Irish history for kids

FinnLizzy · 17-05-2011 8:37pm #1

Can anyone tell me what the first bits of information on Irish history were? Like, did you ever hear buzz words (such as: 1916, 800 years, GPO, potatoe famine, etc.) as a child and piece it all together?

For instance, as a child, this is what I thought irish history was:
In the years before 1916, Ireland was a lovely country ruled by ourselves without the British. Then, for no other reason other than the British being pr*cks!, they came over and oppressed us. They did stuff like shoot people playing GAA (Michael Collins came out when I was 4) and somehow forced us to stop speaking Irish.
The Irish fought them out that very year, wouldja believe it?
Anyways, til this day, they are in the North being pricks and no one wants them there! (not even the large amount of unionists that violently want them there, but I didn't know about them)

After a while, I learned other interesting facts: it wasn't a war of Catholic vs. Protestants, so I then stopped burning poo on Proddy doorsteps,

.

Can anyone else tell me some misconceptions they had about Irish history as a child?

The King of Moo · 17-05-2011 8:44pm

I never knew the I.R.A were "fighting" for Irish independence. I'm not sure exactly what I thought they were doing when I heard about them on the news all the time. I think I thought they were generic baddies, but I was definitely sure they were anti-Irish.
Was pretty young then though:o

FinnLizzy · 17-05-2011 8:47pm

The King of Moo wrote: »

I never knew the I.R.A were "fighting" for Irish independence. I'm not sure exactly what I thought they were doing when I heard about them on the news all the time. I think I thought they were generic baddies, but I was definitely sure they were anti-Irish.
Was pretty young then though:o

My childhood self couldn't disagree with you more. I thought the IRA were our current army. I'd see them standing outside banks. If that were the case now, I'd be supprised to see them NOT robbing them.

deathrider · 17-05-2011 8:49pm

You mean that's not how it happened? :eek:

brummytom · 17-05-2011 9:00pm

FinnLizzy wrote: »

For instance, as a child, this is what I thought irish history was:
In the years before 1916, Ireland was a lovely country ruled by ourselves without the British. Then, for no other reason other than the British being pr*cks!, they came over and oppressed us. They did stuff like shoot people playing GAA (Michael Collins came out when I was 4)

Jesus, that's one for the tabloids

Mrmoe · 17-05-2011 9:00pm

The history I remember being taught from a young age had more to to with ancient Irish history and fables such as Fionn MacCool and CuChulainn.

Show Time · 17-05-2011 9:05pm

Mrmoe wrote: »

The history I remember being thought from a young age had more to to with ancient Irish history and fables such as Fionn MacCool and the CuChulainn.

My uncle(and Godfather) God rest his soul use to always read me all those stories as a small lad, It was thanks to him that i developed my love of history as a subject and old Irish history as a passion.

mniccaba · 17-05-2011 9:06pm

When I was very young I thought Ireland and England where one mass of land that where separated by the IRA fighting to make us our own country. Ah to be an innocent child!

El Guapo! · 17-05-2011 9:14pm

My grandad used to tell me stories about being beaten up for no reason by the Black and Tans and stuff like that. I used to hang onto his every word and found it fascinating.

That's probably my earliest memory of learning Irish history. I liked it in school but the way it was taught made me lose interest. You know the typical Irish education system- "Learn off the next 4 paragraphs by Monday". Why can't they make it more interesting??!!

FinnLizzy · 17-05-2011 9:29pm

Dean09 wrote: »

My grandad used to tell me stories about being beaten up for no reason by the Black and Tans and stuff like that. I used to hang onto his every word and found it fascinating.

That's probably my earliest memory of learning Irish history. I liked it in school but the way it was taught made me lose interest. You know the typical Irish education system- "Learn off the next 4 paragraphs by Monday". Why can't they make it more interesting??!!

Jaysus! Beaten up by the black and tans? I'd say you developed quite a hatred for Africans and Spanish!

