I have long been a fan of that great educationist E.D.Hirsch. He feels that children in the United states are being deprived of the basic knowledge that would enable them to function in contemporary society. Hirsch is on the ‘knowledge is power’ side of the great education debate between traditionalists and ‘progressives’. His book Cultural Literacy was first published in 1987. It seems not enough attention was paid to his arguments. We might not have Trumpism now had his point of view prevailed in U.S. educational circles.
Hirsch includes lists, in alphabetical order, of things he feels every American child needs to know. These include events in history, scientific facts, geographical knowledge, phrases, quotations , literary and artistic references. Many of these items might not be immediately important to Irish students so I have attempted to amend Hirsch’s list dropping some of these and substituting items which might be considered essential for the education of our own pupils. Let’s face it, we have all been appalled from time to time at what some young people seem not to know. How can they do all this discovery learning we hear so much about if they don’t know what they should be looking for in the first place?
My list is entirely subjective. Feel free to drop items and add some of your own. I have listed items alphabetically from A to D….so far. Let’s begin with some key dates from Irish and world history.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
1066
1169
1492
1601
1690
1776
1789
1798
1800
1803
1815
1829
1847-1850
1867
1886
1912
1913
1914-1918
1916
1920 -1922
1939-1945
1948
1963
1967
1973
à la carte
A thing of beauty is a joy forever
A.D.
Aachen
Abbey Theatre, The
Abbeydorney, Co Kerry
Abbeyfeale, Co Limerick
Abbeyleix, Co Laois
Abbeyshrule, Co. Longford
abbreviation
Abel
Abraham
absolute monarchy
abstract art
academic freedom
Achill
Achilles’ heel
Achonry (diocese)
acronym
Acropolis
Actions speak louder than words
ad hoc
ad hominem
ad infinitum
adagio
Adam and Eve
adaptation
Adare, Co Limerick
Addis Ababa
Adeste Fideles
adieu
adiós
adjective
Adonis
adrenaline
adverb
Aegean
Aeneas
Aeneid, The
Aesop’s fables
aesthetic
affluent
Afghanistan
aficionado
Africa
Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale/Her infinite variety
agnostic
Aherlow, the Glen of
al fresco
Alabama
Aladdin’s lamp
Alamo
Alas, poor Yorick
Alaska
Albania
albatross around one’s neck
alchemy
Alcott, Louisa May
Aleppo
Alexander the Great
Alexandria, Egypt
algae
Algeria
alias
Alice in Wonderland
alienation
Alighieri, Dante
alkaline
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
All roads lead to Rome
All that glisters is not gold
All the world’s a stage
All’s well that ends well
Allah
allegory
allegro
Allingham, William
alliteration
alloy
allude
allusion
ally
alma mater
alpha and omega
Alps, the
alter ego
alternate
alto
altruism
amadán
Amazing Grace
Amazon (myth)
Amazon (place)
amphibian
American War of Independence
amino acids
Amish
amnesia
amnesty
amniotic sac
amoeba
amok, run
Amsterdam
analogy
anarchy
ancien régime
And thereby hangs a tale
andante
Anderson, Hans Christian
Andrews, Eamonn
Andromeda
anecdote
Angelico, Fra
Angelou, Maya
Anglican
angst
animal/vegetable/mineral
Ankara
Anno domini (A.D.)
annuity
Annunciation, The
annus mirabilis
anon.
