Tipperary Studies

 

Introduction

 

In the Department of Education and Science History Leaving Certificate Guidelines for Teachers, the point is made that the choice of research topics “will be influenced by the availability of suitable resources.”  The writer goes on to express the hope that publishers and state agencies rise to the challenge.  Tipperary Libraries certainly responded in 2007, with the publication of Finding Tipperary and now the preparation and distribution of this resources folder for Leaving Certificate history teachers.

 

Since 1988, Tipperary Libraries has been involved with the county’s annual historical journal and with the opening of a dedicated Tipperary Studies research library in The Source, Tipperary has a leading place in the promotion of local and regional studies.  Tipperary Studies Library may be in Thurles but it is a research facility for the entire county and it is our hope that this resources folder will encourage teachers and their students to engage with the heritage and history of their own places.

 

Another most welcome addition is the Irish Times Archive, which has just become available on all public access computers in Tipperary Libraries.  This will be available through the Ask About Ireland website www.askaboutireland.ie.

 

Tipperary Libraries is committed to providing a modern and user- friendly service to the people of Tipperary and it is my hope that the distribution of this resources folder will mark a renewed and ongoing relationship between the library service and schools in the county.

 

  

___________________________
MARTIN MAHER
County Librarian

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Introductory comment

 

It is a great pleasure to have been asked to write a short foreword for this resources folder. Having seen the excellent quality, and amazing detail, of Finding Tipperary, it is wonderful to see this companion pack, aimed specifically towards those who teach history to Leaving Certificate students in Tipperary schools. I have quite happily gone on record previously as stating that Tipperary has been a central cog in much of what has happened in modern Irish history. I have equally little problem in stating that, the work of Des Marnane and Mary Guinan Darmody in producing both Finding Tipperary and this new folder has helped make local historical studies more accessible for teachers, and ultimately for students, in this county than in most others.

 

The combination of the wealth of material that is available, and the huge work which has been undertaken in sorting, collating and cataloguing it, has provided us with a real treasure trove of historical sources on Tipperary. Ultimately, all history is local. Not only are the sources now, quite clearly, on our doorsteps here in The Source, but we have now been provided with the ideal tools for navigating through them. This new folder will be a huge help to teachers seeking to promote local historical study among their students. Such study is at least as valuable, in simple Leaving Certificate terms, as research done on national or international topics. It is infinitely more valuable when we consider broader aims of education, including the development of community awareness, civic spirit and social cohesion. This is history which has shaped what we are, street by street, place by place. I wholeheartedly recommend this production, and Finding Tipperary alongside it, to all who teach history in Tipperary, and to those outside it who wonder what can be done in their own counties. To Des Marnane and Mary Guinan Darmody, a sincere thank you on behalf of all who love history.

 

 

Kevin McCarthy

Senior Inspector (History) with the Department of Education and Science

 

last updated on: Tuesday, 03-Aug-2010 15:37:59 IST