education is a shifting ground. In
addition, even within the select group at the top of the fee-paying sector,
each school is unique; dismissing their respective specificities as details
would obscure precisely what makes them elite schools, each one in its
own way. Capturing these characteristics and logics requires a close-up
examination. As a result, throughout the book, the focus zooms in and
out, from fee-paying schools as a group to elite schools as a sub-group,
and again to case studies of single schools in isolation.

3.3 Central Questions

As we shall see, past pupils of Irish elite schools are well represented in
corporate circles. Yet is this enough to hold these schools responsible for
the social violence exerted by elites? Not much is known generally about
political socialization in elite schools at secondary level; not all past pupils
become decision-makers – and not all subscribe to the neoliberal ideology.
Education is not the only pathway to the elites, and for that matter, being
a member of the corporate elite is not the only way to become wealthy.
But elite schools play a role at a different level. As I will argue in this book,
their main contributions are, firstly, the facilitation of exclusive access to
dominant positions for individuals recruited among the upper-middle class
(whose class interests lie in the preservation of financial capitalism); sec-
ondly, the reinforcement of a class identity (which comes with a normal-
ization of social segregation, and dispositions compatible with the exercise
of power through the mobilization of social capital); and thirdly, the
legitimation of domination through an apparent ‘taming’ of capitalism
and an emphasis on moral capital (aligned with the notion that elites
deserve their dominant positions and know what is good for society). In
doing this, I draw from several theoretical traditions: in particular,
Bourdieu’s theory of cultural reproduction and distinction (without
 3 EXAMINING ELITE EDUCATION IN IRELAND 15

ignoring local specificities) and Anglo-Saxon elite theory, which is framed

within the larger field of class reproduction theory. Complementary
insights are drawn from the emerging body of literature on elite schooling
in other countries.
In the words of Cookson and Persell, the central question in studies of
elite schools should not be ‘if’ they contribute to inequality but ‘how’ they
do it (Cookson and Persell, 1985, p. 18). In this spirit, the bulk of the
book focuses on what elite schools actually do: what happens behind their
gates and how it impacts on their students’ socialization, self-perception,
social practices, sense of boundaries, and ultimately on society at large. A
number of questions are asked: What makes elite schools distinct from
other schools? How do they recruit their students: if academic criteria are
not used, what principles guide the selection? Do they instill a sense of
solidarity, which may translate into class cohesion? What culture do they
teach? What is the relative value of various forms of capital in an elite
education? How can this help us understand the principles of domination
at play in Irish society? What culture and representations do past pupils
bring with them when they take up positions of power? What are the
implications for those they will manage, judge or rule?
While similar questions have long preoccupied scholars of elite educa-
tion, the Irish context raises additional questions. Firstly, the history of
elite formation is far from linear, and therefore does not follow patterns
observable in other societies. Secondly, these schools are not financially
independent from the state, which poses the question of how they main-
tain their legitimacy in a more acute manner. Thirdly, commenting on the
discernible patterns in contemporary elite education, van Zanten notes
four major changes, among which are the increased importance of aca-
demic merit and individual achievements, while ‘family history and
resources [are] being pushed into the background’ (2015, p. 9). This
may not be the case in Ireland, where mechanisms of closure remain
strong, with few admission channels for outsiders (no matter how acade-
mically talented): in this unusual case, again, what principles of legitima-
tion are at play? Fourthly, while Kenway and Koh (2015) argue that
globalization has prompted a ‘reorganization of privilege’, the impact of
globalization on Irish elite schools is more nuanced. National(ist) cultural
capital is surprisingly potent in this country, characterized by a highly
globalized economy, where one might expect international capital
(Wagner, 1998) to be more highly valued. In sum, the book examines
where Irish schools lie in the global landscape of elite education; it seeks to
16 1 INTRODUCTION

shed light not only on the formation of a minority of pupils, but also, more
broadly, on the morphology of educational and social inequality in
Ireland.

