The Irish Revolution, 1912-23: Context

Module title	The Irish Revolution, 1912-23: Context
Module code	HIH3158
Academic year	2020/1
Credits	30
Module staff	Dr Gemma Clark (Convenor)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks	11	11

Number students taking module (anticipated)	18

Module description

During 1912-23, Ireland experienced radical changes in its governance and society. This module, which requires no prior knowledge of Irish history, explores an extraordinary period of revolution, guerrilla warfare, civil war and Partition. Through close study of the available primary sources, you will come to understand the roots of current tensions within and between Britain, the now separate Republic of Ireland and a Northern Irish state still joined to the UK. The co-requisite Context module (HIH3158) will provide the social and political background to this formative period – and engage you with the lively field of Irish Revolutionary historiography

Module aims - intentions of the module

Ireland’s seemingly natural trajectory towards self-governance within the United Kingdom was halted, in 1912, by Ulster Unionists’ rejection of the British government’s Home Rule Bill. The consequent militarisation of Irish society – and the outbreak of global war in 1914 – provided opportunities for radical republicanism to overtake moderate nationalism as the driving force for change in Ireland. This module aims to:

Through in-depth analysis of the available source material, explore the constitutional, (para)military and popular violent processes through which, by 1923, independence was established for the twenty-six southern counties (of the Irish Free State), whilst six Partitioned Ulster counties, comprising the new Northern Ireland state, remained under UK authority (as they do until this day)
Consider the perspectives of government officials, armed combatants and civilians, addressing historical topics (religion, nationality, identity, radicalism, counter-insurgency) that have strong contemporary resonances
Foster the broad research, analytical, interpretative and communication skills that can be usefully applied to future academic studies and in graduate jobs
Encourage the development of discipline-specific skills, including sensitivity of historical controversy and robust awareness of the sectarian and political agendas that often beset the study of recent and on-going conflicts, in Ireland and elsewhere

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

1. Evaluate the different complex themes in the history of the Irish Revolution (191223)
2. Make close specialist evaluation of the key developments in Irelands governance and society within the period, developed through independent study and seminar work

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

3. Analyse the key developments within a particular historical environment
4. Focus on and comprehend complex issues
5. Understand and deploy relevant historical terminology in a comprehensible manner
6. Follow the complex reasoning inherent in the discourse of the period

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

7. Carry out independent and autonomous study and group work, including presentation of material for group discussion, developed through the mode of learning
8. Digest, select and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment
9. Present complex arguments orally

Syllabus plan

The introductory sessions will provide a framework within which all students (regardless of their prior knowledge of Ireland/Irish history) can place their future work. These sessions are likely to cover Ireland and the Union; religion and society in nineteenth-century Ireland; the development of constitutional and violent movements for Irish independence.

Following the introductory sessions, the exact syllabus will vary from year to year, but topics are likely to include:

The Home Rule Party (and Home Rule Crisis)
Ulster Unionism and the militarization of Irish society
Radicalism and republicanism: Arthur Griffith, Sinn Féin and the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood; labour; women’s suffrage
World War I and Irish soldiers abroad
The Easter Rising
Aftermath of the Rising and the 1917 by-elections
Political imprisonment
The 1918 General Election and the alternative state (Dáil Éireann)
The War of Independence, 1919–21
The early IRA (Irish Republican Army)
The Anglo-Irish Treaty
Partition and borders
The Irish Civil War
Social revolution? The Irish Land Question since the Wyndham Act (1903)
Cultural revolution? Lives and beliefs of the ‘revolutionary generation’

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
44	256

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled learning and teaching activities	44	22 x 2 hour seminars.
Guided independent study	256	Reading and preparation for seminars, coursework and presentations.

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Seminar discussion	Ongoing through course	1-7, 9	Oral from tutor and fellow students

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
70	30	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Portfolio	70	2 assignments totalling 4000 words	1-8	Oral and written
Seen examination	30	2500 words	1-8	Oral and written

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Portfolio assignment	Portfolio assignment	1-8	Referral/deferral period
Seen exam	Seen exam	1-8	Referral/deferral period

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Roy Foster, Vivid faces: The revolutionary generation in Ireland, 1890–1923 (London: Allen Lane, 2014)

Ronan Fanning, Fatal path: British government and Irish Revolution, 1910–22 (London: Faber and Faber, 2013)

Peter Hart, The IRA at war, 1916–23 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003)

Charles Townshend, Easter 1916: The Irish rebellion (London: Penguin, 2006)

Gemma Clark, Everyday violence in the Irish Civil War (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland, University of Ulster: http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/

Databases accessed through the Library website, including: Bibliography of British and Irish History; Dictionary of Irish Biography; First World War Online

History Hub, UCD School of History and Archives; see especially the ten-part ‘Irish Revolution Podcast’: http://historyhub.ie/theirishrevolution

International Encyclopaedia of the First World War; see especiallyRichard S. Grayson, ‘Ireland’: http://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/ireland

RTE Archives, Exhibitions, ‘Easter Rising’: http://www.rte.ie/archives/exhibitions/1993-easter-1916/

Key words search

History, revolution, war, Ireland, Great Britain, violence, politics, nationalism

Credit value	30
Module ECTS	15
Module pre-requisites	At least 90 credits of History at Level 1 and/or Level 2.
Module co-requisites	HIH3157 The Irish Revolution, 1912–23: Sources
NQF level (module)	6
Available as distance learning?	No
Origin date	24/02/2015
Last revision date	20/08/2020