Two hedge-schools existed in this district about sixty years ago. One of them was in Dulague in a shed of Tom Flemings and the other was in the house of John O'Connor. Master Murphy was the name of the teacher who was teaching in Dulague and he was a cripple. John O'Connor was the name of the teacher in Portduff and he held his school in his own cow-house. These teachers were not paid by the Government, but each pupil had to pay three shillings a quarter.
The subjects he taught were Writing, Reading, Geography and Arithmetic. The pupils never wrote on copies with pen or pencil, but on a slate