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HIS21340

Academic Year 2024/2025

The Irish at War, 1914-1998 (HIS21340)

Subject:
History
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
History
Level:
2 (Intermediate)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Assoc Professor Fionnuala Walsh
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

The twentieth century was a time of global conflict; the effects of successive world wars and ideologies profoundly shaped Irish politics and society. Many thousands of Irish people voluntarily mobilised to serve in the British military in the two world wars while republican, nationalist and loyalist ideologies brought conflict home to many others. Guerrilla warfare, reprisals, and sectarian violence became part of the Irish experience during the ‘Greater War period 1918-1923’, in common with many other European nations. The arrival of another world war in 1939 could not be ignored even in neutral Ireland and both Dublin and Belfast suffered from bombing campaigns. The Northern Ireland Troubles (1968-1998) divided communities and further blurred the line between civilian and combatant. The long tradition of Irish military service endured, with members of the Irish Defence Forces serving on peacekeeping missions far from Ireland. Irish soldiers were centrally involved in UN attempts to forcibly end the secession of the mineral-rich Congolese province of Katanga in the 1960s and in the protection of civilians in Lebanon during that country’s civil war (1975-1989). Significant numbers of Irishmen and women continued to join the British military. This course examines motivations for enlistment in the Irish or British forces or participation in paramilitaries and explores the impact of regional, national and global conflicts on the Irish population.

Key themes include mobilisation and demobilisation, veterans in civil society, gender and the military, policing insurgency, the role of the State, neutrality, remembrance and commemoration. Drawing on leading international scholarship, the module places the Irish experience in comparative context and introduces students to social, military, and cultural perspectives for studying the history of warfare.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this course you should be able to:
-Demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of Irish history and the Irish involvement in regional, national and global conflicts in the twentieth century
-Demonstrate familiarity with the key concepts and methodologies which historians use to approach the history of warfare from social, military, and cultural perspectives
-Demonstrate skills in analysing primary and secondary sources
-Write scholarly assignments appropriate for a Second Year (Level 2) student of history



Indicative Module Content:

1. Introduction: methodologies and approaches to the Irish at war
2. Propaganda, recruitment and military service 1914-1916
3. Radicalisation and re-mobilisation on the home front 1916-1918
4. Waging war at home 1919-1923
5. Northern Ireland, the British Army and the threat from republican and loyalist paramilitaries, 1920-1923
6. Volunteers and dissidents in neutral Ireland: Eire 1939-45
7. The Belfast Blitz and life in wartime Northern Ireland
8. Keeping (and enforcing) the peace: Ireland and UN, EU and NATO-led peace support operations
9. The strategies of republican and loyalist violence during the Northern Ireland Troubles, 1968-1998
10. Counter-insurgency, collusion and peacebuilding: The British and Irish States and the Northern Ireland Troubles, 1969-1998
11. Conclusion: The Irish and military service today


Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

11
Seminar (or Webinar)

11
Specified Learning Activities

45
Autonomous Student Learning

45
Total

112

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This module combines large-group and small-group teaching, through a weekly lecture and seminar. Weekly lectures provide overviews of weekly topics, with focus upon key historical trends, debates and events. Weekly seminars focus on small-group active task-based learning using both secondary and primary sources related to the weekly topic covered in the lecture. Autonomous learning is nurtured through required preparatory reading each week, and a formative and summative written assignment. Key research, writing and citation skills are explicitly incorporated into seminar work and are assessed and advanced from the formative to the summative assignments.

Generative AI may not be used for assessments in this module. If you have any concerns about what is included in the remit of generative AI, please consult with your Module Coordinator.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Participation in Learning Activities: Your participation grade is based on contribution to weekly seminars and completion of a 3-5
minute oral presentation on your chosen essay topic in Weeks 8, 9 or 10.		 Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Graded No
20
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Each student will analyse a primary source in a structured 750 to 1000-word essay. A list of
sources will be made available from Week 2 and discussed in the seminars.		 Week 7 Graded No
30
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Each student completes a 1,500 to 2,000 word essay including footnotes but excluding bibliography.
The research paper will be based on assigned questions provided on Brightspace.		 Week 14 Graded No
50
 No

Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback on the written assignments will be given online via Brightspace. Oral feedback on the presentations will be provided in the tutorials. Students are welcome to meet with the Module Coordinator by availing of office or making an appointment to discuss their grades and progress.

Name Role
Dr Edward Burke Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Hannah Kempel Tutor
Emer O'Brien Tutor

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Thurs 13:00 - 13:50
Autumn Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Thurs 14:00 - 14:50
Autumn Seminar Offering 2 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Thurs 14:00 - 14:50
Autumn Seminar Offering 3 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Thurs 15:00 - 15:50
Autumn Seminar Offering 4 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Thurs 15:00 - 15:50
Autumn Seminar Offering 5 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Thurs 16:00 - 16:50
Autumn Seminar Offering 6 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Fri 11:00 - 11:50
Autumn Seminar Offering 7 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Fri 12:00 - 12:50
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