Module: Making of Modern Ireland 1850-1998

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Making of Modern Ireland 1850-1998
Module Code	HIS1010 (ITS: HY112)
Faculty	History & Geography	School	Humanities & Social Sciences
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	7.5

Description

The purpose of this module is to introduce the students to major developments in the politics, economy society and culture of Ireland between 1850 and 2000. The students will engage with modern Ireland’s history through a combination of lectures, reading secondary sources, and examining primary sources. The students will demonstrate their understanding of key debates through the completion of written assessment tasks.

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate knowledge of key events in Irish history between 1850 and 2000.
2. Evaluate trends and movements in Irish politics, economics, society and culture during the period.
3. Establish an understanding of historiographical debates relevant to the period.
4. Engage in concentrated analysis of primary sources.
5. Exhibit core historical and communication skills
6. Demonstrate an understanding of key debates through the completion of written assessment tasks.

Total Workload: 0

Section Breakdown
CRN	10794	Part of Term	Semester 1
Coursework	0%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	Y
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	William Murphy	Module Teacher	Leeann Lane

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Assignment	n/a	40%	n/a
Formal Examination	n/a	60%	End-of-Semester

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

The rise of the Catholic middle classes in the post-famine period
The students will examine the rise of ‘economic man’ with a focus on issues of land consolidation, changing marriage patterns, the influence of the growing Catholic church and the safety valve of emigration in the period. The land question will also be examined in the context of the land war 1879-1882 and the passage of various land acts from 1870.

Political Reform and The Home Rule campaign
The students will study the Home Rule campaign from its origins in the 1870s through to the third Home Rule Bill of 1912. They will also explore the parallel process of democratisation and franchise reform.

The cultural revival
The students will study the development of cultural nationalism from the late nineteenth century and consider the links between culture and politics in the period.

The Irish Revolutionary Period, 1912-1923
The students will explore the series of political and military crises that led to the establishment of the new Irish states.

Establishing New States: building orthodoxies, 1923-1945
The students will study the political, social and cultural constructions of the new Irish states.

Modernity, challenge and change, 1945-2000
The students will assess the extent to which the states and societies, north and south, changed post-war as the establishments and their orthodoxies faced new ideologies, movements, and social realities.

Indicative Reading List

Books:

Brown, Terence: 2004, Ireland: a social and cultural history, 2nd, Harper Perennial, London,
Comerford, R.V.: 2003, Ireland: Inventing the Nation,, Arnold, London,
Ferriter, Diarmaid: 2004, The Transformation of Ireland,, Profile Books, London,
Fitzpatrick, David: 1998, The Two Irelands, 1912-1939,, Oxford University Press, Oxford.,
Foster, R.F.: 1988, Modern Ireland 1600-1972,, Allen Lane, London,
Foster, R.F.: 2007, Luck & the Irish: A Brief History of Change 1970-2000,, Allen Lane, London,
Girvin, Brian and Gary Murphy: 2005, The Lemass Era,, University College Dublin Press, Dublin,
Hennessey, Thomas: 1997, A History of Northern Ireland, 1920-1966,, Gill and MacMillan, Dublin.,
Hill, J.R.: 2003, A New History of Ireland VII: Ireland, 1921-84,, Oxford University Press, Oxford,
Jackson, Alvin: 1999, Ireland, 1798-1998,, Blackwell, Oxford,
Lee, J.J.: 1989, Ireland, 1912-1985,, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
PaÅ¡eta, Senia: 2013, Irish Nationalist Women, 1900-1918,, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
Vaughan, W.E: 1989, A New History of Ireland VI: Ireland Under the Union, II, 1870-1921,, Oxford University Press, Oxford,

Articles:
None

Other Resources

None