Key Figures of the War of Independence

Active learning helps students grasp complex historical figures and their shifting alliances in the War of Independence. By stepping into roles and analyzing primary sources, students move beyond textbook summaries to see how leadership choices shaped Ireland’s future.

• 5th Class
• Voices of the Past: Exploring Change and Continuity
• 4 activities
• 35 min–50 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze the primary leadership strategies employed by Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera during the War of Independence.
2. Compare the differing visions Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera held for an independent Ireland.
3. Evaluate the impact of key decisions made by Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera on the outcome of the War of Independence and subsequent events.
4. Explain the specific contributions of Michael Collins to intelligence gathering and guerrilla warfare tactics.
5. Identify the roles Éamon de Valera played in international diplomacy and shaping political strategy for Sinn Féin.

Hot Seat

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Role-Play Debate: Treaty Negotiations

Assign roles as Collins, de Valera, or advisors. Provide short speeches and factsheets. Students debate pros and cons of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in character for 20 minutes, then vote and reflect on outcomes. Conclude with a class discussion on real impacts.

Prepare & details

Analyze the leadership styles and contributions of Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera.

Facilitation Tip: During the Role-Play Debate, assign students specific roles (e.g., Collins supporter, de Valera supporter, neutral mediator) to ensure balanced perspectives and deeper engagement with the Treaty’s terms.

Setup: One chair at the front, class facing it

Materials: Character research brief, Question preparation worksheet, Optional: simple costume/prop

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Jigsaw

⏱ 50 min·Small Groups

Jigsaw: Leadership Puzzle

Divide class into expert groups on Collins or de Valera, researching one aspect like military or political roles. Experts teach mixed groups using posters. Groups then compare visions for Ireland and present findings.

Prepare & details

Compare their visions for an independent Ireland.

Facilitation Tip: In the Biography Jigsaw, group students by figure first, then mix them to teach each other, forcing reliance on their notes rather than re-reading the original text.

Setup: Flexible seating for regrouping

Materials: Expert group reading packets, Note-taking template, Summary graphic organizer

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Hot Seat

⏱ 35 min·Pairs

Timeline Walk: Key Decisions

Create a class timeline of War events with stations for Collins and de Valera actions. Pairs add sticky notes with impacts, then walk and discuss how decisions shaped independence.

Prepare & details

Evaluate the impact of their decisions on the course of the war.

Facilitation Tip: For the Timeline Walk, provide event cards with dates only, then have groups sequence them using context clues from Collins’s and de Valera’s speeches.

Setup: One chair at the front, class facing it

Materials: Character research brief, Question preparation worksheet, Optional: simple costume/prop

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Hot Seat

⏱ 40 min·Small Groups

Source Sort: Leadership Styles

Provide quotes, photos, and cartoons. In small groups, students sort into Collins or de Valera piles, justify choices, and create a Venn diagram of similarities and differences.

Prepare & details

Analyze the leadership styles and contributions of Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera.

Facilitation Tip: When sorting primary sources in Source Sort, limit each group to three documents to avoid overwhelm and focus their analysis on leadership style traits like pragmatism or idealism.

Setup: One chair at the front, class facing it

Materials: Character research brief, Question preparation worksheet, Optional: simple costume/prop

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Teaching This Topic

Teachers find that framing this topic as a study of strategic choices, not just personalities, keeps students engaged. Avoid framing Collins and de Valera as heroes or villains; instead, highlight their human decisions and consequences. Research shows that counterfactual questions (e.g., 'What if Collins had rejected the Treaty?') deepen understanding of cause and effect.

What to Expect

Successful learning looks like students confidently explaining Collins’s and de Valera’s strategies and debating their differences with evidence. They should trace key events chronologically and support their views with primary source details.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During the Role-Play Debate, watch for students assuming Collins and de Valera always agreed on strategy.

What to Teach Instead

During the Role-Play Debate, provide each student with a one-sentence briefing on their assigned leader’s stance (e.g., Collins: 'We must accept compromise to end violence'). This forces them to argue from evidence rather than assumptions.

Common Misconception

During the Timeline Walk, watch for students thinking the War of Independence was won solely by military battles.

What to Teach Instead

During the Timeline Walk, highlight events like de Valera’s U.S. fundraising tour or Collins’s intelligence network by adding a second color to the timeline for political actions. Groups must explain how these efforts supported military efforts.

Common Misconception

During the Biography Jigsaw, watch for students simplifying Collins as only a soldier and de Valera as only a politician.

What to Teach Instead

During the Biography Jigsaw, provide each expert group with a mix of military and political actions for their figure. Groups must teach peers how both leaders handled dual roles, using specific examples.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

After the Role-Play Debate, pose the question: 'If you were advising Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera in 1921, what single piece of advice would you give each leader based on their known strengths and weaknesses, and why?' Encourage students to justify their advice using evidence from the debate and their notes.

Quick Check

During the Source Sort activity, provide students with short, anonymized quotes attributed to either Collins or de Valera. Ask them to identify which leader likely said each quote and explain their reasoning, citing specific aspects of their known positions from the primary sources.

Exit Ticket

After the Timeline Walk, have students write one sentence comparing Michael Collins's approach to achieving independence with Éamon de Valera's approach. Then, ask them to write one sentence explaining a consequence of their differing strategies.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge early finishers to draft a newspaper editorial either supporting or opposing the Treaty from Collins’s or de Valera’s perspective, using at least three primary sources.
• Scaffolding for struggling students: Provide a partially completed timeline with key events filled in, so they focus on connecting Collins’s and de Valera’s actions to each event.
• Deeper exploration: Ask students to research and present on a lesser-known figure from the War of Independence, explaining how their contributions complemented or clashed with Collins’s or de Valera’s strategies.

Key Vocabulary

Sinn Féin	An Irish republican political party that played a central role in the movement for Irish independence.
Guerrilla Tactics	Irregular warfare tactics involving ambushes, sabotage, and hit-and-run attacks, often used by smaller forces against larger ones.
Treaty	A formal agreement between two or more states, in this context referring to the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.
Republic	A state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.
Intelligence Network	A system for gathering and analyzing information about an enemy or adversary, crucial for military and political strategy.