Magic Eight Ball · 17-05-2011 9:33pm

When I was young I thought the Jedi were somehow involved in the conflict.

The King of Moo · 17-05-2011 9:35pm

Magic Eight Ball wrote: »

When I was young I thought the Jedi were somehow involved in the conflict.

*waves hand*
"The Jedi were not involved in the conflict."

Magic Eight Ball, in monotone: "The Jedi were not involved in the conflict."

Wolfe Tone · 17-05-2011 9:37pm

I remember being bored to sh!t hearing about them poxy ceide fields

Shryke · 17-05-2011 9:39pm

Fin Mac Cool and some stuff about this bull that was just fantastic. Then kids that were turned to swans. Couldn't give a crap about them. I bought a newer version of The Tain recently but haven't read it yet. My Irish legends are all mixed up!
I never cared about the troubles or any of that except that anyone who blows people up are assholes. I learned that at an early age.

El Guapo! · 17-05-2011 9:42pm

FinnLizzy wrote: »

Jaysus! Beaten up by the black and tans? I'd say you developed quite a hatred for Africans and Spanish!

El Guapo! · 17-05-2011 9:46pm

Shryke wrote: »

Fin Mac Cool and some stuff about this bull that was just fantastic. Then kids that were turned to swans. Couldn't give a crap about them. I bought a newer version of The Tain recently but haven't read it yet. My Irish legends are all mixed up!
I never cared about the troubles or any of that except that anyone who blows people up are assholes. I learned that at an early age.

I don't mean anything bad to you personally but that sentence shows ignorance and a lack of knowledge on the subject. And that seems to be the case with a lot of people. Through no fault of their own they have the same mentality that was just forced on them from a young age.

Shryke · 17-05-2011 10:05pm

That's grand Dean. You can just call me ignorant or actually explain yourself.

El Guapo! · 17-05-2011 10:18pm

Again as I said I don't mean to call you ignorant I was just saying a lot of people aren't taught the ins and outs of Irish History and are just told that "IRA terrorists" went on hunger strike and thats that. If you asked a lot of younger people today what they know about the troubles it would probably be very little for the most part. You'd prob only hear back "the IRA blew everyone up" or something along those lines.
I just mean there needs to be more education on the subject and more emphasis put on it in school. Again apologies for any offence caused.

Sefirah · 17-05-2011 10:24pm

When it comes to learning Irish history, it really does start at home. From a very young age, it was made very clear to me who the 'goodies' and 'baddies' were. Shortly before I was born, my dad (while on duty in the gardaí) was caught up in a terrorist incident which left him unable to work, and certainly his experiences growing up in the north but being forced to leave because of all the hassle and discrimination completely altered my worldview. Secondary school education only confirmed that they were assholes, and it's only now since I've started studying history in UCD that I've become more open to other outlooks

PK2008 · 17-05-2011 10:30pm

Irish History 101..

The Brits came over and took all our potatoes, forcing millions to move to America and buy U2 albums..

There was a good IRA and a bad IRA- Both ended up killing a load of fellow Irish people while the Brits looked on in bemusement...

There were priests that controlled people by telling them they were sinners on a Sunday and then raped their kids after mass.

We gave Europe the Riverdance and they gave us a credit card which we promptly maxed out on a massive piss up called the Celtic tiger

.....and thats pretty much where we are today.

Tune in next week to find out how a Russian with a moustache and a German with a moustache, both used there moustaches for the forces of evil..........

Shryke · 17-05-2011 10:32pm

Dean09 wrote: »

Again as I said I don't mean to call you ignorant I was just saying a lot of people aren't taught the ins and outs of Irish History and are just told that "IRA terrorists" went on hunger strike and thats that. If you asked a lot of younger people today what they know about the troubles it would probably be very little for the most part. You'd prob only hear back "the IRA blew everyone up" or something along those lines.
I just mean there needs to be more education on the subject and more emphasis put on it in school. Again apologies for any offence caused.