Antarctica
Anthony Susan B.
anthropology
antibody
anticlerical
Antigone
antipodes
anti-Semitism
Antony and Cleopatra
Antony’s speech at Caesar’s funeral
Antrim
any port in a storm
Aoife (myth)
Aoife (wife of Strongbow)
aorta
Apache
apartheid
aphorism
aphrodisiac
Aphrodite (Venus)
apocalypse
apocryphal
Apollo
Apostles, the Twelve
apostrophe
Appalachians
appeasement
appendix
apportion
appraisal
appropriation
April showers bring May flowers
apropos
Aquinas, Saint Thomas
Aquitane, Eleanor of
Arabia
Arabian nights
Arabic
Aragon, Catherine of
arbitration
Arc, Joan of
Archbishop
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
archetype
Archimedes’ principle
archipelago
Arctic, the
Ardagh (Limerick, Longford)
Ardara, Co Donegal
Ardee, Co Louth
Ardfert, Co Kerry
Ardmore, Co Waterford
Ardrahan, Co Galway
Argentina
aria
Arigna, Co Roscommon
aristocracy
Aristophanes
Aristotle
Arizona
Arkansas
Arkle
Arklow, Co Wicklow
Armageddon
Armagh, archdiocese of
Armenia
armistice
Armstrong, Louis
Armstrong, Neil
arrivederci
art for art’s sake
Art is long, life is short (ars longa, vita brevis)
Artane, Dublin
Artemis (Diana)
arteriosclerosis
artery
article (part of speech)
artificial intelligence (AI)
As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods
as the crow flies
ascetic, asceticism
ascorbic acid
Ascot
Asgard, The
Ashbourne, Co Meath
Ashe, Thomas
Ashford, Co. Wicklow
Ash Wednesday
Asia
Asia minor
Ask not what your country can do for you…..
Ask, and it shall be given
Askeaton, Co Limerick
Asquith, Herbert
assessment
assimilation
Assisi, Francis of
Assumption, The
Astaire, Fred
asteroid
Astor, Lady
astrology
astronomy
asymmetry
As you would that men [people] should do to you do you also to them in like manner.
Athboy, Co. Meath
atheism
Athena (Minerva)
Athenry, The Fields of
Athens
Athlone, Co Westmeath
Athy, Co Kildare
Atlanta
Atlantic
atlas
atmospheric pressure
atoll
atom
atomic bomb
attaché
Attila the Hun
attorney
au revoir
Auckland
Auden, W.H.
audit
auditory nerve
auf Wiedersehn
Augean stables
Aughrim, Battle of (Co Galway)
Aughrim, Co Wicklow
Augustine, Saint
Augustus Caesar
Auld Lang Syne
aurora borealis
Auschwitz
Austen, Jane
autobiography
autocracy
automation
auxiliary verb
Avoca, Co Wicklow, Vale of
axiom
Axis powers
Azores
Aztecs
B.
Babel, Tower of
Babylon
bacchanalian
Bacchus (Dionysus)
Bach, Johann Sebastian
bacillus
Bacon, Francis (painter)
bacterium
Baghdad
Bailieborough, Co Cavan
Baker’s dozen
balance of payments
balance of power
balkanization
Balkans
Ballina, (Co Mayo)
Ballinamuck, Co Longford
Ballinasloe Horse Fair, Co Galway
Ballinrobe, Co Mayo
Ballintubber (Abbey), Co Mayo
Ballitore, Co Kildare
Ballybunion, Co Kerry
Ballycotton, Co Cork
Ballydehob, Co Cork
Ballyferriter, Co Kerry
Ballyfin, Co Laois
Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo
Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan (Song – Come back Paddy Reilly to Ballyjamesduff)
Ballylongford, Co Kerry. (Birthplace of….)
