Their upbringing differed from that of boys in thousands of similar country houses throughout Ireland only in one circumstance; they were Catholics, and even so lately as in their boyhood Catholic land-owners were comparatively few.
John Redmond was four years older than his younger brother, born in 1861.

He got his schooling under the Jesuits at Clongowes in early days, before the system of Government endowment by examination results had given incentive to cramming.

According to his own account he did little work and nobody pressed him to exertion.

But the Jesuits are skilful teachers, and they left a mark on his mind.

It is scarcely chance that the two speakers of all I have heard who had the best delivery were pupils of theirs--Redmond and Sir William Butler.