HISTORY
More Walks and Talks
SPRING HN216
Thursdays and Saturdays
Áinnle O’Neill
This course fleshes out themes touched on in the “Walks and Talks” course – health, food, customs, fire-fighting, water supply and transport- and studies how they developed over 1,200 years of Dublin’s history. The walks cover the western and northern inner suburbs which developed over the same period and feature many little-known parks and buildings, which played important roles in Dublin’s history.
| BELFIELD | ||
| 5 Thursdays | Jan 31, Feb 7, 21, 28, Mar 7 | 7.30pm - 9.30pm |
| 5 Saturdays | Feb 2, 9, 23, Mar 2, 9 | 10.00am - 12.00pm |
|
FEE €190 |
Print Open Learning Application Form 2012.13 or ring (01) 716-7123 for Laser/credit card payment |
Tutor Details:
Áinnle O’Neill is a native of Dublin, who inherited a love of walking its streets from his father and grandfather. After qualifying as a Primary teacher, he gained a B.A. in History and Politics in UCD. Áinnle used Dublin as a living resource in his teaching career. Most of his working life has been spent in Clondalkin and he attained an M.A. on the history of this area (1650-1850). Áinnle is Principal of St. Ronan’s National School.
Key/core topics:
- Prehistoric Dublin, from the arrival of the earliest settlers to the Celts. Development of the clan system- Taoisigh, religion and burial customs, Brehon Law. Arrival of Christianity; churches and monasteries
- Walk through the site of the largest Viking settlement in Ireland, the memorial gardens for the dead of two World Wars, past Kilmainham Gaol, through an historic arch, passing Dublin’s oldest graveyard and ending in the courtyard of Dublin’s oldest public building.
- Contrast in the lives and customs of the Hiberno-Norse and Normans in Dublin. Growth of trade and exports in Middle Ages. Importance of the Guilds. Development of building techniques.
- Walk through Oxmanstown, past a once-great Abbey and the old court and penal area of Dublin, through Smithfield to Stoneybatter to Arbour Hill and Collins’ Barracks.
- Health through Dublin’s history. Plagues and how bad hygiene contributed to their spread. Development of hospitals and public health initiatives. Contrast in how Dublin’s two main universities evolved.
- Phoenix Park Walk- Officers’ Infirmary, Police training depot, World famous Zoo, site of the Invincibles’ assassination past the houses of the three most important British officials in Ireland to a once-hidden castle.
- Fires and fire fighting over ten centuries. Dublin’s water supply, from the dirty Poddle to a guaranteed clean supply from the Wicklow Mountains.
- A walk past the statues on O’Connell Street, the GPO and the Rotunda complex, through a refurbished Georgian street, past an elegant townhouse and significant Presbyterian church to finish in a hidden oasis.
- Transport through the ages in Dublin, concentrating on the fascinating story of Dublin’s trams and steam railways.
- A walk beginning at the actual site of the battle of Clontarf, along the Royal Canal and past Mountjoy Gaol to the historic graveyard of Glasnevin.
Reading List:
The following is a selection of recommended texts for those interested in reading further around the course content. We advise that you do not buy books in advance of the course as your tutor will discuss the list and suggest the most relevant reading for particular interests.
Dublin- a Celebration. Pat Liddy. (Gill & Macmillan)
Phoenix Park- A History and Guidebook. Brendan Nolan. (Liffey Press)
Áras an Uachtaráin- A History of the President’s House. (OPW)
Dublin, An Urban History. Niall McCullough. (Anne Street Press)
Dublin’s Burial Grounds & Graveyards. Vivian Igoe. (Wolfhound Press)
Historical Atlas of Dublin. Richard Killeen. (Gill & Macmillan)
The Dublin Fire Brigade. Tom Geraghty & Trevor Whitehead. (Dublin City Council)
