Focus on Irish History: Change and Conflict
If your class is studying Irish political and military history, there's a wealth of learning resources at the Museum for you to access. Students can discover and learn in a range of ways, through the exhibitions Soldiers and Chiefs and Understanding 1916, using the comprehensive series of activity books, or through the Life in the Barracks workshop, which explores what life in the Barracks was like for an ordinary soldier.
Life in the Barracks Workshop
In this hands-on workshop your class gets to imagine what life was like for the soldiers who worked and lived in the Barracks in the 19th century. Using an active learning approach, students explore the Garrison Life gallery in the Soldiers and Chiefs exhibition and have a chance to handle original objects in the Barracks Life Room.
The workshop caters for classes of up to 30 students.
Duration: Approximately 1 Hour
Key curriculum links
Download an information sheet about the workshop here.
Contact us to book the workshop.
Self Directed Visit
Please note that all group visits must be pre-booked. Groups who arrive unnannouced may not be able to access galleries as groups who book will be given precedence. Contact us to make a booking.
Follow these steps to get the most out of a self-directed visit.
Activity books
Download Soldiers & Chiefs workbooks for use during your visit to the Museum.
Ordered by level of challenge where 1 = easiest.
- Symbols Book - Primary Symbols Book 1.pdf (0.35 MB, Adobe PDF)
- Far From Home Book - Primary Far From Home Book 2.pdf (0.33 MB, Adobe PDF)
- Communities Book - Primary Communities Book 3.pdf (0.28 MB, Adobe PDF)
- Horsepower Book - Primary Horsepower Book 4.pdf (0.37 MB, Adobe PDF)
- Army Women Book - Primary Army Women Book 5.pdf (0.35 MB, Adobe PDF)
- Clothes Make The Soldier - Primary Clothes Make the Soldier Book 6.pdf (0.37 MB, Adobe PDF)
If you require a large number of these, please contact bookings@museum.ie before your visit.
In the classroom, there are several follow up activities you can do with your class to continue the Soldiers & Chiefs topic.
We suggest:
- Make a giant timeline of the important events in the early 20th Century and then add in any family experiences of those events.
- Look at the Barracks building, and then the school or other local buildings; draw both and compare the building designs.
- Write a story about a soldier going abroad to fight, or a child living close to a barracks.
For more tips, see our guide on how to
plan a visit.
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