Due to my current location, we get quite a few Irish in an out of the office. During one of those office discussions about children and lack of discipline, one chap enlightened us of his education in a Catholic school in Ireland where he was punished with a biffer, I’d never heard that expression before until he revealed what I knew to be a leather strap with a coin sewn inside and administered on the hands.
A couple of Irish women also chirped up that the strap as they referred, rather than biffer, was given in their convent schools. I didn’t get any further details so I’ve no idea how it was administered, how many whacks were common practice, or whether girls got off lighter than boys,