Tour at a glance
Level: 5th to 6th class
Group size: 30
Location: Recovered Voices: The Stories of the Irish at War 1914-15
Duration: 45 minutes
Available: Tuesday to Saturday
This interactive tour focuses on the people involved in World War One and how the War impacted their lives.
It seeks to demonstrate the all-encompassing nature of the First World War and includes stories of nurses, doctors, prisoners of war and ordinary soldiers. Students will also get a chance to handle a replica gas mask and uniform jacket.
Our guide had a great understanding of interactive learning and how vital it is when kids are involved.
Teacher feedback.
Curriculum links
SESE History, Art
Working as a HistorianTime and chronology/ Using evidence/ Change and continuity/ Synthesis and communication/ Cause and effect/ Empathy
Local studies
My locality through the ages
Story
Stories from the lives, myths and legends of people in the past
Life, society, work and culture in the past
Irish society in early 20th century,
Eras of change and conflict
Changing roles of women in the 20th century, use of propaganda
Politics, conflict and society
The First World War, The Home Rule Crisis.
Other curriculum links
- Visual Art (uniforms, symbols)
- English (letters and letter writing, poetry)
Learning outcomes
- Exploring experiences of people involved in the War based on original objects from the Museum’s collections and on replica objects for handling
- Making connections to local history relating to the First World War
- Learning about the changing role of women
- Understanding the impact of the War, on people from Ireland in particular
Resources and suggestions
At the Museum
If you would like to further explore the period 1913-1923, visit Soldiers and Chiefs, Asgard and Proclaiming a Republic: The 1916 Rising.
Before your visit
- Visit the exhibition in advance, if possible, to get familiar with the layout, key objects and key narratives
- 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 events and organisations
After your visit
Ideas for post-visit activities:
- Ask students to write a review of their museum visit
- Plan a project on a key personality / key garrison
- Hold a classroom debate on a contentious issue or event
- Explore the significance of propaganda
- Consider the value of museums as places to display objects that connect us with our history
- Create a museum in your classroom
Recommended reading and useful links
Books
- Recovered Voices. Stories of the Irish at War, 1914 – 1916 by Lar Joye and Brenda Malone
- Ireland and The Great War by Keith Jeffrey
- Towards Commemoration: Ireland in War and Revolution 1912 – 1923 by John Horne and Edward Madigan
Links
- World War One Exhibition at the National Library of Ireland
- Europeana 1914-1918
- Gallipoli Association
- Gallipoli and Anzacs (Information on resources for students and teachers)
- Imperial War Museum, UK
- IWM Lives of the First World War
Researching individuals who took part in the First World War:
- British Army Records Service
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- Ireland’s Memorial Records
- Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association
- World War One Veterans (Ireland: records Irishmen who returned to Ireland following the War, between 1918 and 1923)