The Irish school inspectorate has had a long and intimate involvement in the development of the school system at all levels, and its establishment in 1832 pre-dated the founding of inspectorates in England and Wales. The national (primary) school inspectorate, set up in 1832, has had the longest and most extensive engagement with schools; the vocational and secondary school inspectorates were established in 1900 and 1909 respectively. The three branches of the inspectorate originated and evolved in quite different ways as a result of their alliance to the characteristics of the school sector for which they had responsibility. The branches are now unified as a single inspectorate, which has been significantly restructured in recent years in line with the many reforms of the education system. This is the first published history of Ireland's school inspectorate and it provides illuminating insights into school conditions, pedagogical approaches, curricular implementation, assessment issues and the general progress of the school enterprise.