4 METHODOLOGY
This study of elite education in Ireland employs a qualitative methodol-
ogy, based principally on open-ended interviews with school staff and
former students, supplemented with documentary research and participant
observation. It is distinct from classic ethnographic studies in the sense
that it attempts to capture the spirit of a sector of the education system, in
its diversity and with its blurred contours, rather than focus on one
individual school. Instead of depicting the character of a school ‘in the
moment’, it includes the voices of past pupils who have been educated in
elite schools at different points in time. Past pupils attended their respec-
tive schools in the 1950s for the oldest participants and in the 2000s for
the youngest. Most were in school in the 1980s and 1990s and were in
their late twenties to early forties at the time of the interviews. Without
assuming a continuity in school practices over time, including past pupils
makes the long-lasting effects of an elite education more visible by exam-
ining ‘the somewhat intangible influences of attending a particular school
through the eyes of some of the people who had been the subjects of that
influence’ (Proctor, 2011, p. 844).
While Gaztambide-Fernández (2009a) and Khan (2011) were both
past pupils of the schools they undertook to study, I was not a past
pupil of an Irish fee-paying school. I did attend a version of an elite
school in France, but it was at third level and it was neither private nor
fee-paying. The world of Irish elite schooling was unknown to me. The
initial phase of my research consisted in amassing literature on each of
the then 58 fee-paying schools, as well as independent schools and
possible contenders in the free sector. Promotional material, newsletters,
alumni publications and anniversary publications were collected from
schools and libraries. The amount provided varied from one school to
the other, some schools sending appealing glossy brochures and DVDs,
and others – in particular the most established ones, which presumably
do not need to actively seek new recruits – short and simple leaflets with
no illustrations. Elite schools are narcissistic; most fee-paying schools
have published or commissioned books celebrating their history for their
 4 METHODOLOGY 17

past pupils to purchase and cherish. Once assembled, these pieces con-
stituted a complex puzzle. While privilege was common to all, vast
differences emerged in terms of ethos, clientele, and so forth.
Inaccuracies in official figures complicated the task of mapping the
sector and compiling fee structures proved a surprisingly arduous task,
hinting at the level of secrecy maintained by these schools. Some of
these publications provided personal accounts from students, which –
however circumstanced by the promotional or celebratory character of
the publications – drew my attention to the potential impact of these
schools on students’ socialization and self-perception. While the French
educational system remains extremely unequal, with the Grandes Écoles
acting as distinct pathways to elite positions, their selection is largely
based on educational criteria, at least on the surface. The most presti-
gious schools are not the most expensive ones. In Ireland, however, the
over-representation of fee-paying schools in the top sections of league
tables seemed to indicate a very different situation. Besides, elite school-
ing in France is characterized by an ethos of hard work, asceticism and
competition (Bourdieu, 1996), which the material I had collected on
Irish fee-paying schools at this stage did not seem to reflect.
Access to elites and elite settings may be difficult for various reasons:
unlike the underprivileged, the powerful often have a voice of their own,
and may not see the sociological investigation as an opportunity to make
their concerns known to a wider audience and draw attention to their
situation. It is not in their interest to disclose inequality or injustice and
they may be wary of sociology, a discipline often labelled as left-wing. The
study of elites may betray a willingness to correct an imbalance in the
distribution of knowledge (as it is more often the case that research
provides elites with strategic knowledge about the masses than the other
way round) and can therefore be perceived as ‘a political act’ in itself
(Hunter, 1995, p. 151). Elites may have important positions or agendas
to protect from the sociological and public gaze – which is precisely why
Bourdieu encouraged social scientists to keep questioning what is hidden
(1993a). On a more practical level, elites (or those who work for them) are
often busy people, and may not wish to give their time to the researcher.
However, access was easier than predicted by colleagues. I began contact-
ing school principals by letter to request interviews, and about a third
agreed to meet me in person. My letters focused on my interest in the
particular history and culture of the school, thus displaying the goodwill
18 1 INTRODUCTION

and reverence recommended by Pinçon and Pinçon-Charlot in elite

research (2005). As I soon found out, this helped me in gaining access:

We get lots of requests and some of them I turn down, I mean – sometimes
the way people write their letters of request is instructive, and you clearly
had a bit of knowledge about [School] already so I think if someone is
interested in [School] and is prepared to back that up with research, I’m
more than happy to help (principal, interview).

My research was conducted at a time when cuts to the education budget

were being discussed and the state funding of fee-paying schools came
under the spotlight. One school principal, whom I met informally at a
school reunion, categorically refused to be interviewed, arguing that he
systematically turned down researchers and journalists, on principle. On
the other hand, other principals were eager to put across their own points
of view in relation to the funding issue, and possibly saw in the interview
an opportunity to defend their cause. While some of my letters mentioned
the funding issue, the focus of my research was not on the debates, which
preoccupied the media. My interest in schools’ pedagogy, identity, history
and ethos, which I highlighted in these letters, dissociated my approach
from a journalistic one. This was also helpful, as this interview excerpt
illustrates:

I don’t talk to the media, I don’t do interviews . . . I’ve realized at this stage
that it serves no purpose, em for [School] or me to talk to the media about
anything, there’s been a number of high profile issues and incidents and my
practice is I don’t talk to the media. Do I feel we get a rough deal? I don’t
assess that – the media are there to sell newspapers, they see [School] as a
label, which is the prominence in Irish society and they believe that they will
sell newspapers if they reference it. That’s their primary interest, their
primary interest is not education in Ireland, it’s not the development of
education in Ireland, it’s selling newspapers. So that is their business, our
business is education (principal, interview).

