Did you know that Viking helmets never had horns? If you answered no then you wouldn’t be on your own. This is just one of the many myths that is dispelled in ‘Viking Ireland: A New Voyage of Discovery’, a bi-lingual educational resource, which was recently launched by the Norwegian Deputy Head of Mission, Ms. Grete Odegaard, at Mary Immaculate College (MIC).
Over the last fifty years, abundant archaeological discoveries have led Irish historians to re-evaluate the records of Ireland’s most famous high-king, Brian Boru. In this, the millennium year of Clontarf, the fruit of that research is now available as a result of a cross-faculty team of the Curriculum Development Unit, MIC, producing this innovative resource. Using the latest developments in interactive pedagogy, this resource, which was produced in conjunction with the Thomond Archaeological and Historical Society, will provide pupils in Irish schools with new insights on this period in Irish history, the Vikings and the career of Brian Boru.
Speaking about the importance of having an accurate resource of this nature Eucharia McCarthy, Director of the Curriculum Development Unit, said that;
“We have published 'Viking Ireland - A New Voyage of Discovery' to dispel some of the myths about the Vikings which permeate many of our primary school history textbooks. This new evidence-based resource provides accurate information about the Vikings and uses highly interactive teaching approaches that will bring history to life for our pupils."
Expanding on this MIC lecturer Eileen O’Sullivan and co-author of the resource said;
“We deliberately adopted the title “A New Voyage of Discovery” to reflect the fact that, when working from this resource, children will not be merely hearing familiar information about the Vikings, as told to them by a teacher, nor will they be reading it from a textbook. Instead, they will actively engage in interactive learning opportunities”.
Continuing she said;
“Within this approach, the child is working as a historian, replicating many of the enquiry skills that we would expect a professional historian to employ, such as, working with first-hand accounts of events, examining archaeological finds, interacting with visual imagery, etc. All of this helps the child to build the story of the past and develop an empathy with, as well as an understanding of, what life was like at that period in time”.
Commenting on the collaborative nature of the resource Prof. Michael A. Hayes, President of MIC, said;
“Mary Immaculate College’s Strategic Plan 2012-2016 aims to foster collegiality and collaboration amongst faculty leading towards scholarly dialogue on teaching and learning. This cross-faculty collaboration with the Thomond Archaeological and Historical Society is an exemplar of how combining historical, pedagogical, curricular and linguistic expertise can lead to a richly informed publication of the highest calibre”.
Caitríona Breathnach, Oifigeach na Gaeilge with the College, and co-author of the publication noted that in a review of the Primary School Curriculum undertaken for the NCCA in 2008, teachers and parents alike noted the lack of attractive and age-appropriate resources in Irish for all subjects on the primary curriculum;
“This informative, relevant and beautifully presented publication will be a welcome resource for teachers in Irish-medium contexts. The provision of this fantastic resource is further proof of Mary Immaculate College’s long-term commitment to both education and the Irish Language and I am delighted to be associated with it.” she said.
Dr. Catherine Swift, lecturer in MIC and co-author of the resource remarked that;
“It is great to mark the thousand-year anniversary of the Battle of Clontarf with a resource like this which we hope will ensure that future generations of Irish children will continue to learn about the cultural roots of our biggest cities. If it hadn’t been for Viking migrants and Viking merchants, we wouldn’t have Dublin, Limerick, Waterford, Cork or Wexford today.”
Current 3rd year B.Ed. student, Donogh O'Mahony, was involved in the piloting of this resource whilst on teaching practice and had this to say about the experience;
“What I enjoyed most about using this resource was that is was easily adapted to meet the needs of the children involved regardless of their age or learning stage. It is a teacher's dream to use!”
Launching the publication Norwegian Deputy Head of Mission, Ms. Grete Odegaardsaid;
“What is important for every nation is to make history known to the new generations. And most important is that the curiosity for the past is raised among children and youth.”
‘Viking Ireland: A New Voyage of Discovery’ is an educational resource for teachers in middle to senior primary classes (3rd – 6th classes). It has an abundance of innovative classroom materials, lesson plans, video footage, audio clips and classroom activities which are intended to engage the pupils as historians in their quest to learn about the Vikings in Ireland. It is designed to engage children actively in acquiring an in-depth knowledge of who the Vikings were and how they worked and lived, as well as their decision to settle in Ireland, the urban centres they created and the influences that they had there. The resource consists of comprehensive, well-researched fact boxes, illustrations and stories, presented in a manner that makes the content accessible to children. A series of educational activities accompanies each unit, designed to outline ways that the topics can be explored in class. Available to purchase from The Curriculum Development Unit, Mary Immaculate College, South Circular Road, Limerick.
