"SHSI Certificate of Recognition"
"Best on the Web"


Encyclopedia Dubuque

www.encyclopediadubuque.org

"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN

Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.




IRISH, Thomas J.

From Encyclopedia Dubuque
Jump to navigationJump to search

Ancestry: https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/507921133:61843?tid=&pid=&queryId=4a433d151d9c124c890d073b3afc4eb2&_phsrc=HEg1340&_phstart=successSource

Photo courtesy: Telegraph Herald

IRISH, Thomas J. (Iowa City, IA, Feb. 7, 1841--Los Angeles, CA, Oct. 20, 1935). Irish began his career in education by opening a school in Iowa City at the age of twenty and later serving as superintendent of schools. (1) His success there brought him to Dubuque in 1867 as the principal of the Fourth Ward School.

In 1891 he was chosen to be a member of the executive committee of the state teachers' association for arranging an Iowa educational exhibit at the World's Fair. (2) He was a strong advocate in 1894 for a bill that would allow high schools to provide elementary training in the principles of teaching. He disagreed with those who suggested that the state normal school was able to train a sufficient number of teachers in proper methods. (3)

In 1914 the Northeastern Iowa Teachers Association elected Irish as its treasurer. (4) Irish served as principal for fifty-six years in the Third Ward School (PRESCOTT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL) until his retirement in 1923. (5)

In 1921 Irish was elected chairman of the board of the DUBUQUE TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION. The organization was formed "to promote the interest of the teachers' profession, to create a feeling of fellowship among the teachers, and to stimulate within the community a deeper sense of the interests they represent." (6) The officers consisted of a council of five chosen from the primary, intermediate, grammar, high schools and principals. They served one year and were elected at meetings of the different groups on the second Tuesday in September. (7)


---

Source:

1. Oldt, Franklin T. History of Dubuque County, Iowa. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1880, p. 815

2. "Municipal Molecules," Dubuque Daily Herald, January 4, 1891, p. 4

3. "State Normal Training," Dubuque Daily Herald, March 10, 1894, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=_OG5zn83XeQC&dat=18940310&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

4. "Dubuque Man is Elected President," The Telegraph-Herald, April 4 1914, p. 1

5. "Professor Irish Dies in Los Angeles," Telegraph Herald, Oct. 25, 1935, p. 7. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vL1BAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wKkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6615,7032792&dq=irish+dubuque&hl=en

6. "Dubuque Teachers Form Association," Telegraph Herald, Sept. 29, 1921, p. 14. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CpZSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vdAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2518,118565&dq=irish+dubuque&hl=en

7. "Professor Irish Dies in Los Angeles."