Lamont (1992) suggested that her Canadian nationality made it difficult

for both her American and French interviewees to place her socially or to
attribute a particular agenda to her, which she argued helped her gain
access and encouraged her participants to speak freely about sensitive
issues. My nationality might have played a role as some of my interviewees
were surprised by my familiarity with the Irish education system; one did
 4 METHODOLOGY 19

not expect me to have a good command of English at all. Another factor,

which I became aware of at a later stage, may explain why I got access to
some schools. As one staff member explained, a particular fee-paying
school in Dublin is often used to showcase the Irish education system
whenever foreign officials visit the country. This school has therefore
played a representative role in the past; while it remains closed to Irish
journalists, opening its doors to foreign visitors has become habitual
practice. Introduction by a gate-keeper is helpful - if not essential - to
gain access to exclusive groups (Hill, 1995). While most interviewees were
contacted directly without prior introduction or referral, it is thanks to a
gate-keeper that I was admitted to past pupils’ events and invited to stay in
one particular school over a number of days.
Some respondents warned me from the beginning of the interview that
they did not have much time. One in particular greeted me with a solemn
‘right, you have thirty minutes’, and spent most of these 30 minutes
reciting the institutional discourse without leaving me any time to ask
questions: an example of the art of talking while saying nothing, which
elites master (Pinçon and Pinçon-Charlot, 2005). Two respondents
turned the tables and, in effect, interviewed me: they were both eager to
find out what my position was on the funding of fee-paying schools. This
situation of role reversal is common in elite research and illustrates the
dominated position that researchers may find themselves in when examin-
ing the powerful (Arthur, 1987). As we will see in Chapter 4, elite schools
are physically impressive and exert a certain amount of ‘symbolic violence’
(Bourdieu, 1984) on the unsuspecting visitor. Elites sometimes dominate
the researcher, not only because they have more economic capital, but also
because they have more cultural capital. Most of my interviewees were
highly educated people, many with a perfect command of the French
language. Some used Latin phrases and biblical references. Hammersley
(1984) and Peshkin (2001) wrote about their feelings of inadequacy as
they conducted their research in elite boarding schools and I experienced
similar feelings on occasions. Yet, throughout my research, I found the
vast majority of staff members extremely courteous and helpful, and I
experienced none of the open hostility described, for instance, by
Walford (2001, pp. 71–74).
In fieldwork, the researcher adopts a variety of roles, which change as a
result of a process of constant re-negotiation with the subjects of the
research. Initially, the researcher has no option but to conform to the
roles that are recognized and accepted by the subjects (Walford, 2001,
20 1 INTRODUCTION

pp. 63–64). Some of the staff members seemed to assume I was a scholar
of education, rather than a sociologist (one commented that I would
‘probably end up running a school one day’); gate-keepers would intro-
duce me to colleagues as ‘a researcher from the Sorbonne’. Several were
eager to hear my views on the Irish education system, on the benefits of
boarding, and in one case, on a pilot scholarship scheme. Thus, in the
same way as Walford, I was cast in the role of ‘sympathetic researcher’
(2001, p. 79). At times, interviews and other encounters in the setting
became in effect informal conversations on the merits of boarding or on
the French education system and, as noted by Gaztambide-Fernández:

Despite my discomfort in such an affluent school, being able to ‘talk shop’

about boarding schools while engaging in academic discussions about edu-
cation seems to legitimate my presence (2009a, p. 3).

