Decorative Arts & History

Tour at a glance

Level: Junior and Senior Cycle, Transition Year
Group size: 15
Location: Clarke Square, Soldiers & Chiefs, Curator's Choice, Irish Silver, Airgead, Way We Wore, GAA: People, Object, Stories
Duration: 45 minutes
Available: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
Booking: Available from February 2024. Please contact bookings@museum.ie to book this session

 
From hair hurling balls dating from the 1500s to ladies camogie dresses from the 1960s, join Museum Guides on an engaging and interactive tour focuses on the development and evolution of Ireland's sociatal and sporting past.

This tour will explore the development of a variety of sports in Ireland, including Gaelic games, soccer, rugby, cricket and horse racing. It will also place the evlolution of these sports in a wider societal context, such as the concept of domestic and garrison games, social class, nationalism and independence, and gender. 

Curriculum links

• Developing Historical consciousness
• Acquiring the ‘bigger picture’
• Working with evidence
• Exploring people, cultures and ideas
• The history of Ireland
• The history of Europe and the Wider World

•  Reform and Reformation in Tudor Ireland, 1494-1558

• Movements for political and social reform, 1870 – 1914
• The pursuit of sovereignty and the impact of partition, 1912-1949.
• The Irish diaspora, 1840-1966
• Government, economy and society in the Republic of Ireland, 1949-1989

• Historical Inheritance and Historical Citizenship

Learning outcomes

• Develop an understanding of the links between sports and the development of Irish society
• Learn about the roles that social class and politics played in determining the sports people would play
• Explore the changing role of women in sport ad society n Ireland
• Examine the iconography of sport
• Learn about sport and material culture
• Making connections to local history
• Developing an understanding of the importance of artefacts in our understanding of the past.

Resources and suggestions

Before your visit

• Visit the Museum in advance, if possible, to get familiar with the layout, key objects and key narratives
• Plan a project around your visit. Students could research key events and organisations

At the Museum
This tour will end in the Museum's recently opened exhibition: GAA, People, Objects, Stories. After your tour, take some time to explore the other key themes and topics in the exhibition. GAA, People: Object, Stories. 

After your visit

Ideas for post-visit activities:

• Ask students to write a review of their museum visit
• Hold a classroom discussion around the different sports examined during the tour
• Consider the value of museums as places to display objects that connect us with our history