That's grand, but I'm not ignorant of the facts. I still disagree to a large degree with the operations of the IRA. More education would be great, if only to stop clowns blaring Up the RA and that kind of stuff.

Irish Guitarist · 17-05-2011 11:22pm

In primary school our history classes were spent learning about Fionn MacCumhaill and other Irish myths and legends. These stories were thought to us as if they were facts. We learned a bit about the plantations in secondary school but as far as I remember we never got as far as the IRA.

Xivilai · 17-05-2011 11:24pm

I can remember being seriously bored reading about the Flight of the Earls etc. and Oliver Cromwell in Primary School

I don't remember much but I do remember me and a friend joking about a dude called Napper Tandy, we decided he was Nappa from Dragonball Z.

Capt'n Midnight · 17-05-2011 11:28pm

The one date I can remember from primary school history.

The Synod of Bishops was in 1111

Elmo · 17-05-2011 11:39pm

FinnLizzy wrote: »

For instance, as a child, this is what I thought irish history was:
In the years before 1916, Ireland was a lovely country ruled by ourselves without the British. Then, for no other reason other than the British being pr*cks!, they came over and oppressed us. They did stuff like shoot people playing GAA (Michael Collins came out when I was 4) and somehow forced us to stop speaking Irish.
The Irish fought them out that very year, wouldja believe it?
Anyways, til this day, they are in the North being pricks and no one wants them there! (not even the large amount of unionists that violently want them there, but I didn't know about them)

Up to what age did you think this? Before 1916 we rule ourselves!

I think outlooks and views should be thought at a later stage, let people form their own opinions based on the facts (The why will be asked). Then they can come on boards and argue to their hearts content

In primary we did Irish Myths and Legends, The Great Famine, O'Connell, but then I had a teacher who brought us to all of the buildings in Dublin city telling us about the architecture, we also did allot about Irish Art Jack B. Yeats. And we play chess! haha! I must be a posh republican.

Imagine trying to teach a child about the Bank Bailout. The English beat up the Irish but before that the Irish had kings and queens up to 1916 then a Biffo starting building and people bought huge houses that they could not afford so their was a Famine and then the English and some other countries gave money to Ireland to feed the poor and we're still suffering 800 years later.

darragh16 · 17-05-2011 11:42pm

In 1170, Dermott McMurrough invited the Strongbow over, the english followed and 800+ years later here we are...

bonerm · 17-05-2011 11:43pm

FinnLizzy wrote: »

potatoe famine

Hmmm

RMD · 17-05-2011 11:45pm

I remember my dad always getting incredibly pissed off at the latest news of a bombing. He was (rightfully) convinced peace and democracy was the only way forward so every time the news came on and there was another bombing, he spent a few minutes shouting "fúcking scumbags" repeatedly over and over at the TV :pac:

Other than that, I did most of my Irish history "educating" myself, been reading books about Irish history and the Troubles since I was about 12-13.

Zebra3 · 17-05-2011 11:59pm

I think it's shameful that the Great Famine is not recognised as the genocide which it was.

A nation full of quislings. :mad:

One only has to look at the gobshites protesting against the Brits today in Seltic, Unira, and Heyselmurder football shirts. :rolleyes:

Tossers.

citizen_p · 18-05-2011 12:00am

I liked history and was generally pretty savy in it, so I generally understood it...

Elmo · 18-05-2011 12:04am

Zebra3 wrote: »

One only has to look at the gobshites protesting against the Brits today in Seltic, Unira, and Heyselmurder football shirts. :rolleyes:.

Many people wouldn't consider Scottish as British in the sense of who was in charge. Many people referred for many years to Britain as England forgetting either Scotland and Wales. This is in terms of a Celtic Jersey. But yes Irish people follow English teams, and Irish players play for them. But I would blame the bad organisations that run soccer in Ireland for that.

Irish history for kids

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