There is nothing quite like an old photograph, personal correspondence, or tangible artifact to get secondary students excited about learning history. It is easy for students to understand the human dimensions and historical significance of past events when they interact with sources of this nature. Unfortunately, primary source material is not always so exciting. Notable legal documents and significant policy papers do not typically get students quite as enthusiastic about studying history. When I was tasked with creating a workbook on the Downing Street Declaration, concerns about how to make a complex political document engaging and accessible to students immediately came to mind.
The Declaration itself is dense, formal, and rooted in decades of political tension surrounding the human stories behind the historical moment. Although, it was this very challenge that ended up becoming one of the most rewarding aspects of the project. Rather than treating this joint peace declaration as a static political text, I began to consider how digital archives, and the sources found within them, could help students approach it as true historians. I wanted them to ask questions, compare perspectives, and uncover just how fragile negotiations and compromises can be in times of conflict.
| 1. Rioting in Derry/Londonderry. July 1971. PRONI INF/7/A/7/25. | 2. Prime Minister John Major and Taoiseach Albert Reynolds during a joint press conference at 10 Downing Street. |
My Downing Street Declaration Workbook was created in partnership with Pembroke College Oxford’s Quill Project, an online platform for researchers, students, teachers, and others who are interested in analysing the records of negotiated texts. With the help of timeline tools, text finders, language evolution trackers, and more, users can explore the intricate processes that helped to form significant historical documents. Their “Writing Peace” research strand specifically breaks down aspects of the Northern Ireland peace process using archives, private papers, and oral histories from across the political spectrum. After spending time exploring Quill’s website and learning how to work with its digital tools and resources, I began to construct the workbook.
Quill Project, Writing Peace sample website pages
My main goal with this workbook was to make the Downing Street Declaration as engaging as I possibly could for second level, senior cycle students. I knew that the document’s dense political language and complicated historical framework would make it difficult for secondary students to comprehend, so before diving into a guided analysis and activities, I included a reference sheet with historical background, key figures, important vocabulary, and a timeline.
Key figures, important vocabulary, and timeline pages from workbook
As digital archives can often be overwhelming for first-time users, I wanted to ensure there was no confusion on how to access and operate the website. I made sure to lay out exactly how students could access the Quill Project’s “Writing Peace” database where they would locate the necessary sources for the remainder of the workbook. All of the sources used in the workbook were taken from the Downing Street Declaration material in the Dermot Nally Collection, which is physically held by UCD Archives. As an Irish civil servant, Nally worked closely with Taoiseach Albert Reynolds to draft the Declaration, and his collected documents offer an invaluable perspective for students.
Sample page from workbook slides
While the students are asked to read through the official Downing Street Declaration before they begin to analyse various drafts and negotiation sources, I wanted to keep passive reading to a minimum. To combat inevitable skimming and superficial analysis, the students are expected to answer a series of questions about four excerpts from the Declaration. While the questions are largely used to check comprehension, others are more open-ended and reflective.
Sample pages from workbook
Once the students have answered questions regarding the finalised text, they will move on to Part II of the workbook where they will analyse two annotated Declaration drafts from Dermot Nally. Nally’s annotations provide an interesting glimpse into the careful process of forming political documents. Through an analysis of his comments in the margins and countless strikethroughs, students can better comprehend the human dimension of complicated political texts. Quill Project “jump codes” are provided so that students can go straight to the necessary source using a shortcut code instead of digging through numerous files.
Sample pages from workbook, including page from UCDA P254/79 (Draft Joint Declaration: Dermot Nally’s annotated draft of JD14B as amended for the first time on 7 December 1993)
Following the “Drafting History” section, students will then move to Part III, “Process of Negotiation.” Here they will analyze two sources that display the delicate negotiation process that took place before the Downing Street Declaration could be finalized. This includes a letter from Albert Reynolds to John Major and a detailed account of a meeting that took place a few days before the Declaration was published. Both sources not only illustrate the fragility of the negotiations, but also serve to highlight the careful diplomacy and trust required to move the peace process forward. Through examining these documents, students are encouraged to see the Declaration as a product of ongoing discussion, disagreement, and compromise between passionate government officials.
Sample pages from workbook, including page from UCDA P254/31 (Letter from Albert Reynolds to John Major, 7 September 1993)
In an effort to make the Downing Street Declaration even more engaging for students, I incorporated a teacher guide and slideshow presentation with various recommended activities. This includes a 5 minute attention-grabber/opener, a timeline chronology activity, a collaborative think-pair-share, a mock peace negotiation, and a source comparison exercise. Each activity was designed to ensure that students are not merely passive learners, but active historical investigators. This was an undertaking that was made far easier with the help of digital archives and platforms like the Quill Project.
Sample page from slideshow presentation
Historical research and primary sources are more accessible than ever thanks to digital archives. Researchers, students, and teachers have the ability to interact with countless sources from wherever they are, enabling greater engagement with historical material that may otherwise remain inaccessible in traditional archival settings. Digital archives are especially valuable when it comes to complex and politically sensitive events like the Northern Irish peace process. A student’s ability to examine evidence directly and uncover competing viewpoints with the guidance of platforms like Quill make difficult histories much more approachable. While I was already aware of how constructive digital archives can be, creating this workbook further solidified it for me. Even the most complex and dense political documents can become engaging when paired with inquiry based activities and accessible online tools.
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References:
Figure 1: Rioting in Derry/Londonderry. July 1971. PRONI INF/7/A/7/25.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/proni/48865907116/in/album-72157711187838588/
Figure 2: Prime Minister John Major and Taoiseach Albert Reynolds during a joint pressconference at 10 Downing Street, 30 years ago, after issuing the Joint Declaration that paved the way for peace in Northern Ireland, used on the Quill Project website.
https://www.quillproject.net/m2/downing_street_declaration
Figure 11: IE UCDA P254/79, Papers of Dermot Nally – Downing Street Declaration, UCD
Archives, University College Dublin Library, Ireland, accessed via the Quill Project at
https://www.quillproject.net/resource_collections/341/resource_item/23493
Figure 13: IE UCDA P254/31, Papers of Dermot Nally – Downing Street Declaration, UCD
Archives, University College Dublin Library, Ireland, accessed via the Quill Project at
https://www.quillproject.net/resource_collections/341/resource_item/23431
***The rest of the images are screenshots from either the Quill Project website, the workbook, or the slideshow.
This post was written by Sydney Patterson
Candidate, MA Public History, UCD School of History