A meeting of the City Schools’ Attendance Committee was held today at the Town Hall, with Reverend James Cregan, Adm, St Michaels, presiding. Reverend Mr Swain and Mr Martin Leahy, BC, were also in attendance, along with Attendance Officers, Messrs O’Halloran and Fitzgerald. The secretary, Mr Nolap, read out communications received from Cork, Belfast, Waterford, and Londonderry in response to a query regarding prosecutions for obstructing attendance officers. The cities mentioned reported no such prosecutions, and the officers did not have the power to enter houses to find defaulters. This was seen as a defect of the Act, rendering it challenging to implement. No report had been received from Dublin yet.

Regarding a case of obstruction mentioned in Limerick, the committee decided to leave it to the discretion of the officers, who were generally successful in securing convictions. It was agreed not to pursue a prosecution for obstruction at this time, as discussed in a previous meeting. The reports of the attendance officers were presented, indicating overall improvements in school attendance. In Mr O’Halloran’s district, the number of students enrolled in National Schools showed an increase of 264 compared to the corresponding week of the previous year. Final notices were issued to several defaulters, and after concluding the routine business, the meeting adjourned.

Limerick Echo – Tuesday 08 November 1904