Ballymena, Co Antrim
Ballyporeen, Co Tipperary (Ronald Reagan and song)
Ballyshannon, Co Donegal (poem)
Ballyvaughan, Co Clare
Ballyvourney, Co Cork
Baltimore (Maryland U.S. and Co Cork)
Baltimore, The Sack of (Co Cork)
Baltinglass, Co Wicklow
Balzac, Honoré de
Banagher, Co Offaly (That beats Banagher)
banana republic
Bandon, Co Cork
Bangkok
Bangor Erris, Co Mayo
Bantry, Co Cork (Bantry Bay, Bantry House, French expedition 1796))
Baptist
bar mitzvah
Barber of Seville, The
Barcelona
Bard of Avon, The
baritone
Barleycove, Co Cork
barometer
baroque
Barry, James (painter)
Barry, Commodore John
Barry, Kevin
Barry, Sebastian
Barry, Tom
basal metabolism
basalt
basilica
Basque
bas-relief
bassoon
Bastille, fall of the
baton
Battle of Britain
Baudelaire, Charles
Bauhaus movement
Bavaria
Bay of Biscay
Bay of Pigs
Beatitudes (text)
Beatles, the
beaucoup
BeauMONT hospital not BeauMOUNT
Becket, Thomas à
Beckett, Samuel
Beethoven, Ludwig von
beg the question
Behan, Brendan
Beijing
Beirut
Belfast
Belgium,
Belgrade
bell curve
Bell, Alexander Graham
Belmullet, Co Mayo
Ben Bulben. ‘Under bare Ben Bulben’s head….’
Benburb, Battle of
Benediction (liturgy)
Berkeley, George (Bishop)
Berlaymont building
Berlin
Berlin (Irving)
Berlin Wall
Bernard of Clairvaux, St
Bernhardt, Sarah
besiege
best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
Best, George
beta radiation
bête noire
Bethlehem
beware of Greeks bearing gifts
beware the Ides of March
Bewley’s
Bible Belt
bibliography
bicameral legislature
big bang theory
Big Ben
Big Brother is watching you
big business
bile
bilingualism
biochemistry
biography
biology
biomass
biosphere
bird in the hand is worth two in the bush., A
Birds of a feather flock together
Birr, Co Offaly (Birr Castle, Birr telescope)
Birth of Venus, The (image)
birthday suit
bishop
Bismarck, Otto von
bit between your teeth
bite the bullet
bite the dust
biting the hand that feeds you
Bizet, Georges
Black 47
Black and Tans
Black Death
Black Hills of Dakota
Black Hole of Calcutta
black market
Black Sea
black sheep
Blacklion, Co Cavan
blacklist
Blackrock College
Blair, Tony
Blake, William
blank verse
Blarney, Co Cork (castle)
blasé
Bligh, Capt.
blight
blitzkreig
Blood is thicker than water
blood, sweat and tears
Bloody Sunday (1920 and 1972)
blow hot and cold
blue-collar
Blueshirts
Blythe, Ernest (Earnán de Blaghd)
Boer War, The
Bogart, Humphrey
Bogside, Battle of the
bohemian
Bohola, Co Mayo
Boleyn, Anne
Bolivia
Bolsheviks
bolt from the blue
Bombay (Mumbai)
bona fide
bonjour
Bonn
Bonnie Prince Charlie
Book of Common Prayer
Boolavogue, Co Wexford (Song)
boom (sonic)
boom (business)
Booth, John Wilkes
Bordeaux
Borgias, The
born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth
Borneo
Borris, Co Carlow, Borrisokane, Co Tipperary, Borrisoleigh, Co Tipperary, Borris-in-Ossory, Co Laois. All Os in all Borrises PRONOUNCED AS U and I don’t care what AA roadwatch says.
Boston Tea Party
botany
Botticelli
bottleneck
bottom line
botulism
bounty
Bounty, Mutiny on the
Bourbon
bourgeois, bourgeoisie
bowdlerise
Bowen, Elizabeth
Boy Who Cried “Wolf”, The
boycott
Boyne, Battle of the
Brahms, Johannes
Braille
brainwashing
Branagh, Kenneth
brave new world
Brazil
breach of contract
bread and circuses
break the ice
Breen, Dan
Brehon laws
Breifne, Barony of (O’Rourke, King of Breifne)
Brendan the Navigator, St
Breughel. Pieter
Brevity is the soul of wit.
Brexit
Brian Boru
Brigid, St
brinkmanship
Brisbane
Britain, Battle of
British Columbia
Broadway
broker
Brontës, Charlotte, Emily and Anne
Bronx
Bronze Age
Brooklyn
brother’s keeper, Am I my?
