In the early part of the 19th century many Irish parishes had a variety of schools - public schools, parochial schools, private schools, Sunday schools, schools under the superintendence of the Roman Catholic clergy, and hedge schools. And to this was added the Lancasterian school.
The Oxford Dictionary defines this as, "Of or pertaining to Joseph Lancaster (1778-1838) and the monitorial system which he established in schools". In this system a monitor or advanced pupil was placed in charge of, and instructed, 10 younger pupils.
A Brief Report of a Tour of Ire- land in the Winter of 1811-12 by Lancaster informs that a Lancasterian school had been established in the village of Corrofin by the Rev Frederick Blood.
William Carleton (1794-1869), novelist and one-time hedgeschoolmaster, disputed this Lancasterian claim to the introduction of the system of monitorial teaching, averring that it had been used in hedge-schools. Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) informs us that the parochial school of Corrofin, in the Co Clare parish of Killinaboy, was supported by Mr Blood and Edmond Synge, Esq.
The Bloods are not of Irish origin, but came from Derbyshire in 1595, being originally Welsh ap Lloyd. There had been persons so-named here before that but these did not settle, and one of those may have been Roland Blode, one of 12 poor men to be accommodated in a hospital within the close of the late cathedral of St Patrick, a grant for which was issued in 1548.
The Bloods who arrived in 1595 settled in the ancient territory of Ui Bloid in the north-east of Co Clare, and despite the similarity there is no connection between Blood and Ui Bloid, descendants of Blod. Blod was the son of Cas, from whence Dal Cais and the collective Dalcassian. It was from this ancient race that the townland name Ballyblood in the Co Clare parish of Tulla derives.
A Blood was MP for Co Clare in 1613, and one Neptune Blood was a Co Clare commissioner for the Poll-Money Ordinances of 1660 and 1661. This man is said to have received his unusual first name due to the fact that he had been born at sea. Whatever the truth, the name Neptune persisted in the Blood family down the ages.
The notorious Colonel Thomas Blood, whose father obtained an estate in Westmeath in 1640, was a nephew of Neptune. His unsuccessful attempts to assassinate the Duke of Ormond and to steal the crown jewels nearly brought him to the scaffold, but he was clever enough to live to enjoy the royal favour and have his estate restored. He died aged 62 in 1680. His son emigrated to America.
The Co Clare Books of Survey and Distribution list Teige O Brien as 1641 owner of 19 acres at Turlough in the parish of Oughtmama, which land was "disposed" to Neptune Blood. He further received 130 acres at Ballini/Ballyni (?) in the parish of Killonaghan, previously an O Bryan property.
Between 1699 and 1836, 20 different Bloods are listed in the Inchiquin Manuscripts - in letters, court proceedings, leases and deeds, bills, answers, and other legal papers, wills and administrations, and rentals and accounts.
A will of 1692 refers to the vacancy of the church of Killinaboy, Killkeedy and Ragh, due to the death of Neptune Blood, and another Neptune Blood was Dean of Kilfenora from 1656 to 1713.
Apart from Neptune Blood, Kanturk, with 28 Co Cork acres, Owners of Land of One Acre and Upwards (1876), the six other Blood holdings are in Co Clare - 4,460, 2,505, 1,655, 551 and 201 acres. John Blood, Ballykilty, Quin, on the 1,655 acres, and one other, were the only Bloods resident in that county.
All five Blood residences in the 1814 Directory are in Co Clare, four of which were in the Corrofin area. One was at the untraceable Poulnagollour (Poll na gColur, "the hole of the pigeons"? Holes apparently were not favoured places to live in, because of the 20 places with "poll" as the first element listed in the above Directory, only two were residences.)
Fourteen of the 16 Blood entries in the telephone directories south of the Border are in the Dublin 01 area, the other two being in Co Clare. There are but three so-named to its north.