In order to compare and contrast perspectives, it was necessary to talk to

former pupils and pupils’ parents. As informants, past pupils have valuable
insider knowledge of the secretive world of elite schooling, its norms and
boundaries, and their views often differ from the institutional discourse
presented by school principals in their representative roles. Fee-paying
schools cater for less than seven percent of the school-going population,
but inevitably the proportion of past pupils of fee-paying school students is
higher in university circles. It was also surprisingly high in the activist
circles I frequented; participants were therefore easy to recruit. As my
approach was qualitative, I did not follow strict sampling procedures but
took care to interview a reasonable cross-section across age groups, gender
and schools.4 I interviewed past pupils who hated their school experience
and had become fierce opponents of private education, as well as others
who were still grateful and loyal to their alma maters and would send their
children there ‘at the drop of a hat’. I interviewed people who had
achieved prominent positions in Irish politics, business or media, and
others who did not. I conducted 34 recorded interviews; to these must
be added numerous informal conversations, for the most part unplanned,
which took place in a variety of settings. In-depth interviewing helps the
respondent to uncover his or her own suppressed or conflicting attitudes
about the topic discussed (Johnson, 2002). By delving into their own
feelings about their personal experience, several respondents came to
reflect on their own attitudes to privilege and social justice. As far as school
principals and staff were concerned, the longer the interview lasted, the
 4 METHODOLOGY 21

more respondents tended to depart from the institutional discourse, and in

some cases shared very critical views on their schools, in particular the
tension between the values of tolerance and openness promoted by the
institutions and the social segregation, which is part and parcel of an elite
education.
I used my visits to schools as opportunities to observe the setting and
interactions. Before and after each interview, I spent some time in the
school grounds. I spent four days and three nights in one particular
school, where the staff insisted I stayed because they did not want me to
have a wrong impression by getting only a glimpse, or ‘a slice of life’ in the
school. In another school, I was invited to observe a class and to speak
with the pupils. In addition, I attended a number of past pupils’ reunions
and school matches. Although the time I spent in the field was limited in
comparison to the time spent by Chase (2008), Gaztambide-Fernández
(2009a) or Khan (2011), my approach was firmly grounded in ethnogra-
phy as I observed ‘the full range of social behaviour’ (Pole and Morrison,
2003, p. 3) within the schools I visited.
Weber guarded social scientists against the risk of imposing their own
views on the collected data and stated that the best way to avoid biases was
to adopt the point of view of the people under study. However, Brewer
argues that the purpose of analysis is to ‘capture social meanings rather
than necessarily “telling it as it is”’ (2000, p. 107). Respondents may
evade questions or hide behind ‘fronts’ (Douglas, 1976). Some past pupils
distanced themselves from the world of privilege that they had been
brought up in. One respondent (now a political activist) said he was
‘indifferent’ to the high-profile guest speakers and luxurious trips abroad
that his school organized, and described himself as being very sarcastic and
critical of his school at the time he was there. As Walford writes, ‘identity is
created rather than revealed through narrative’ (2001, p. 92); thus, socio-
logical analysis must strike a balance between reflecting respondents’
points of views and identifying patterns discernible beyond the surface.
Self-reflexivity is an important element in the research process (Bourdieu
and Wacquant, 1992). Inevitably, the researcher carries his or her own
history and habitus into the field. Elites can incite fascination; they can also
cause envy. The spectacle of privileged childhoods may, for instance, hold
a mirror to the researcher, reflecting a less than perfect childhood. I myself
grappled with these feelings as I conducted my fieldwork; keeping a
reflexive fieldwork diary was helpful in achieving a balanced, if not neutral,
analysis of collected data.
Another random document with
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 THE ELEPHANT WANTS TO GO HOME.