Browne, Dr Noel
Browning, Elizabeth Barrett and Robert
Bruce, Robert and Edward
Brugha, Cathal
Brussels
Bruton, John
Brutus
Bucharest
buck stops here.,The
Budapest,
Buddhism
Buenos Aires
building castles in the air
Bulgaria
Bulge, Battle of the
bull in a china shop
Bunclody, Co Wexford
Bundestag
Bundoran, Co Donegal
Bunratty, Co Clare (Castle)
Bunreacht na hEireann
Bunyan, John
bureaucracy
Burke, Edmund
Burma (Myanmar)
burning the candle at both ends
burning the midnight oil
Burns, Robert
Burntollet bridge incident
Burren, the, Co Clare
bury the hatchet
bust (business, sculpture)
Butt, Isaac
Buttevant, Co Cork
buying a pig in a poke
Byrne, Gay (Gaybo)
Byron, Lord.
Byronic
Byzantine complexity
Byzantine Empire
C
cabinet
Caesar, Julius
Cahir, Co Tipperary
Cahirsiveen, Co Kerry
Cain and Abel
Cairo
calculus
Calcutta
Caligula
Callan, Co Kilkenny
calling a spade a spade
calorie
Calvary
Calvin, John
Cambodia
Cambridge University
Camelot
Canada
Canberra
canine
Canterbury Tales, The
Canterbury, Archbishop of
can’t fit a round peg in a square hole
can’t have your cake and eat it too
can’t hold a candle to
can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear
can’t see the forest for the trees
Canton
Cape Cod
Cape Town
capillary
capitalism
capital punishment
Capitol Hill, Washington D C
Capri
captain of industry
Caracas
carbohydrates
carbon dioxide (CO²)
carbon dating
carbon monoxide
carcinogen
cardinal number
Caribbean
caricature
Carleton, William
Carlingford, Co Louth
Carlow
Carolan, Turlough
Carmen (Title)
Carndonagh, Co Donegal
Carniverous
Carraroe, Co Galway (An Cheathrú Rua)
Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan
Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim
Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary
Carroll, Lewis
carry a torch for
carrying coals to Newcastle
Carson, Edward
carte blanche
cartel
Carter, Jimmy
cartilage
Caruso, Enrico
Casablanca
Casanova
Cassandra
Cashel, Rock of, Co Tipperary, archdiocese
caste
Castlebar, Co Mayo
Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan
Castletownbere, Co Cork
Castletownshend, Co Cork
cast pearls before swine
Castro, Fidel
catalyst
Catch-22 (Title)
Catcher in the Rye, The (Title)
catharsis
Catherine the Great
Catholicism, Roman Catholicism
Caucasus, The
caucasian
caucus
cause célèbre
Cavan
caveat emptor
Ceannt, Ēamonn
Celbridge, Co Kildare
cello
Celsius
centre of gravity, centre of mass
centigrade
centimetre
Central America
CIA
centrifugal force
Cerberus
cerebellum
cerebral cortex
Ceres (Demeter)
Cervantes
C’est la vie
Ceylon
Cézanne, Paul
cf.
