Program Overview

Early Start Semester in History and Modern Ireland

Course Outline

The Early Start Semester in History and Modern Ireland provides the visiting student with an overview of Irish history in the 19th and 20th centuries, concentrating on the pivotal events of . The complex and contentious issues of Irish nationalism are made accessible to the overseas student, who not only may have no grounding in Irish history, but may be entirely new to the study of history overall. The necessary narrative history is reinforced by examination of the primary pictorial and documentary sources.

Contents:

• Conquest and Union: the historical background
• The Green Flag: the rise of Irish nationalism
• Famine and Diaspora: politicising bitterness
• Violence versus constitutionalism, Republic versus Home Rule
• The Home Rule Crisis and the First World War
• 1916 and after: the triumph of failure
• Troubles and emergencies: independent Ireland from 1922
• The Six Counties: the unfinished business

Course Practicalities

The course is taught in the mornings over three weeks, with a mixture of lecture and discussion classes. Various field trips are included in the course.

Assessment is based on one essay and one group presentation

Why Choose This Course

The course provides an introduction to important themes in modern Irish history.

Skills and Careers Information

Students on the course will have the opportunity to explore how the process of research, analysis and writing in the humanities works.

Requirements

The minimum grade point average (GPA) requirement for admission to the programme is normally 3.0 out of 4.0

Fees and Costs

Early Start Fee 2025: €1,500

Minor additional costs may be incurred for snacks or meals on field trip(s).