If he had known what he ought to do, he would have turned on

those darkies and chased them about half a mile. In that way he
would have managed very soon to relieve himself of his troublesome
pursuers. They would have gone home quite as rapidly as he wanted
to go to his home.
Colonel Myles staid in Africa nearly a year and sometimes had a
good deal of exciting hunting, and at other times weeks would pass
when he was obliged to stay in some native village for want of
transportation and guides.
Sometimes too, he found himself in a part of the country where
there was no large game worth mentioning.
He tried hard to find a gorilla, but never succeeded. He often
heard lions in the night, and once came upon a big fellow who was
lying down by the side of a fallen tree in the very road over which he
and his followers were traveling. The tree was of a yellowish brown
color and the lion was of very much the same color, so the Colonel
did not see him until he came quite near to him.
As quickly as possible he jerked his rifle from his shoulder, but his
horse started and reared, and the lion sprang to his feet, and giving
one hasty look at the advancing party, disappeared in the bushes.
The Colonel was very much disappointed at this mishap, and it
was shortly after he had made up his mind that he never would get a
good shot at a lion, that he concluded to go to India.
A party of traders were on their way to the coast, and the Colonel
joined them.
Reaching the coast he found a vessel nearly ready to sail, and in it
he took passage to Bombay.
He was in India nearly two months before he had an opportunity to
try his favorite rifle on any large game.
He preferred to hunt tigers, for tigers are such scourges to the
localities in which they are found that he felt justified in killing as
many of them as he could. But it turned out that his first hunt was a
buffalo hunt—and not only his first but his second and third, and a
good many after that.
He got in a part of the country in which there were a good many
buffaloes, and as they were needed as food it paid very well to hunt
them, and there were always natives enough who were willing to
help if they might have a large share of the meat.
One day one of these natives had a little more buffalo hunting than
he wanted. The colonel perceived a very large fine bull buffalo
standing in an open space and was just about to take a good aim at
him when the animal began to trot off towards a dense thicket. The
colonel was afraid of losing him and so he fired too quickly. If he hit
the buffalo at all he merely wounded him very slightly, for he dashed
off into the thicket.
The native attendant, however, was quite sure that the buffalo had
been fairly hit and would soon drop, so off he rushed to find him.
 While he was pushing his way through the thicket he heard a
crashing noise, and looking around saw the savage bull charging
down upon him from a little eminence where there was a
comparatively open space.
The man had a gun, but it was not loaded. There was no chance
of his running away, for the bushes and reeds were too close and
strong to allow of that. There was no tree near but one very thick
one, up which he had no time to climb.
The bull stopped for an instant, and then put down his head for
another charge.
The man had no time to do much thinking. Whatever he did in self-
defence must be done quickly, that he knew well. So he darted
behind the tree, and jerking his blanket from his back he put it on his
gun-barrel and waved it about.
The buffalo immediately accepted the challenge, and came at him
full tear. He rushed at the cloth, and as he passed he took it away on
his horns. Then the native hurried off as fast as he could go in the
opposite direction.
The colonel, who had loaded up and was waiting for his attendant
to return, was very much astonished to see a buffalo rush out of the
thicket with a blanket twisted about his horns.
The animal evidently did not notice him, and so he raised his rifle
and shot him dead without the slightest trouble.
 THE NATIVE’S TRICK.
As soon as the buffalo was quite dead, the native appeared from
the thicket and immediately began to boast of the share he had had
in killing the animal.
It is quite certain that had he not succeeded in his very clever trick
the buffalo would either have killed him or would have got away
safely.
A week or two after this the Colonel was invited by an officer in the
English army, named Major Alden, to go wild boar-hunting with him.
The Colonel was quite willing, and so they set out together for the
river, some three miles away, where they expected to find a wild boar
or two. A crowd of natives preceded them, beating up the bushes to
drive out the boars.
Our hunters were both well mounted and armed with long spears
instead of guns. The Major, who wore an undress uniform, carried
also a short sword.
 They had scarcely reached the river-bank when they saw a boar
rush out of some underbrush and make rapidly for the river.
Both horsemen dashed off in pursuit, Major Alden in advance. Just
as he reached the edge of the high bank the Major thought that he
had better rein up, but he did not think soon enough. He stopped
quite near the brink of the bank, and was on the point of turning
back, when the earth caved in beneath his horse, and down into the
water and mud, some ten feet below, went horse and rider!
Fortunately the river was not very deep at that place, but it was
deep enough. The Major went head foremost over his horse’s neck
into the water, and the horse with a tremendous splash, went into the
mud as far as his legs would let him go.
Just in time, our Colonel reined up, and below him he beheld a
doleful sight.
The Major had risen to his feet but was dripping with mud and
water that fell in little cascades from his face, head, and hands and
every part of his body.
The horse was plunging wildly in the river and the poor Major did
not seem to be able to see how to find his way to dry land.
 THE MAJOR’S TUMBLE.

