1911 Census Data

Spreadsheets are a really easy form with which to digitise Census data using the columns. It took me a while to get the hang of coping and pasting calculations I had done to other areas of the Spreadsheet but once I did you get an indication of how useful Spreadsheets are in carrying out multiple types of statistical analysis on vast arrays of Census data. Additionally the ability to use graphs on the Spreadsheet data is great way of making the numbers easier to interpret.

            We were carrying out analysis of data from the 1911 Census on the Ballymodan area in Bandon. I was looking at Cloughmacsimon, where the workhouse in the town was amongst the houses. I took records of people living in the area and the proprietors of the Workhouse but the hundreds of anonymous names that were resident in the Workhouse at the time were excluded from my spreadsheet. The long list of anonymous names gives you an indication of the level of poverty in the area at the time and the amount of people dependant on the workhouses

The data for Cloughmacsimon reveals an area that seen many changes since the previous Census. One thing I noticed was how many people have moved to a different house number on the street. There are many new names but some remain and changes in family circumstances have come about. Regarding the Hurley family we see that two of their sons Daniel and Jeremiah who would be 42 and 37 years old by 1911 respectively, are absent in 1911 and seem to have emigrated or got married.

There are many widows on this street. There are six widows in all the twelve houses and all they range in age from 58 to 75 with most in their sixties. This gives an indication of the far shorter life expectancy of people in the early twentieth century and it seems particularly with regard to men. There is one widower, John Coleman who is 45 years old. He has a ten year old daughter so his wife may possibly have passed away during child birth.  Another notable example is Frances Collins. She was married but was head of her house in 1901 and looking after her family. By 1911 she is widowed, so her husband, who must have emigrated previously, has since died.

Another major change is that the owner of the workhouse John Holland has got married in the intervening period between the two Censuses and has three children by 1911 too.
            It is notable from the 1911 data is that of the majority of those recorded as Irish speakers are all over the age of 60, reflecting the decline of Irish being taught in the post Famine period and the negative connotations of poverty and backwardness people associated with the language.

We can also see that three local priests Joseph Shinkwin, Robert Burts and Thomas Alphonsus all live next door to each other in houses 4, 5 and 6 respectively. This may possibly be to the fact that the workhouse in nearby and they may be acting in a role to help people in poverty stricken circumstances.

The picture revealed in these Census figures is one of a poor area which has seen much emigration in ten year period and with many single parent families left with widowed heads of the household. The availability of the 1901 and 1911 Censuses is a fantastic resource to have online, especially for people looking up genealogy but also for historians looking at the circumstances people where living in at the turn of the century. I also think the digitisation of the original returned Census forms adds a real sense of authenticity to looking at the results.

Cork's Historical Sites

This week we were asked to take photgraphs of some historical sites around Cork city. Here are some of the pictues I took.

The National Monument

The first site I visited was the National Monument on Grand Parade. The monumet commemorates te Irish rebellions 1798, 1803, 1848 and 1867. It features four historical figures from those events: Wolf Tone, Thomas Davis, Michael O'Dwyer and Michael O'Neil Crowley

surrounding 'Mother Erin' as the centrepiece of the monument.

The monument was unveiled on St .Patrick' Day 1906 and one of the speakers o the day was the Feian John O'Donovan Rossa. The monoments was funded by the Cork Young Ireland Society and the idea came about at the time of th centeenary of the 1798 Rebellion. The Cork Past and Present websites notes 'As the art historian Judith Hill has written: ‘The public monument was regarded as the obvious way of expressing and cementing a sense of nationality, and the figurative language of sculpture continued to serve political leaders and to be comprehensible to the general public.’

(http://www.corkpastandpresent.ie/places/grandparade/nationalmonument/)

This monument is a fantastic memorial to the memory the expreson of nationalism in Cork in the pre- independence era.

St. Finbarre's Cathedral

 The archiseek website describes this historical site as a 'miniature cathedral but a decorative giant.' (http://ireland.archiseek.com/buildings_ireland/cork/cork/st_finn_barres.html). The architecture on this building is truely unique and it creator William Burges was an enthusiast of 13th century Gothic architecture.

Construction of the cathedral started in 1865 and was completed by 1879. The site has been a site of worship since the seventh century, when St. Finbarre is said to have established his school of learning. A Medieval cathedral was previously located on the site. Today's cathedral features many fascinating sculptures on the outside of the building depicting Old and New Testament scenes. The sculpture below features the Apostles Philip, Bartholomew, Simon and John the Baptist.

The cathedral coninues to hold Church of Ireland services to this day, but outside of service time there is an admission fee for the public to enter. Yet you can have a fascinating walk around outside looking at the graves around the grounds and the magnificent cathedral archtecture.

Kinsale

While doing the project I decided to venture further than Cork city at the weekend and I called to Kinsale.

