A Young Historian's Notebook : 5. Writing History

5. ‘Don’t write what you know, write towards what you want to know’

   

 Writing can be one of the most solitary pursuits in the world. If I was to liken it to a sport it probably would be golf. Arnold Palmer said that "Golf is a game of inches. The most important are the six inches between your ears." The same can be said of writing regardless of whether you have to write 500 words or 5,000, a lot is based on how your mind works. 

     For writing history, one of the most important exercises is research. Research is the training for writing like you would practice drills for golf. Practice doesn’t always make perfect but it certainly helps. Research skills are something that can be developed over time and this is particularly relevant when the way we can access information is continually changing. Take for example local newspapers, before you would have to go to your local library and go through the arduous task of exploring microfilm. Now with Irish Newspaper Archives with a few search terms we can find something that may have taken months in a lot faster time. However, rather than viewing this as making research simpler we should see it as allowing us more time to look at other resources. The more information we have, allows us to write with more authority while leading us to more material to distil into an interesting story. 

     

When you feel you have enough information gathered then is a good time to start writing up your research. Some people like to write as they’re researching so it is whichever suits you best. What works for one person mightn’t work for someone else. A lot of people would say write what you know about but I like to find out things that I don’t know anything at all about. Such an idea is promoted by the Irish novelist Colum McCann who states that ‘Don’t write what you know, write towards what you want to know.’ I think the great historians be it political, social, military, etc spheres are curious individuals. They are people that thrive for knowledge and understanding. They allow their research to dictate rather than manipulate a story. 

      Some of the subjects that have interested me included Nigerian medical students playing soccer for UCD; a Pakistani squash player who wanted to play for Ireland and a prize-winning daffodil grower living in Kilcohan. I can’t say I had any firm footing in knowing anything about UCD, squash or horticulture but my thirst for learning more helped form the pieces I wrote. Let your curiosity guide your writing. Your research will help piece the story together. One’s enthusiasm will put it across. The latter trait is infectious, when you see someone enjoying themselves or displaying their love of something; you’re caught up in their affection for their subject. 

     You’ve probably noticed that this piece on writing history has more to do with research and preparation than the actual act of writing itself. The reason for this is; there is no advice I can give because everyone is different. Practice is very important and is beneficial to learn your likes and dislikes. 

The best thing to do is to start, once you do that you’ll probably never stop. 

To be continued...

A Young Historian's Notebook : 1. Why Do You Like History?

Over a few articles, Cian Manning shares with us his thoughts on his love of History,  

and gives some advice to budding historians. 

1. Why Do You Like History?

     Over the course of several years from volunteering with the Deerpark CBS Homework Club in Cork to working on a local history program with Ms. Laura O’Brien in Mount Sion Primary School, the most common question I’m asked is why do you like History? The first time I was asked this was also the first time that I had to give thought to why I loved a subject that a lot of people find dusty, stuffy and boring (and not necessarily in that order). If anything it could say a lot about my personality! 

The Bull Post on the Hill of Ballybricken, Waterford City

     Firstly, I was always encouraged by my parents to learn about the history of Waterford and Ireland. My dad Ollie is the proudest Waterfordian I know and whenever we went away on holidays to sunnier climes he promoted Ireland’s oldest city. If anything the Tourist Board owe my father a fortune in his public relations endeavours. Once in Lisbon we met a Canadian businessman who appeared to be a real highflyer, who travelled to London and Tokyo, but my father simply put it that this man hadn’t experienced anything till he visited Ballybricken. Tis a state of mind you know. My brother Olin and I would joke about it but since we were in college in Cork we’ve morphed into mini versions of our dad. Tipperary and Kerry students had Lar Corbett and Gooch Cooper with oodles of All-Irelands, we had Mount Sion, Edmund Rice’s first school and Paddy Coad, the greatest Irish soccer player to never play for an English team. Ye can keep yer Celtic crosses lads! 

Blue Plaque to Paddy Coad,
Doyle Street, Waterford City

     These interests were nurtured by trips to Wexford to learn about 1798 which led me to telling my senior infant class teacher Sharon O’Connor that I dreamed of becoming a ‘Pikeman’ (everyone else said a footballer or millionaire). She was the first teacher to encourage my interest in history at such a young age printing off reams of papers of Egyptian hieroglyphs and statutes to colour in. There were great visits to the Dunbrody where a re-enactor/guide set us the challenge of each question we asked would get her an item of food to feed her starving family. Safe to say I asked enough questions that it would have fed the whole of the ship for months. But it was the encouragement and cultivating the interest that has always stayed with me.

Statue of a Pikeman, Wexford

     Whenever I’m asked the question now of why do I like History? I simply quote one of my mam Miriam’s favourite wordsmiths, Marti Pellow of Wet, Wet, Wet, “it’s all around me” (okay maybe a slight paraphrasing there). History is there in the stories of our parents; it’s in the names of our streets, our schools and sports clubs. Since the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising there’s an insatiable appetite in young students to learn more and more about the past.

A few years later now I’m  asked how do I learn more? To quote another poet, W.B. Yeats, ‘Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire’, may students be encouraged to learn more about their history for years to come. 

To be continued

Life In WW2 by Eve Penkert

We are delighted to share with you this history project written by Eve Penkert, a student of the Presentation Primary School.

             

Life in WW2

Life for Jews and others in Germany

During the Second World War, a lot of Germans suffered under Hitler's rule. Adolf believed that Germans were the superior race, also known as the Master race, but only pale-skinned and blue-eyed Germans would count.  Adolf considered Jews to be below him. During the years before WW2, many Jews would be doctors or another successful job. For that reason, Adolf wanted anyone who had power in Germany to go. That would include Jews, Romas (gypsies), teachers, politicians, and the list goes on.

Jews had to wear the Star of David and were forced to live in certain areas. A lot of Jews would be beaten in the streets or made to do ridiculous tasks as onlookers harassed them. These acts were known as pogroms. The other people I mentioned would suffer the same. One man Jumped from a burning building shouting he would rather die than be taken by German soldiers. 

Jews had been hated for quite a long time. In the 14th century, a large group of Jews was forced into a wood filled pit and burned alive.

Soon enough concentration camps were introduced; Jews were kicked from the homes and moved to the camps.

The German people who suffered

The regular Germans also suffered in many ways (Apart from rations and attacks). The SA would stand outside Jewish businesses, shops, and cafes. Anyone who tried to enter was stopped. Those who refused were marked with a stamp on their faces that read: We traitors bought at Jewish shops. 

People formed groups to help the Jews but were always outnumbered.

Germans with any of power suffered as much as Jews did, which was covered in the first paragraph.

The people in Ireland and England

Like most of the world, Ireland and England were also on Rations.

England was involved in the war on the Allies side. Ireland was neutral but still suffered, from a few bombings to prisoners of war camps and English children sent over for safety. During the Emergency, Belfast was bombed. 

With the rationing in Ireland, people were encouraged to grow their vegetables. 

In England, the main things rationed were bacon, sugar, tea, butter, and meat. When the men left for war, the women would work their jobs instead. Children would be evacuated to the countryside.

England did try to persuade Ireland to join them but failed. Almost every morning, the streets would be littered with bombshells and rubble.

The rest of the world would've been in the same boat.

Life after the war

After the war, the world didn't go back to normal. It took years to recoup all that was lost, from the people to the cities. Over five million lives were lost to the war. In Germany, a mass funeral was held for all the bodies found at Auschwitz. WW2, The Holocaust, and D-Day are major events held in History. 

 Thanks for Reading

by Eve Penkert