If the Colonel had been a boy he would have had a good laugh at
this mishap of his companion, but as he was a man he tried not to
add to the discomfiture of the Major by making fun of him. But when
the native beaters came up they set up a shout of laughter, and that
made the Major angry enough, and as he wobbled slowly to shore
he growled out to the “black rascals” a command to stop their noise,
and get his horse out.
The black rascals, although they did see a good deal of fun in this
unfortunate tumble, proved themselves very useful, for they cleaned
the horse and saddle, and while the Major took a bath in the river, (at
a place where it was deeper and with a better bottom) they dried his
clothes and brushed them with bunches of twigs until they looked
quite presentable, and in the afternoon they all set out again on their
hunt.
But the Major seemed doomed to misfortune that day. He had no
spear, for his weapon had been broken in the fall of the morning, and
he had sent one of the men back to the village to get him another.
But before the man returned a boar was started up and Colonel
Myles started off in pursuit. The boar dashed into the underbrush,
the Colonel and a dozen natives after him full tilt, and the farther that
boar ran the madder he got.
He didn’t like being chased, and I suppose no sensible boar would
like it.
Directly he made a sharp turn and rushed out of the bushes to the
river bank where the Major was sitting on his horse waiting for his
spear.
Seeing a man on a horse the boar very naturally thought that he
must be the person who had been after him, and so, full of
vengeance, he dashed at him at full speed, his horrid tusks
glistening in the sunlight.
Instantly the Major pulled his feet out of the stirrups and drew his
sword. There was no time to ride away.
But the sword was short, and the boar was very close to the horse,
who snorted and plunged so that the Major could scarcely keep his
seat, much less get a fair crack at the boar.
 THE MAJOR AND THE BOAR.
If the savage beast had succeeded in getting under the horse he
would have wounded him desperately.
But Major Alden was a cool and a brave man. He kept the horse
away from the boar as well as he could, and at last he got a good
chance, and down came his sword on the boar’s neck.
But this cut did not seem to cool the boar’s courage very much.
The savage animal still charged, the horse plunged and the Major
slashed, and so the fight went on—charge, plunge, slash, until the
Colonel came riding up with his spear, and soon put an end to the
career of the ferocious boar.
The next time the Major and Colonel Myles went out to hunt they
went after tigers.
Tiger hunting is very popular among the white residents of India,
and it is well that it is, for the natives do not often succeed so well in
their hunts after tigers, as the tigers succeed in their hunts after the
natives.
It is astonishing to read, in the government reports, how many
people are annually killed by tigers in some parts of India.
The Colonel’s first tiger hunt was not a very ambitious one. He did
not go out into the jungle on an elephant in company with forty or fifty
natives, but he and the Major, with two or three followers, started off
on foot. They walked a long distance without seeing a sign of tigers,
although they were in a place where two bullocks had been killed by
these animals the previous night.
Towards noon, however, one of the natives discovered the plain
tracks of a tiger, and the party followed the trail until they lost it in a
mass of rocks. In these rocks, however, was a large cave, and the
natives assured them that they would find the animal in this cave.
No one was particularly anxious to go into it to see if the tiger was
there, but, peering carefully in at the entrance of the cave, the
Colonel was sure that he saw something gleaming far back in the
darkness, and he thought that the bright spot must be one of the
tiger’s eyes.
To be sure, unless it was a one-eyed tiger, he ought to see two
bright spots, but he did not stop to consider this point, but took
deliberate aim at the spot and fired.
Nothing happened. No tiger jumped out.
 Then the Major fired, although he was not quite certain that he did
see a shining spot. Still there was no sign of a tiger having been
shot. Even if the beast had been fairly hit by either of the shots, it is
likely that he would have made some disturbance inside the cave, for
tigers are very hard to kill.
Several other shots were fired without effect, and the hunters
came to the conclusion that there was no tiger in the cave.

OUT OF THE CAVE SPRANG AN ENORMOUS TIGER.

However, they consented to let the natives try a plan that they
suggested. This was to smoke the tiger out of his hole. So great
quantities of dried leaves and twigs were collected, and thrust into
the mouth of the cave. While this work was going on, the men were
very enthusiastic about it, and ran up with their arms full of leaves
and sticks, seeming to entirely forget what a predicament they would
be in if a tiger should be within, and if he should make up his mind to
come out before they had finished their job.
When all was ready the dry stuff was fired, and very soon a great
smoke arose, and as the wind blew towards the rocks, most of the
smoke went into the cave.
In about three minutes a horrid growl was heard, and every darkey
took to his heels, one of them making about five jumps towards a
distant tree, up which he climbed like a monkey.
And they were none too quick. Out of the cave sprang an
enormous tiger.
The two white men had their rifles to their shoulders in an instant,
and they fired almost simultaneously. The tiger did not stop,
however, but rushed on, apparently after one of the natives. But
before he reached him the Colonel fired the second barrel of his rifle,
and rolled the beast over. One or two more shots finished him.
This hunt was considered a great success, for the tiger was a very
large one, and was no doubt, the murderer of the bullocks. The
natives were delighted, and went to work to take off the skin, which
was awarded to our Colonel, who had fired the decisive shot.
While in the cave the tiger had probably been lying behind some
rocks, with only part of his head exposed. He had not cared to leave
his entrenchments while they were firing at him, but he evidently did
not like smoke.
The next time the Colonel and Major Alden went out after tigers
they were on an elephant. They rode in a large wooden box on the
elephant’s back, in which they could stand and fire without much fear
of a tiger getting at them. They had wonderful success, for they
came upon no less than five tigers, out in an open space. One of
these was soon killed, and the others ran away in different
directions, like enormous kittens.
But before they got entirely away another was shot dead, and two
more, that ran behind some great rocks, were followed up, and killed
before night.
But one very large one slipped off, growling savagely, into some
reeds by the river bank, and was lost. This tiger was the largest and
most dangerous of the lot, and the man who drove the elephant said
he knew him very well.
 He asserted that this tiger was a man-eater, as a tiger is called
that has once killed a human being. Ever afterward, according to the
native traditions, he has a strong liking for a man for dinner.