Pictured at the launch of ‘Viking Ireland: A New Voyage of Discovery’ at Mary Immaculate College recently were Paddy Fulham, former MIC lecturer and co-author of the resource; Eileen O’Sullivan, MIC lecturer and co-author; Eucharia McCarthy, Director of the Curriculum Development Unit, MIC; Ms. Grete Odegaard, Norwegian Deputy Head of Mission; Prof. Michael A. Hayes, President of MIC; Seán McMahon, INTO President elect and member of MIC Governing Body; Dr. Cathy Swift, MIC lecturer and co-author; Dr. Daniel Tietzsch-Tyler, Thomond Historical and Archaeological Society; Caitríona Breathnach, Oifigeach na Gaeilge, MIC and co-author; Enda O’Connor, former MIC student and co-author and Cllr. Mary Jackman.Pictured at the launch of ‘Viking Ireland: A New Voyage of Discovery’ at Mary Immaculate College recently were Back Row: Prof. Michael A. Hayes, President of MIC and Ms. Grete Odegaard, Norwegian Deputy Head of Mission. Front Row: Sadhbh Dillon, Maebh Kieran McDonagh, Senan Slattery and Laoise Nic Íomhair. Pictured at the launch of ‘Viking Ireland: A New Voyage of Discovery’ at Mary Immaculate College recently were Back Row: ‘Viking’ Laoise Nic Íomhair, Eucharia McCarthy, Director of the Curriculum Development Unit, MIC; Dr. Daniel Tietzsch-Tyler, Thomond Historical and Archaeological Society; Dr. Cathy Swift, MIC lecturer and co-author of the resource; Caitríona Breathnach, Oifigeach na Gaeilge, MIC and co-author and Eileen O’Sullivan, MIC lecturer and co-author. Front row: Vikings Senan Slattery, Sadhbh Dillon and Maebh Kieran McDonagh.
Sadhb Dillon presenting Ms. Grete Odegaard, Norwegian Deputy Head of Mission with some refreshments on her visit to MIC to launch ‘Viking Ireland: A New Voyage of Discovery’
Over the last fifty years, abundant archaeological discoveries have led Irish historians to re-evaluate the records of Ireland’s most famous high-king, Brian Boru. In this, the millennium year of Clontarf, the fruit of that research is now available as a result of a cross-faculty team of the Curriculum Development Unit, MIC, producing this innovative resource. Using the latest developments in interactive pedagogy, this resource, which was produced in conjunction with the Thomond Archaeological and Historical Society, will provide pupils in Irish schools with new insights on this period in Irish history, the Vikings and the career of Brian Boru.
Speaking about the importance of having an accurate resource of this nature Eucharia McCarthy, Director of the Curriculum Development Unit, said that;
“We have published 'Viking Ireland - A New Voyage of Discovery' to dispel some of the myths about the Vikings which permeate many of our primary school history textbooks. This new evidence-based resource provides accurate information about the Vikings and uses highly interactive teaching approaches that will bring history to life for our pupils."
Expanding on this MIC lecturer Eileen O’Sullivan and co-author of the resource said;
“We deliberately adopted the title “A New Voyage of Discovery” to reflect the fact that, when working from this resource, children will not be merely hearing familiar information about the Vikings, as told to them by a teacher, nor will they be reading it from a textbook. Instead, they will actively engage in interactive learning opportunities”.
Continuing she said;
“Within this approach, the child is working as a historian, replicating many of the enquiry skills that we would expect a professional historian to employ, such as, working with first-hand accounts of events, examining archaeological finds, interacting with visual imagery, etc. All of this helps the child to build the story of the past and develop an empathy with, as well as an understanding of, what life was like at that period in time”.
Commenting on the collaborative nature of the resource Prof. Michael A. Hayes, President of MIC, said;
“Mary Immaculate College’s Strategic Plan 2012-2016 aims to foster collegiality and collaboration amongst faculty leading towards scholarly dialogue on teaching and learning. This cross-faculty collaboration with the Thomond Archaeological and Historical Society is an exemplar of how combining historical, pedagogical, curricular and linguistic expertise can lead to a richly informed publication of the highest calibre”.
