This online learning resource has been developed for 5th and 6th class primary school students.
Join Museum staff in the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life to discover our National Folklife Collection, through objects, film and story.
This set of resources, each with a mixed duration of five to eight minutes, consists of videos and suggested activities for primary level students to use when learning about life in Ireland from the 1850s.
The resource explores the themes of Folklife; History (1850s); Trades in the Community; Hearth & Home; Calendar Customs & Traditions; Clothing; Farming; and Fishing.
The videos were developed for primary school audiences (5th and 6th class) by the Museum’s Education Department working with experienced Museum Guides and The Reelists Productions.
Video 1: The National Museum of Ireland - Country Life
This video introduces the Folklife collection and the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life. It explores the theme of why we collect in Museums and why folklife still needs to be collected for the future.
Learn more about the Irish Folklife Collection
Video 2: The Times (1850-1950)
This video explores what was happening throughout the turbulent period of 1850 to 1950. It provides a timeline of events and uses the Post Box as an example of how objects tell stories.
Learn more about The Times
Video 3: The Natural Environment
The people living from the landscape in the 1850s had to use all of their ingenuity to avail of the resources in their landscape to survive.
Learn more about The Natural Environment
Video 4: Trades in the Community
This video investigates the difference between trades and crafts and looks at some trades that might have been in the community in this time.
Learn more about Trades and Crafts
Video 5: Hearth and Home
'Home is where the hearth is...'
This video looks at the role of women in the home and how difficult tasks were pre-electrification.
Learn more about Hearth and Home
Video 6: Clothing
This video takes a brief look at clothing in the past and how people used natural materials to make clothing, using spinning, weaving and stitching.
Learn more about Clothing the Family
Video 7: Calendar Customs
This video explores Calendar Customs and traditions and focuses on three in particular - Imbolc, Lunasa and Samhain - through objects, story and archive footage.
Learn more about Calendar Customs
Video 8: Living off the Land
This video investigates how people used the land to provide food and fuel for their families throughout the year.
Learn more about traditional Irish farming methods
Video 9: Living off the Water
This video looks at how fishermen braved the seas, rivers and lakes to provide food for their families throughout the year.
Learn more about Working on Land and Water