Of the hundreds of boys registered to enter the Royal Hibernian Military School between 1832 and 1918, 314 were rejected for various reasons. This high number of rejections needs explaining, if explanation is possible from the information available from the registers. More important for those engaged in research is the fact that, given the paucity of parish records and the high level of poverty in 19th Century, we now have available an accurate record of the children rejected from admission.

The data is contained in two of three extant admissions ledgers held in the National Archives: PRO WO143/27 – RHMS Boys alphabetic index, 1832-1918. The first two entries are John CRAIGH, who volunteered to the army 9 December 1835 and John McManus 14 December 1835. (If admitted at age 9, then entry to the RHMS would have been about 1830) and PRO WO143/78 – Boys alphabetic index 1847-1877. The first of the two registers (PRO WO143/27) was poorly maintained. Also, many admission and discharge dates are missing. This makes the work of indexing impossible except by name, petition and page number.

Fortunately, the second ledger, WO143/78, provided detail missing in the WO143/27 admissions register. By using the data in the scantily written register as a point of departure, the entries were cross-referenced, the data combined and a more complete record built. As a result, a record is now available for registered entrants between January 1847 and December 1877. This includes the applicants by class, petition number, the father's regiment or unit, admission and discharge dates, birthday, age, weight, height and chest measurements, religious affiliation, trade taught, good conduct stripes earned, the musical instrument played (if the student was a member of the band), and the page number of the 'lost chronological ledger'.

Considering the overall available data, a fairly complete body of information is now on record of boys admitted between 1832 and 1918. Equally important is the exceptionally high number of boys rejected or failed to appear, which is the subject of this item. That is, of the 8640 names covered by the combined ledgers, the 314 rejected is 3.9 per cent of the total. However, when those in the 'Not Joined' or 'failed to appear' category are added, the total registered amounts to one-eighth of the total (or about 12_ per cent), numbering 1072 children.

The children rejected are recorded for the period 1840 – 1918. They were segregated in four classes as shown in accompany table. Applications were approved, a petition number assigned and a date for arrival specified. Of the four categories of rejection, two appear only as 'UNFIT' or 'REJECT' without further explanation.

*Total for all reasons and classes – 1072
* Father possibly on foreign service.

It might be assumed most applications for entry would have been orphans in the Class 1 category. This, however, was not the case. Applications covered all classes.

There is no record of what happened to these rejected children or other provisions that might have been made for them. Poverty throughout the British Isles in the 19th Century was general and the mortality rate of vagrant children high. Rejection from entry to the Hibernian School meant that the children and their parents or a surviving parent would experience serious deprivation. One can only hope that those denied entry made it to adulthood.

P. Goble