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’ was set up in several dioceses.89 The preparation for sacraments was to rest more on the parish and on the parents–church–school triangle, thus expecting parents to be more directly involved and giving schools a supporting role rather than the central one.90 Such a development was supported by the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (created in 2000), through declarations made by Sean Cottrell, who headed the network at the time. At the same time, the Catholic Church never meant for ‘its’ schools to be entirely freed from their responsibility in this area. In 2006
‘secularisation’ of principals. In 2006, it came into direct conflict with the Catholic Primary School Managers’ Association (CPSMA), when the head of the IPPN, Sean Cottrell, took a stand against religious instruction and especially against preparation for the First Communion and Confirmation within school hours.88 Cottrell declared that families, not schools, should by right take responsibility for their children’s religious education, with direct help from clergy. He insisted that schools could no longer be expected to prepare children for sacraments, if only for practical