chain reaction
Chamberlain, Neville
Chaplin, Charlie
Charge of the Light Brigade, The (title)
charisma
Charlemagne
Charles I and II
Charleston (dance)
Charlestown, Co Mayo
Charleville, (Ráth Luirc) Co Cork
Charon
Chartres
Chaucer, Geoffrey
chauvinism
checks and balances
chef d’oeuvre
Chekov, Anton
Chernobyl
Cherokee
cherubim
Cheshire cat
Chicago
chickens come home to roost
Chile
chimera
China
chip on one’s shoulder
chip (silicon chip)
chivalry
chloroform
chlorophyll
cholesterol
Chopin, Frédéric
choreography
chosen people
Christianity
Christie, Agatha
Christmas Carol, A (title)
chromosomes
Churchill, Winston
Chutzpah
Cicero
Cid, El (Title)
Circe
circuit, electric
circuit court
circumcision
circumference
circumlocution
cirrus clouds
civil disobedience
civil rights
civil service
Civil War
Clancy Brothers
Clancy, Peadar
Clancy, Willie
Clara, Co Offaly
Claremorris, Co Mayo
Clarinet
Clarke, Austin
Clarke, Harry
Clarke, Thomas
classical music
classics
clause
claustrophobia
cleanliness is next to godliness
Clemenceau, GeorgesCleopatra
cliché
climate
Clifden, Co Galway
Clogher (diocese)
Clogherhead, Co Louth
Clonakilty, Co Cork
clone
Clones, Co Monaghan
Clonfert, diocese
Clonmacnoise, Co Offaly, monastic site
Clonmel, Co Tipperary
Clontarf, Battle of
Clontibret, Co Monaghan, battle of
closed shop
Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary
Cloyne, Co Cork, diocese of Cork, Cloyne & Ross
coalition
coat of many colours
cobbler should stick to his last., The
Cobh, Co Cork (Queenstown)
cockles of the heart, warm the
coexistence
Coghlan, Eamon
cognitive development
coherence
cold-blooded
cold war
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor
Colfer, Eoin
collateral damage
collective bargaining
College of Cardinals
Collins, Michael
Colmcille, St., (Columba)
Columbanus, St
Cologne
Colombia
colon (anatomy)
colon (:)
colonialism
Colorado
coloratura
Colosseum, The
Columbus, Christopher
combustion
come full circle
Come live with me and be my love…
comet
comma
comme il faut
commissar
commission
commissioned officer
commodity
common denominator
common law
common-law marriage
communicative diseases
communism
Communist Manifesto, The (title)
compass
composite materials
compound interest
compound-complex interest
compulsion
compulsory
Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur
concentration camp
concerto
concierge
conciseness
condensation point
conditioned reflex
conduction
Confederacy, The
confederation
conflict of interest
conformity
Confucius
Cong, Co Mayo, cross of
congenital disease
conglomerate
Congo, The
Congress (US)
Congress of Vienna
conjunction
Connecticut
Connell, Desmond (Archbishop)
Connolly, James
Connolly, Sybil
connotation
conquistadores
Conrad, Joseph
conscientious objector
consent of the governed
conservation
conservatism
consonant
conspicuous consumption
Constable, John
Constantine (Emperor)
Constantinople
constellation
constitution
consumer
contempt of court
continent
contraband
contraception
contraction
contralto
Coolea, (Cúil Aodha), Co Cork
Cook, Captain
Coolidge, Calvin
cool your heels
coordination
Cootehill, Co Cavan
Copenhagen
Copernicus
copulation
copyright
coral reef
Corinthian
Cornea
Corofin, Co Clare
coronary artery
corporal punishment
corporation
Cortès, Hernan
Cosgrave, Liam
Cosgrave, W.T.
cosmic
Cossacks
Costa Rica
Costello, John A.
counterfeit
counterpoint
Counter Reformation
coup d’état
coup de grâce
couplet
course of true love never did run smooth, The
Courtmacsherry, Co Cork
Courtown, Co Wexford
Covenant
Cowen, Brian
Craig, James
Crash (financial)
crater
Cratloe, Co Clare
Crean, Tom
Creation
creationism
creditor
credit union
crème de la crème
crescendo
Crete
Crick, Francis, and James Watson
Crimea
Crime and Punishment (title)
Crimean War
critical mass
Croagh Patrick, Co Mayo
Crockett, Davy
crocodile tears
Croesus, rich as
Croke Park, (Archbishop Croke)
Cromwell, Oliver
Crosby, Bing
Crossbarry, Co Cork
Crosshaven, Co Cork
crossing the Rubicon
Crossmolina, Co Mayo
Cross that bridge when you come to it
crown of thorns
Crucifixion, the
cruel and unusual punishment
Crumlin, Dublin, Crumlin Road, Belfast
Crusades
Crusoe, Robinson
Crystal Palace
Cuba
Cuban missile crisis
cubism
culture
cum laude
cummings, e.e.