Caitríona Breathnach, Oifigeach na Gaeilge with the College, and co-author of the publication noted that in a review of the Primary School Curriculum undertaken for the NCCA in 2008, teachers and parents alike noted the lack of attractive and age-appropriate resources in Irish for all subjects on the primary curriculum;
“This informative, relevant and beautifully presented publication will be a welcome resource for teachers in Irish-medium contexts. The provision of this fantastic resource is further proof of Mary Immaculate College’s long-term commitment to both education and the Irish Language and I am delighted to be associated with it.” she said.
Dr. Catherine Swift, lecturer in MIC and co-author of the resource remarked that;
“It is great to mark the thousand-year anniversary of the Battle of Clontarf with a resource like this which we hope will ensure that future generations of Irish children will continue to learn about the cultural roots of our biggest cities. If it hadn’t been for Viking migrants and Viking merchants, we wouldn’t have Dublin, Limerick, Waterford, Cork or Wexford today.”
Current 3rd year B.Ed. student, Donogh O'Mahony, was involved in the piloting of this resource whilst on teaching practice and had this to say about the experience;
“What I enjoyed most about using this resource was that is was easily adapted to meet the needs of the children involved regardless of their age or learning stage. It is a teacher's dream to use!”
Launching the publication Norwegian Deputy Head of Mission, Ms. Grete Odegaardsaid;
“What is important for every nation is to make history known to the new generations. And most important is that the curiosity for the past is raised among children and youth.”
‘Viking Ireland: A New Voyage of Discovery’ is an educational resource for teachers in middle to senior primary classes (3rd – 6th classes). It has an abundance of innovative classroom materials, lesson plans, video footage, audio clips and classroom activities which are intended to engage the pupils as historians in their quest to learn about the Vikings in Ireland. It is designed to engage children actively in acquiring an in-depth knowledge of who the Vikings were and how they worked and lived, as well as their decision to settle in Ireland, the urban centres they created and the influences that they had there. The resource consists of comprehensive, well-researched fact boxes, illustrations and stories, presented in a manner that makes the content accessible to children. A series of educational activities accompanies each unit, designed to outline ways that the topics can be explored in class. Available to purchase from The Curriculum Development Unit, Mary Immaculate College, South Circular Road, Limerick.
Pictured at the launch of ‘Viking Ireland: A New Voyage of Discovery’ at Mary Immaculate College recently were Paddy Fulham, former MIC lecturer and co-author of the resource; Eileen O’Sullivan, MIC lecturer and co-author; Eucharia McCarthy, Director of the Curriculum Development Unit, MIC; Ms. Grete Odegaard, Norwegian Deputy Head of Mission; Prof. Michael A. Hayes, President of MIC; Seán McMahon, INTO President elect and member of MIC Governing Body; Dr. Cathy Swift, MIC lecturer and co-author; Dr. Daniel Tietzsch-Tyler, Thomond Historical and Archaeological Society; Caitríona Breathnach, Oifigeach na Gaeilge, MIC and co-author; Enda O’Connor, former MIC student and co-author and Cllr. Mary Jackman.Pictured at the launch of ‘Viking Ireland: A New Voyage of Discovery’ at Mary Immaculate College recently were Back Row: Prof. Michael A. Hayes, President of MIC and Ms. Grete Odegaard, Norwegian Deputy Head of Mission. Front Row: Sadhbh Dillon, Maebh Kieran McDonagh, Senan Slattery and Laoise Nic Íomhair. Pictured at the launch of ‘Viking Ireland: A New Voyage of Discovery’ at Mary Immaculate College recently were Back Row: ‘Viking’ Laoise Nic Íomhair, Eucharia McCarthy, Director of the Curriculum Development Unit, MIC; Dr. Daniel Tietzsch-Tyler, Thomond Historical and Archaeological Society; Dr. Cathy Swift, MIC lecturer and co-author of the resource; Caitríona Breathnach, Oifigeach na Gaeilge, MIC and co-author and Eileen O’Sullivan, MIC lecturer and co-author. Front row: Vikings Senan Slattery, Sadhbh Dillon and Maebh Kieran McDonagh.
Sadhb Dillon presenting Ms. Grete Odegaard, Norwegian Deputy Head of Mission with some refreshments on her visit to MIC to launch ‘Viking Ireland: A New Voyage of Discovery’