27 November 2013: Launch of document study pack: ‘A decade of change: Donegal and Ireland, 1912-1923’
On 27 November 2013 Donegal County Archives Service (Donegal County Council) launched A decade of change, Donegal and Ireland 1912 – 1923 Document Study Pack in The Old Courthouse, Lifford. Dr Arlene Crampsie was commissioned by Donegal County Council’s Archives Service to research and write this education pack as part of the county’s series of events and activities for the Decade of Centenaries. The Archives Service is the custodian of a wide range of archival collections, of public and private origin, relating to the history and culture of Donegal. In order to promote the use of archival material and to demonstrate the value of archival collections the Archives Service has developed a number of projects aimed at schools, including a number of school packs.
A decade of change includes an illustrated booklet documenting the history of this period in Ireland and focusing on Donegal in particular; high quality facsimiles of documents from Donegal County Archives and other collections, and transcriptions; sets of questions designed to assist students to examine evidence contained in the facsimiles; and brief biographies of the main national and local figures from the period. The booklet examines this critical period in our recent history both from a local—Donegal—and national perspective. The pack includes an introduction to the major events in Ireland from 1870—1912, and then examines the period 1912—1923, focusing on specific themes, both nationally and as they were made manifest in Donegal: the Third Home Rule Bill; resistance to Home Rule; World War One; the 1916 Rising; the War of Independence; the 1921 Truce and Anglo-Irish Treaty; the Civil War, and the aftermath and legacies of these events. The study pack is ideal for teachers and students of history at both junior and leaving certificate level and includes a selection of (junior certificate) curriculum based exercises on the back of each document. The pack would also serve as a very useful introduction to the subject for undergraduates of modern Irish history.
The pack is available free of charge to teachers, schools and colleges. It is part of the Hands of History Project, 2013—2014. The Hands of History Project is Action A3 of the Donegal Peace III Action Plan 2011 – 2013 which aims to address racism and sectarianism and to promote and embrace the diversity of cultures living in Donegal. For more information please contact: Niamh Brennan, Archivist, Archives Service, Donegal County Council, Three Rivers Centre, Lifford, County Donegal. Tel: +353 74 9172490; E-Mail: [email protected]
Learn more about Donegal County Council Archives service at http://www.donegalcoco.ie/archives, and follow it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DonegalCountyArchives