THEY CAME UPON NO LESS THAN FIVE TIGERS.

The driver said he had seen him kill a man, and that he knew him
by his peculiar markings. Whether this story was true or not, it was
evident that this was a very large and dangerous beast, and ought to
be killed, if such a thing should prove possible.
So, a few days afterwards, a large hunt was organized, having for
its object the destruction of this particular tiger. The party went out
mounted on three elephants—two men in each howdah or box, and
a driver on each elephant’s neck. Besides the riders, there were
about fifty natives on foot, who went along to beat up the bushes and
make themselves generally useful.
The Colonel and Major Alden were not together this time, but were
on different elephants. Colonel Myles’ companion was a military man
who was a very good shot and quite a noted tiger hunter. His name
was Captain Harrison, and our friend was very glad to go with him,
because he had the best elephants and was likely to see the best
sport.
There is a very great difference in the elephants that are taken on
tiger hunts. Some of them will get frightened and run away the
moment they see or hear a tiger, and then the hunters on their backs
have not much of a chance to get a shot at the beasts. But others
will stand their ground bravely, and the elephant that carried the
Colonel was said to be one of these.
They rode on, close to the river bank for many a mile under a
dreadfully hot sun, and, a little after noon one of the men who had
mounted a tall tree shouted out that he had seen the tiger among the
reeds on the river bank not very far from the spot where our hunting
party sat quietly on their elephants.
Stones were now thrown into the bushes and several shots were
fired by the native hunters. But no tiger made his appearance. The
thicket was full of thorns and was very dense, and there were other
reasons for not entering it—one very good one.
So the shouting and the stone-throwing were continued, and that
was about all that was done for fifteen or twenty minutes.
Then one of the followers, who had a gun, crept on his hands and
knees to the edge of the thicket and peeped in under the bushes.
He looked all about and could see nothing, and then he cast his
eyes to one side, and there lay the tiger not ten feet from him!
It is amazing how quickly he drew back, jumped up, and ran off at
the top of his speed. As soon as he reached what he thought was a
safe distance he turned and fired at the spot where he had seen the
tiger.
And what was very astonishing indeed, he hit it.
Up jumped the beast in a rage, and in an instant he bounded out
of the thicket into the open field.
He was all ready for a big fight, and he growled and gnashed his
teeth in a way that would have made your blood run cold.
 Every body leveled their guns at him, but he did not give them time
to take a good aim, for he charged at headlong speed right for the
foremost elephant. The animal on which the Colonel and his friend
were mounted was a brave one, but he did not fancy such a tiger as
this, and he turned to run away.
But he was not quick enough. The tiger bounded at him like a flash
and had him by the trunk before he could lift it out of harm’s way.
The driver on the elephant’s neck drew up his legs in a hurry, and
the hunters leaned over their box to try and get a shot. But the
elephant’s head was in the way, and they could not get a fair sight at
the tiger.
As for the poor elephant, he did not at all fancy having a tiger
chewing away at his trunk. So he bellowed and floundered about at a
great rate, but that did not seem to inconvenience the tiger, who held
on like a good fellow.
The other elephants and hunters were coming up, but they did not
come fast enough. The elephants seemed to be a little particular
about their trunks, and were in no haste to get near the beast that
was hanging so grimly to their big brother.
 THE TIGER SEIZES THE ELEPHANT BY THE TRUNK.
Then our elephant got tired of this sport. He gave his trunk a swing
under him at the same time that he made a step forward.
This brought the tiger just in front of his right foreleg.
Down knelt the elephant with one great knee directly upon the
tiger’s body.
The elephant weighed tons, and there was a dead tiger under his
knee in less than twenty seconds.
So here was a dangerous and noted tiger killed without a shot
from the brave hunters who went out after him. But they were none
the less brave for that.
The only man who did hit him was a coward, and the elephant that
killed him, would have run away if he could. Things turn out this way
sometimes.
 I can only tell of one more of Colonel Myles’ hunts. He spent many
months in India and killed a good many tigers, for which he had the
thanks of the people and the approval of his own conscience—two
things that hunters do not always have, I can assure you.
His last hunt, as far as we are concerned, was a bear hunt. He
heard that a large bear had been seen a short distance from the
place where he was then encamped, and early the next day after
receiving the news, he went out with one native follower to see if he
could find it. They followed the tracks of the beast until they reached
a place where there were some very high rocks.
Mounting to the top of these they peeped over and saw, at the
bottom of a ravine beneath, the mouth of a cave that appeared to
extend under the rocks a short distance.
In this cave, lying with his head on his paws, they distinctly saw a
large bear, fast asleep. He was, however, in such a position that it
would be very hard to get a good shot at him.
The Colonel then thought of a plan to make him come out. To be
sure they might have hurled stones at him or shouted, but in either
case the bear might have been frightened and drawn himself into his
cave, entirely out of sight, or he might have rushed up the rocks
faster than they would like to have him come.
The Colonel wanted him to come out of his cave, but to stay down
at the bottom of the ravine.
So he whispered to his man to unroll his long turban and to get out
on the branches of a tree that overhung the mouth of the cave. Then
he was to lower the turban down and tickle the bear’s nose.
The man did as he was told, and, as the turban was just long
enough to reach the bear’s nose, he was able to tickle him nicely.
At first the bear just fidgeted a little and then he made a dab with
his paw at the supposed fly that was worrying him.
But the turban continued to tickle him, and at last he woke up with
a start. When he saw the turban hanging before him he made a snap
at it, and then the man jerked it away.
 THE BEAR GAVE THE TURBAN A VIGOROUS PULL.
Up jumped the bear, just like a cat after a handkerchief. He made
a bound after the turban and seized it with his paws and teeth.
He jumped so suddenly and gave the turban such a vigorous pull
that the man came very near being jerked out of the tree, which
might have been bad for him, but our Colonel, who was ready with
his rifle, fired and killed the bear instantly. He was a big fellow and
had a splendid skin.
When the Colonel sailed for home he carried with him half a dozen
bear and tiger skins. They were all fine ones, but the best of them, a
magnificent skin that had once belonged to a very large and savage
Bengal tiger, was a particular favorite with him, and he now has it on
his library floor, just before the big grate where he sits and reads on
winter evenings.
And yet he did not kill the tiger to which the skin belonged. He
cannot point to it as an evidence of his bravery and skill in the
jungles of India.
It is the skin of the tiger that the elephant killed with his knee.
 A SUGAR CAMP.

