Fact is always stranger than Fiction
History is a subject packed with excitement and interest. It is full of fascinating facts and real life stories of the people, places and events that have shaped the world we live in today. We learn how leaders, tyrants, artists and scientists, who lived many years ago, have left a legacy that still impinges on our lives today.
We learn in Junior Classes how people lived their lives from Ancient Ireland and Ancient Rome to the Renaissance, from the Explorers to the Revolutionary Wars of Europe, from the birth of our own nation in the early 20th Century to the turbulent years of World War II.
At Leaving Certificate level we look in more detail at later 19th and 20th Century Ireland, Europe and the Wider World. These were years of political revolutions, the creation of nation states and of course two major world wars.
Apart from developing our knowledge of the past and thereby helping us to a greater understanding of the present, History aims to develop in students the ability to think critically. They develop an understanding of key concepts such as bias and objectivity, source and evidence, conflict and resolution. The subject also helps to develop a sense of empathy as we try to imagine how life was in the past, how people spoke, how they enjoyed themselves and how they thought.
Above all, History is full of wonderful, exciting stories. Remember –
Fact is always stranger than Fiction!!