Charles Fort

Charles Fort is probably the most popular historical

site in Kinsale. It is located in the small village of

Summercove just outside the town. It was built during the reign of Charles II to protect Kinsale harbour and specifically to offset any French or Spanish landing in the area. The fort was built in the 1670s and 1680s with the possibility of  an attack from Louis XIV specifically in mind.  It is a star shaped fort designed to resist attack form cannon. Charles Fort was besieged in 1690 by Williamite forces in their war against the Catholic King James II.

 Charles Fort served as a British army barracks subsequently.

 During the Irish Civil War in 1922/23 Charles Fort was taken over by Free State forces. The fort was badly damaged when it was set on fire by retreating anti-treaty soldiers.

                Today Charles Fort is accessible to the public to walk aound its vast perimeter and there is a fee to enter the interior of the fort.

Desmond Castle

Finally I took some photos of Desmond Castle in Kinsale town. It built around 1500 by Maurice Fitzgerald, the 8th Earl

of Desmond and originally functioned as a customs house

and collected taxes on goods arriving at Kinsale port.

                After the failure of the Desmond Rebellions in the second half of the 16^th century the British took control of Desmond Castle. From 1641 onwards it was used as a naval prison for French and Spanish prisoners caught in sea battles with the British Navy and later held American prisoners caught at sea during the American War of Independence. The tower house was notorious for its appalling conditions.

                During the Irish Famine from 1845-49 Desmond Castle functioned as a workhouse for the suffering people. It was taken into control of the state in 1939 and has since been restored. Today it is accessible to the public from Easter until the end of October and Desmond Castle also functions as an International Wine Museum, relating to the use of Kinsale as a wine port dating back to the 15^th century.

               

Charles Fort and Desmond Castle arejust two of many historical

 Kinsale. The town uses its history as well as its reputation for food to sell itself to tourists. Two weeks ago in class we were speaking of  public historyand in Kinsale public access to its history is exemplified in a great way through the guided heritage walks that take place in the town on most mornings during the tourist season. These walks are an ideal example of how Kinsale makes its history readily accessible to the public whether they are local people or tourists.



Zotero

Zotero is an internet tool which allows you to construct your own library catalogue online as you come across books on different websites, be it library catalogue websites, Google Books or Amazon. Not only does Zotero compile a list of books, it can also recognise articles in online journals which can also be added to your library with the simple click of a mouse. As well as this Zotero has tagging functions which enables you to categorise items in your library, much like genres of music in Windows media player or Itunes and it also has a function to add notes about a book or article in the library.

            I encountered no problems downloading Zotero and found it a really easy tool to use. It operates on Firefox rather than Internet Explorer which is also available on a free download. The blue book icon appears on screen when you find a book it recognises and by clicking the icon, the book is added to your library. I was able to quickly construct a list of books and articles I have consulted so far this year for my thesis topic.

            Technological developments in the last fifteen years have completely revolutionised the way in which research is carried out and can make it far easier than it was in the past. The ability to apply Zotero to Microsoft Word or Open Office is a case in point. Rather than painstakingly typing out an entire bibliography or entering footnotes for a thesis, Zotero can enter references and transfer the materials you have consulted in your article to a bibliography with a few clicks of a mouse. These references are perfectly formatted in a reference style of your choice.

            With this ability to quickly enter a bibliography Zotero eliminates ordeals of having to go through all materials you have consulted yourself in an alphabetical order. I have had the experience many times of trawling through all my footnotes to discover a typing error which I may have copied and pasted ten times, or discovered footnotes arranged in the wrong order or wrong format.

For students who have a tendency to finish their essays at 3am or later on the night before a deadline, Zotero eliminates the need to go through the mind numbing process of compiling a bibliography in the correct format. I have also experienced having to use the UCC library website to check my ‘reading history’ for information on books for a bibliography. With Zotero your books and articles consulted are readily accessible and can be applied to a Word document in a second. As a time saving exercise and an exercise in avoiding the immense frustration of referencing correctly, Zotero is an invaluable aid in study.

Web Blogs and Online Discussions as Tools to Promote Reflective Practice (Pedro Hernandez-Ramos)

As someone with no prior knowledge of the use of blogs, Pedro Hernández-Ramos’ article on reflective learning opened my eyes to the many potential educational benefits there seems to be through the use of blogs. Certainly the opening point about students thinking more about what they write, due to the more ‘authentic audience’ is something I find is interesting. Writing in this blog is the first real piece of writing I am doing which goes beyond the article reaching more people than a teacher or corrector. In school the limitations of my feedback came from the almost indistinguishable handwritten comments of my English and Hstory teacher, but on a blog, people’ s ability to comment on posts adds an entirely new dimension to  the feedback you can receive. Hernandez-Ramos comments that for some ‘feelings of ambivalence and even anxiety crop up’ in writing on blogs, which is understandable especially for people who are new to blogs and exposing their writing on a more public forum.

                Hernandez-Ramos points to the simplicity of setting up the blog by clicking on various options. Certainly from my own point of view I came to the class with a sense of apprehension that I wouldn’t be able to cope with the ‘technical matters’  which Hernandez-Ramos mentions, but as  I am now writing on my blog, I seem to have overcame that monumental hurdle unscathed.

