The Troubles to feature on Leaving Cert history curriculum after minister's approval
Education Minister Norma Foley has approved a proposal to put it on the curriculum for the 2027 school year
The story of The Troubles is to feature in Leaving Cert history for the very first time.
Education Minister Norma Foley has approved a proposal to put it on the curriculum for the 2027 school year.
The Department of Education will begin a consultation process on the move from the beginning of February and the public will be asked to make submissions on what they would like to see included.
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Over 3,000 people lost their lives during the 30 year conflict in Northern Ireland between Nationalists and Unionists which was known as The Troubles.
It all started with the civil rights marches across the six counties in the late '60s and finished with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 which brought permanent peace to the island.
Catholics were treated as second-class citizens in what was effectively an apartheid state in the north.
Protestants got all the jobs and housing at the time and the then-Northern Ireland police, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, was almost a total protestant police force.
It has since been replaced by the PSNI, the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
The violence escalated from the late '60s onwards and resulted in the formation of the Provisional IRA which ran a guerrilla war in the north and on mainland Britain on-and-off.
The British Army was sent into the North to keep the peace on August 14, 1969 and stop the violence but ended up waging a war against the nationalist population instead.
It was responsible for the shooting dead of 13 innocent Catholics at a civil rights march in Derry on Bloody Sunday in 1972.
Examiners have yet to make a final decision on whether the focus for the Leaving Cert will be from 1968 to the IRA ceasefire on August 31, 1994 for the exam or whether it will run right through to the signing of the peace deal three years later.
A Government source revealed: "One way or the other The Troubles will be on the Leaving Cert curriculum for the 2027 school year which is an important step in the history of our country.
"It is important to acknowledge what happened up north and the impact that the Good Friday Agreement has had on this island both in terms of ending the violence and economic growth.
"Generations of students need to be taught what happened here and how the peace came about.
"26 years have now passed since we signed the peace deal so it is vitally important that it is featured in our history classes and also our Leaving Cert exams.
"It is the most up-to-date chapter in the history of our country."
It is understood the decision to include The Troubles in Leaving Cert history was taken by the Minister before the General Election.
She will find out in the coming weeks if she will be returning to the Department of Education.
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