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CHAPTER 1
AN IRISH DIMENSION WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF MULTICULTURAL
BRITAIN, HISTORIOGRAPHY AND THE SCHOOL HISTORY CURRICULUM:
REVIEW OF THE ARGUMENTS AND LITERATURE
The most obvious question that this title raises is – why should an Irish dimension be
developed within the English history curriculum at the start of the 21 st century? However,
arguments to support teaching an Irish dimension are not difficult to find. The Irish
community represents the largest ethnic minority in England. The history of Ireland and the
rest of Britain have been deeply intertwined with the result that an Irish dimension impacts on
considerations about the nature of Britishness. Issues within Northern Ireland during the last
quarter of the 20th century represent the most recent phase in this relationship and have
implications for members of the Irish community living within England. The recent changes
associated with the ‘Peace Process’ in Northern Ireland suggest that it provides a useful basis
for comparison with seemingly intractable issues in other parts of the world. For example,
Younge (2007) argued that it is useful to contrast the IRA and al- Qaida in order to appreciate
wats of dealing with different forms of terrorism.
The place of an Irish dimension in school history curriculum will be considered within its
wider context. This will begin by looking at the history of migration from Ireland and its
significance to multicultural Britain. An examination of changing constructions of the past
will be followed by a detailed investigation of changes in the school history curriculum.
Although the focus of this research project relates to the period since 2002 it is necessary to
consider the debates associated with each of these areas over the preceding thirty years in
order to appreciate the current significance of an Irish dimension in the curriculum. The