                Another point that struck me in the article was how a blog is an entirely new way of engaging with topics on a course. Blogs seem to have the ability to engage people and express their opinions more rather than students acting as ‘consumers of knowledge’ as Hernandez-Ramos says. Blogs may be useful as a way of expression for people who are shyer about speaking out in a classroom environment.

                While Hernandez-Ramos outlines the possibilities of interaction between class mates commenting on each others posts he also points out that ‘the online discussion forum experience did not develop as the intellectual agora that the instructor and many others ... envisioned for this medium.’ He puts this down to the possibility of time commitments but I feel that students would also possibly feel very reluctant to comment or even criticise the work of their own peers.

                Hernandez-Ramos’ article summed up by stating that by getting students to write blogs and engage in online discussions they are successful in promoting reflective writing and I would agree that blogs can encourage students to engage with the course and express themselves more than being solely reliant on classroom discussions.

Self-Regulated Learning in Technology-Enhanced (Karl Steffens)

Karl Steffens describes self regulated learners as people who ‘seek challenges and overcome obstacles sometimes with persistence and sometimes with inventive problem solving.’  Blogs and online feedback now seem to be another resource self regulated learners can use.

Despite the benefits of Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments (TELEs) described I would wholeheartedly agree with Steffens’ comments that ‘effort – as well as technology – to be the most important factor in explaining one’s learning outcomes.’ One really needs self motivation to be a self-regulated learner. Students can use self-regulated learning as a method to address specific areas of a subject or course with which they are struggling in and a determination to solve this problem is vital if a student will go to the effort of self-regulated learning at all. Self-regulated learning can be problem focused for the individual and they can address their problem at their own pace. As Steffens says; ‘the self-regulated learners decides what, when, where and how to learn.’ This is something I know from personal experience of trying to get through problems I faced with Leaving Cert Accounting and Physics. I found that while the teacher moved on and many with a natural flair for the subjects coped fine, I found that looking over the topics dealt with on my own, at a later time and at my own pace enabled me to keep up in the course and eventually get through the exams in the Leaving Cert.

Steffens refers to Boekaert view of the importance of setting your own ‘personal goals’ as a self-regulated learner. Along with the importance of effort and self motivation described above, I am reminded of a theory James Cronin referred to in the tutorial training workshop two weeks ago in which he referred to a topic called ‘Troublesome Knowledge’, which he described as not giving up when encountering a problem in study but persisting in trying to overcome it and emerging with a greater sense of satisfaction for having eventually solved that problem. I would really agree that self-regulated learning whether through books or TELEs requires what Steffens calls ‘persistence in academic tasks and achievements’ in tackling this Troublesome Knowledge.

Near the end of the article Steffens poses the question ‘do TELEs which are evaluated as having a potential for supporting self-regulated learning by experts and which are actually perceived by students as facilitating self-regulated learning indeed improve self-regulated learning skills?’ I would believe that TELEs would have the ability to improve self-regulated learning skills. For one when using the internet or blogs students are doing it with their own personal initiative. When people are writing blogs they are actively engaging with content there and then, rather than using some memorized essay in an exam. Students can offer more impulsive and honest views through blogs and that can only be a good thing in developing self-regulated learning skills. Through TELEs self-regulated learning can leave the situation of learning in isolation as can often be the case, as people can express their own views and take other people’s into consideration. Blogs serve as a good example of this.

Introduction

My name is James Reynolds, I am Ballinhassig in Co. Cork which and this is my Digital History Blog. I graduated last year from UCC with a BA majoring in History. For the masters I am taking the Modern Irish History option. My main area of interest is modern Irish political history.

My dissertation last year with the Radical Politics seminar, involved an analysis of the Workers’ Party in Ireland in the 1980s. This was a period when the party reached the peak of their popularity in 1989 with seven seats in Dáil Éireann. I contacted party members from Cork and asked them about the period and how the party increased in popularity with their radical left wing agenda and why the party failed to build on this popularity before their break up. 

This year my research topic is Jack Lynch’s Northern Ireland Policy: 1977-79. I seek to use recently available archive material to establish how Jack Lynch dealt with the continuing violence In the North during his second term as Taoiseach. Lynch had to deal with many issues at this time including fraught Anglo-Irish relations, as well as concerns about over-flight terms, the murder of Lord Louis Mountbatten and other security issues. Lynch’s second term in office also saw the first prison protests from IRA prisoners in the Maze,  continued IRA atrocities, accusations of a ‘Heavy Gang’ in the Garda Síochána and dissent from within his own Fianna Fáil party due to his Northern Ireland policy. Lynch was under criticism from the British over security south of the border and from the media due to his absence in the immediate aftermath of the Mountbatten murder while at the same time many of his party colleagues felt he was abandoning true republicanism in his approach to Northern Ireland. I feel that these issues make this a topic well worth investigating further.