In 1731 Hugh Boulter, Primate of Armagh, submitted the findings of the Inquiry into Illegal Popish Schools by the House of Lords, which was set up "to prevent the growth of Popery, and to secure this Kingdom from any dangers from the great Number of Papists in this Nation."[REF]
The reputations and population of the schools continued to decrease from the turn of the 19th century until they petered out around mid-century.