cumulus clouds
Cupid (Eros)
cupola
Curie, Marie
Curracloe, Co Wexford
current, electric
curriculum vitae
curry favour
Cusack, Cyril, Sinéad, Sorcha, Niamh
Cusack, Michael, Cusack Stand
Custer’s last stand
cut off your nose to spite your face
cyclone
Cyclops
cymbal
Cyprus
Cyrillic alphabet
czar
Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic)
D
dacha
Dachau
Daedalus
Dali, Salvador
Dallas, Texas
Damascus
Damascene conversion
damn with faint praise
Damocles, sword of
Daniel in the lions den
danke schön
Dante Alighieri
Danton
Danube
Dark ages
dark horse
Darwin, Charles
date which will live in infamy
David (Bible)
David Copperfield
David (of Michelangelo)
Davis, Thomas
D-Day
dead heat
Dead Sea
Death of a Salesman
decadence
decibel
deciduous
Declan, St, of Ardmore
de facto
default
defence mechanism
deficit
definite article
deflation
Degas, Edgar
de Gaulle, Charles
déjà vu
de jure
Delany, Ronnie
Delaware
Delhi
Delphic oracle
delusion
demagogue
Demeter (Ceres)
De Mille, Cecil B.
democracy
demography
demonstrative pronouns
Demosthenes
Denmark
denouement
Denver
deposit (geology)
depreciation
Depression, The Great
de rigueur
Derrynane, Co Kerry
Descartes, René
Des Moines, Iowa
despot
détente
deterrence
Detroit, Michigan
deus ex machina
de Valera, Eamon (Dev)
devaluation
developmental psychology
devil can cite scripture, The
dialectical materialism
diameter
diamond in the rough
Diana (Artemis)
Dickens, Charles
Dickinson, Emily
dictator
dictatorship
diction
Dido
diehards
diffusion
Dingle (Daingean), Co Kerry
Diogenes
Dioysus (Bacchus)
diplomacy
diplomat
direct object
disciples
discount
Discretion is the better part of valour
disenfranchise
Disney, Walt
Disraeli, Benjamin
dissident
distillation
distillery
District of Columbia
Divest
Dividend
Divine Comedy, The
divine right of kings
divinity that shapes our ends., There’s a
division of labour
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Doctor Livingstone, I presume?
dog in the manger
dogma
Doll’s House, A (title)
dominant trait
Dominican Republic
domino theory
Donegal
Doneraile, Co Cork
Don Giovanni
Don Juan
Donne, John
Do not go gentle into that good night
Doolin, Co Clare
Don Quixote
Don’t count your chickens before they hatch
Don’t cry over spilled milk
Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes
Don’t give up the ship
Don’t hide your light under a bushel
Don’t judge a book by its cover
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
Don’t put the cart before the horse
Doric
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor
Double, double, toil and trouble
double entendre
double helix
double indemnity
doubting Thomas
Douglass, Frederick
doves and hawks
Dow-Jones
Down’s syndrome
draconian
Dracula
draft (military)
Drake, Sir Francis
dramatis personae
Dreyfus affair
Drew, Ronnie
Drink to me only with thine eyes….
Drogheda, Co Louth
Dromahair, Co Leitrim
Dromcollagher, Co Limerick
Drumcliff, Co Sligo
Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim
due process of law
Duhallow, (Barony of), Co Cork
Dunboyne, Co Meath
Duncannon, Co Wexford
Dundalk, Co Louth
Dungarvan, Co Waterford
Dungloe (An Clochán Liath) Co Donegal
Dunkirk
Dunlavin, Co Wicklow
Dunmanway, Co Cork
Dunmore East, Co Waterford
Dunquin (Dún Chaoin) Co Kerry
Duodenum
Dürer, Albrecht
Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return
Dutch treat (go Dutch)
Dylan, Bob
dyslexia
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