Lazy Student:

At the very least, you should download the Ep 11 Listen Along Guide to help with your note taking and to ensure you get the most out of the episode.

If you had slightly more time and energy you should go straight to the “Horse’s Mouth” by looking at a little bit of the text of the actual Constitution in either Irish or English (never take anyone’s word for what’s in there, when you can easily look yourself!). Find it here: http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/cons/en. My advice in terms of the articles that are most relevant to our Politics and Society Subject Specification would be to look particularly at Articles 40-44, which outline our Fundamental Rights.

Get a really short overview of the different articles from Dr Tom Hickey of the DCU School of Law and Government: https://youtu.be/kvkuXHV4KzE He points out some of the key articles that an incoming 1^st year student might be particularly interested in!

Engaged Student:

More motivated students can get a better grasp of the Irish Constitution by reading Dr Fergus Ryan’s short guide to the Constitution at 80 (link below). I’ve included some comprehension questions and extension exercises at the end to help with your engagement with the topic. Why not follow 2 or 3 of the hyperlinks embedded in the article to get deeper insights into the issues Dr Ryan highlights.

Constitution at 80 – Dr Fergus Ryan

You might also want to dig into some of the previous Referendums (according to the Referendum Commission the plural is “REFERENDUMS” not “REFERENDA” as some people contest!) that were mentioned by Sean Garvey, Commission Secretary of the Referendum Commission. Find the information booklets and referendum reports here: https://www.refcom.ie/previous-referendums/ and find out about the operations of the Commission itself here: https://www.refcom.ie/the-commission/faq/

Motivated Student:

Find out a little bit more about the Constitutional Convention by exploring their website http://www.constitutionalconvention.ie/ or for a slightly shorter draft, look at the universally useful and valuable https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/government_in_ireland/irish_constitution_1/constitutional_convention.html

If you wanted to dig into the Homelessness issues raised by Deputy Ó Broin, you could investigate the research from the Mercy Law Centre that he flagged in the episode: https://mercylaw.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/MLRC-Second-Right-to-Housing-Report.pdf . In particular, you should note how this research takes a comparative perspective by examining how this issue has been dealt with in other justidictions. This is precisely the kind of “Alternative/Comparative” perspective the marking scheme in your Leaving Cert will be looking to develop in you! You could also examine the website of the “Home for Good” Civil Society organization here: https://www.homeforgood.ie/

Find out a little bit more about the history of the Irish Constitution by watching this great (13 minute) video about the history of the Irish Constitution from one of the pre-eminent historians of modern Ireland, Prof. Dermot Keogh, Emeritus Professor of History and Emeritus Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration Studies, UCC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPexCu8wibg

If you’ve found elements of the Irish Constitution intriguing and are a potential law student of the future, you might want to dig a deeper into the Irish Legal System with this Introductory Law lecture from UL: https://youtu.be/k3G7AqLz5Ss It’s really accessible and clear. Highly recommended!

You never know, you might even end up studying law with Dr Kavanagh in Waterford in the future!

https://www.wit.ie/about_wit/contact_us/staff_directory/jennifer_kavanagh