The Military Archives promotes access to primary sources that assist with classroom teaching and show students the value of historical source material. Research shows that studying historical records improves reading, analytical thinking, writing and presentation skills.
Schools and archives can be brought together in many ways, including exhibitions; visits; lesson plans that demand archival research; extracurricular school-based activities (such as history clubs and debating societies); and the establishment of organisational links between schools and archives services.
We offer a variety of resources and services for teachers and students to assist with the exploration of Ireland’s military past. Browse our bank of specially designed lesson plans at the bottom of this page to engage and inspire your students.
Students
Our goal is to enhance your experience of working with and learning from original documents. We offer:
Advice on undertaking scholarly research that involves the use and understanding of original documents;
Research visits at which you can consult unique documents;
Thematic galleries that focus on places, people and events you might have already encountered in the classroom, like our online exhibition on the visit of President John F Kennedy to Ireland;
Opportunities to connect with us via conferences and workshops held in association with national campaigns and events like National Heritage Week.
Teachers
Our aim is to support your teaching goals and to share our professional expertise by packaging original documents for presentation in your classroom. We offer:
Military Archives workshops that provide opportunities to learn from original documents and objects;
Lesson plans designed for in-class student participation and informed by current curricula, syllabi and national commemorative events. Browse some of our lesson plans below.
- Opportunities for Continuous Professional Development (CPD) through our participation at conferences and workshops in association with national campaigns and events like National Heritage Week and others. Browse our news and events section to find upcoming public lectures and events..
Lesson plans
Our collection of 1916 Lesson Plans were developed for teachers in collaboration with NUI Maynooth, using primary sources from the Letters of 1916 collection, the Military Service Pensions collection and the Bureau of Military History.