History: Irish V English Accounts
English Account of the Easter Rising...
Start at 2.00 minutes as introduction is not entirely relevant |
Irish Account of the Easter Rising...
Coffey’s research for his book involved speaking, fifty years later in 1966, to survivors of the revolutionary forces, mainly of the GPO HQ garrison, and on meticulous research. It is a good stimulus with primary and secondary sources allowing for children to evaluate and critically reflect upon the content as a Historian. An Example of this is shown below: Writing about the evening of April 26th in the GPO in which the garrison was in holding pattern without the opportunity to engage directly with the enemy, unsure of what was to come, under bombardment and raking fire from a distance, Coffey describes the scene thus: ‘There was a restless stirring, and even in the dim light the haggard, worried expressions showed on the tired faces. Connolly got up from his cot and made the rounds, comforting, exhorting, sometimes scolding, but even by moving among the men at this hour he showed his own concern about their dwindling spirits. Everyone had abandoned by this time the myth of possible victory. There was nothing left for these exhausted and frightened men to think about but the imminent assault against them and, for the survivors of the battle, the dire consequences of defeat. Connolly looked into their faces, one after another. Then suddenly, without warning, he broke into a bellowing chorus of one of their favorite marching songs, a song that would one day become the Irish national anthem – “The Soldiers Song”. |
Resouce Details:
A video (YouTube) giving a short overview of the 1916 Easter Rising from an English perspective.
A map of England, pinpointing Westminster (which is mentioned in the video)
A link to purchasing a book
A snippet of the book
Teaching Ideas:
History - Story; stories from the lives of people in the past
English - Competence and Confidence using Language; competence and confidence using oral language, Emotional and Imaginative Development through Language; responding to text
Drama - Drama to Explore Feelings, Knowledge and Ideas, Leading to Understanding; exploring and making drama, co-operating and communicating in making drama
A video (YouTube) giving a short overview of the 1916 Easter Rising from an English perspective.
A map of England, pinpointing Westminster (which is mentioned in the video)
A link to purchasing a book
A snippet of the book
Teaching Ideas:
- Class discussion on the video (How accurate was the information given? Was it a fair portrayal of the Irish Rebellion?)
- Drama lesson on the content of Coffey's book (more specifically on the snippet given above)
- Discussion on how the English handled the Rising based on the video (refer to how far away the English were when making decisions. Could that have affected their judgement in any way?
History - Story; stories from the lives of people in the past
English - Competence and Confidence using Language; competence and confidence using oral language, Emotional and Imaginative Development through Language; responding to text
Drama - Drama to Explore Feelings, Knowledge and Ideas, Leading to Understanding; exploring and making drama, co-operating and communicating in making drama