History · 5th Year

Active learning ideas

Irish Missionaries Abroad

Let's set sail on a great adventure with some of Ireland's bravest historical figures: the missionary monks. We'll discover why these 'saints and scholars' left home to journey across a dangerous and unfamiliar Europe.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA History: Continuity and Change over Time - Religion, culture and learning

• 30–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Timeline Challenge
• 45 min · Pairs

Mapping the Missions

Using a large map of Europe, pupils work in pairs to trace the journeys of Colmcille and Columbanus. They can use different coloured markers to plot the routes and stick labels on the locations where key monasteries like Iona, Luxeuil, and Bobbio were founded.

Identify two places outside of Ireland where Irish monks established monasteries.

Facilitation Tip

Provide a simple timeline alongside the map so pupils can link the journeys to specific dates.

What to look for

Use a 'Think, Pair, Share' activity where pupils discuss the monks' motivations. Listen to their conversations to gauge understanding.

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

Activity 02

• Timeline Challenge
• 40 min · Individual

A Monk's Diary Entry

Pupils write a diary entry from the perspective of a young monk travelling with a famous saint. They should describe the challenges of the journey, their feelings about leaving Ireland, and their reasons for undertaking the 'peregrinatio'.

Explain the motivations for these monks to leave Ireland and travel abroad.

Facilitation Tip

Before writing, brainstorm as a class the possible dangers they might face, such as stormy seas, unfamiliar languages, and wild lands.

What to look for

Pupils create a 'Fact File' on either Colmcille or Columbanus, detailing their life, journey, key foundations, and overall impact.

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

Activity 03

• Timeline Challenge
• 30 min · Individual

Scriptorium Scribes

Pupils get a feel for the work of a monastic scribe by creating their own 'illuminated letter'. Using A4 paper and colouring pencils or markers, they design an elaborate first letter of their own name, incorporating Celtic patterns like knots and spirals.

Evaluate the impact of Irish missionaries on the development of Christianity and learning in Europe.

Facilitation Tip

Show high-quality images of letters from the Book of Kells to inspire their creativity and attention to detail.

What to look for

Pupils complete a simple reflection sheet with prompts like 'One thing I learned was...', 'One thing that surprised me was...', and 'One question I still have is...'.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with a compelling story about a saint like Colmcille being exiled to Iona to make the topic personal and engaging. Use visuals of monastery ruins and illuminated manuscripts to bring their world to life. Scaffold the concept of 'peregrinatio' by comparing it to a modern, challenging journey someone might make for a cause they are passionate about.

By the end of our exploration, you'll be able to trace the monks' footsteps on a map and explain the incredible impact they had on the history of the entire continent.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• The monks were forced to leave Ireland or were running away from something.

  The monks chose to leave as a form of religious devotion called 'peregrinatio pro Christo'. They saw leaving their homeland and family as a great sacrifice for God and a way to spread their faith.

• Europe was completely uncivilised before the Irish monks arrived.

  While learning had declined in many areas after the fall of the Roman Empire, the Irish monks did not introduce learning to an empty slate. Rather, their monasteries became crucial centres for preserving existing knowledge, both Christian and classical, and re-energising intellectual life across the continent.

• The monks' only job was to pray.

  Prayer was central to their lives, but monasteries were also busy centres of work and learning. Monks were farmers, builders, artists, writers, and teachers who copied precious manuscripts, educated local populations, and ran large monastic settlements.

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Methods used in this brief

• Timeline Challenge