Schools to get free access to Dictionary of Irish Biography

The Royal Irish Academy is making its Dictionary of Irish Biography available to all schools online free of charge as part of the Decade of Centenaries commemorations.

The dictionary, a collaborative project between the academy and Cambridge University Press, was first printed in nine volumes in 2009, involving 700 contributors and spanning over 9,700 lives. Several hundred further biographies have been added since.

The announcement coincided with complaints from the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) that there was a growing “digital divide” between primary and post-primary sectors.

The primary teacher’s union said the Government had committed €3 million for high-speed broadband bills in post-primary schools in the recent Budget but there was “not a red cent” for primary schools.

"It is completely wrong that government funds one level of education adequately and ignores another. This digital apartheid has to stop," said INTO general secretary Sheila Nunan.

“Primary schools do not have modern broadband, most have less than domestic connectivity, most schools have clapped-out computers and what computers there are in schools are funded by parents or by private fund raising not by the State.”

Under the Royal Irish Academy scheme, schools will be able to access the dictionary so long as they are linked to the Department of Education network, and students will be able to save and download articles on school computers for project work.

Minister for Education and Skills Jan O’Sullivan described the dictionary is a fantastic free resource for students and teachers. “It will be of immense value to students studying history at both primary and post-primary levels.”

She added a set of history lesson plans for post-primary schools, which could be used with the dictionary, would made available before the end of the current school year.

As well as covering major figures in Irish history and politics, the dictionary includes articles on individuals who had important careers in law, religion, literature, the sciences, entertainment and sport.

Also welcoming the announcement, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphreys said "I am very keen for schools and young people to be involved in the Decade of Centenaries, and this project is a great example of how we can enrich the educational experience of our students by giving them access to fascinating documents and archives online."

Schools can access the dictionary, and the primary school history lesson plans, via Scoilnet and the Schools Broadband Network which is funded by the Department of Education (scoilnet.ie), or via dib.cambridge.org and 100objects.ie for the lesson plans.