When I was a boy I knew no more about a “sugar camp” than I

knew of a molasses-candy fort.

THE SUGAR CAMP.

In fact I would probably have thought one as ridiculous as the
other, if it had been mentioned to me.
This was because I did not live in a maple-sugar country. I had
eaten maple-sugar, but I had no idea how it was made, and when I
first saw a sugar-camp, out in the woods, I was both surprised and
interested.
In the first place it was not a camp at all—according to my idea—
for what the people at the farm-house where I was visiting, called the
camp was a house—a very rough one, but still a house. I expected
to find tents and big camp-fires under the trees. I found a fire, but it
was in the house.
It was in February that I went out to the camp, and although there
was still snow on the ground, the day was mild and pleasant.
The men were all at work when I arrived, and I wandered about,
looking at everything and asking questions.
The camp was in the middle of a large grove of sugar-maple trees,
and in each of the large trees a hole had been bored, and a little
spout, made of a piece of elder wood, with the pith scooped out, had
been inserted in each hole. Through these spouts the sap was
dripping into pans and wooden troughs, placed at the foot of each
tree.
As fast as these pans and troughs were filled they were taken to
the house and emptied into boilers that were suspended over the
fire. Here the sap boiled away at a great rate, and the men took turns
in stirring it so that it should not burn.
I found that this sugar-making was quite a tedious operation, as
the sap had to be boiled twice, and a great deal of care and time was
spent upon it before it cooled down into the hard, light-brown maple
sugar of which most boys and girls are so fond.
But I saw enough to make me understand the principles of the
business.
I found that when the sap began to rise in the trees, in the early
spring, there was always enough of it to supply the needs of the tree,
and a good deal besides to supply the needs of the sugar-makers.
I watched all the processes, and tasted the sap when it first flowed
from the tree and in all its different stages. And when I went back to
the farm-house, early in the afternoon, I thought that it would be a
great thing to have a grove of sugar-maples, and to be able to make
one’s own sugar, and to be independent, in that respect at least, of
the grocery-store.