Collins Barracks

Tour at a glance

Level: Junior and Senior Cycle, Transition Year
Group Size: 15
Location: Clarke Square, Out of Storage / What's in Store, Changing Ireland
Duration: 45 minutes
Available: Select dates in term
Booking: Book Now

To mark Ireland's EU Presidency, explore connections to Europe on this new, special edition tour exploring Ireland's evolving relationship with Europe through more than a century of social, political and cultural change. Using objects and stories from the Museum's collections, students will examine key developments in Irish society from the late nineteenth century to the present day, including Ireland's path to sovereignty, social reform, democracy and international cooperation.

Students will discover how Irish craft, design and innovation reflect both national identity and Ireland's place within a wider European context. The tour also considers the impact of Ireland's membership of the European Community and European Union, exploring how this has influenced social change, economic development and civic participation in Ireland.

Through discussion and object-based learning, students are encouraged to consider themes of citizenship, identity, globalisation and civic action, while developing their skills in historical enquiry and working with evidence.

Curriculum links

History

• Political developments in Ireland in the late 19th century and the 20th century
• Social change in the 20th century
• International relations in the 20th century

• Working with Evidence
• Movements for political and social reform, 1870-1914
• The pursuit of sovereignty and the impact of partition, 1912-1914
• The Irish diaspora, 1840-1966
• Politics and society in Northern Ireland, 1949-1993
• Government, economy and society in the Republic of Ireland, 1949-1989

Junior Cycle CSPE (Civic, Social and Political Education)

Leaving Certificate Politics and Society 

• Topic 1: Power and decision-making in the school
• Topic 2: Power and decision-making at national and European level

• Topic 3: Effectively contributing to communities
• Topic 4: Rights and responsibilities in communication with others

• Topic 5: Human rights and responsibilities in Ireland
• Topic 6: Human rights and responsibilities in Europe and the wider world

• Topic 7: Globalisation and identity
• Topic 8: Sustainable development

Junior Certificate Visual Art

Supports learning across the strands of Art, Craft and Design, with particular emphasis on Visual Culture and Appreciation, Critical and Visual Language, and the use of Museum collections as sources of inspiration, research and understanding of the wider world.

Leaving Certificate Art

• Looking (analyse an artwork, recognise an art style and identify relevant features,use critical and visual language to describe an artwork, experience the natural and built environment as a source of inspiration, identify the sources that support the development of their work)
• Contextual enquiries (use the wider context of how the world is continually changing, socially, politically, ethically, etc. in their work, engage with a recognised artist or work of art, explain how context and period influence artistic thinking, identify links with artists of the past and present that have explored similar topics or themes)

Learning outcomes

• Gain a greater knowledge of Ireland's relationship with the wider world in the 20th century
• Discuss the impact of Ireland's membership of the European Community and European Union on Irish society.
• Recognise how Irish craft, design and material culture reflect identity, values and Ireland's place within Europe.
• Explore continuity and change over time and identify connections between local, national, European and global events and their influence on everyday life for Irish people.
• Consider how globalisation, cultural exchange and international cooperation have shaped modern Ireland.

Resources and suggestions

Online
To learn more about Revolutionary-era Ireland and provide context, you can watch our virtual tours:

• Proclaiming a Republic: The 1916 Rising
• Bonnets, Bandolies and Ballot Papers

At the Museum
Also visit the following related galleries in the Museum: Irish Wars 1919 to 1923 and Recovered Voices: the Stories of the Irish at War 1914-1915.

Before your visit

• We recommend teachers try to visit the exhibition in advance, if possible, to get familiar with the layout, key objects and key narratives within the exhibition
• Read literature and poetry depicting events from and around the period
• Use these resources and the exhibition visit to imagine and discuss the feelings and motives of people in the past and to discuss how an event in the past may have been perceived by those who participated in it
• Consider choices made by individuals and organisations and the contexts these choices were made in
• Plan a project around your visit. Students could research key personalities and organisations

After your visit
Ideas for post-visit activities include:

• Plan a project on a key personalities/conflicts
• Hold a classroom debate on a contentious issue or event discussed during the tour
• Consider the value of Museums as places to display objects that connect us with our history
• Create a museum in your classroom.