I am also Irish and your experiences strike a chord. At primary school, I remember the ruler, the strap, and very, very, very rarely the cane being used on the hand. The latter was for boys in 6th class. For secondary school, I was sent boarding and it was all boys. Here the strap was only used. Whilst we got it frequently on the hand boarders got it as much on the backside, especially in the dormitories. At secondary school, the strap was a constant feature of life right up to sixth year. I left school in 1978.