Studying revolution: accounts of Mary Immaculate College, 1918-1923

Abstract

In 1921 the War of Independence entered its most violent phase and this has been reflected in Limerick City and County Council’s Decade of Centenaries programme this year. But against the backdrop of ambushes such as Dromkeen and atrocities like the Curfew Murders, everyday life in Limerick city and county proceeded with a surprising degree of normality. We believe that this aspect of Limerick’s revolutionary experience too deserves commemorative attention and this volume is the result. Produced in collaboration with Mary Immaculate College (MIC), Studying Revolution comprises edited transcripts of a selection of documents, most sourced from MIC’s archive and previously unpublished, accompanied by insightful, introductory essays by staff. These documents (which include contemporary teaching reports, diary entries, and a retrospective account by a former student) provide a fascinating window on MIC during the Irish revolutionary years. Taken together, they demonstrate that the training of primary teachers, which had commenced in 1901, continued throughout the War of Independence and subsequent Civil War, the routines of college life essentially uninterrupted by the surrounding local and national turmoil. The extent to which MIC was representative of other Limerick institutions in this regard is at present unknown, opening an interesting avenue for further research.