IMPACT is among the sponsors of a new schools’ pack that explains the significance of the 1913-1914 Dublin Lockout to our lives today. The pack, launched yesterday (12^th December), will supplement the existing ICTU Youth Connect programme, which has delivered lessons about working life, trade unions and international solidarity to thousands of school children over the past three years. The programme was initially established with a substantial grant from IMPACT’s former Tax Officials’ branch.

Young actors in period costume sold special Lockout centenary newspapers, as guests queued for a bowl of soup and a bread roll at the launch – to mark how thousands of Dubliners were fed at union food kitchens during the Lockout. Pupils from schools in Mayo, Cork and Dublin’s inner city, who had participated in a pilot of the new module, explained how it had helped them make sense of the dispute and its lessons for modern Ireland.

The pack includes lesson plans and materials for teachers, case studies and handouts, photos and video. ICTU deputy general secretary Sally Ann Kinahan said the module emphasised group work and classroom discussion. “It brings the history of the struggle for decent work to life and explains the reasons behind the 1913 Lockout and the impact of those events on our lives today,” she said.

Get more information about Youth Connect from Fiona Dunne at fiona.dunne@ictu.ie