Readers' Blog: Important that we preserve the past

The Department of Education’s decision not have history as a mandatory subject in the Junior Cert still raises concerns that many students may not then study it in the Leaving Cert, and so as citizens may have big gaps in knowledge of our country’s past and its impact on today.

Teachers give an understanding of Irish and world history. But better understanding tends to be later in life through enjoyable books for the non-academic reader. Irish newspapers do history articles like a recent one on how Watergate led to the resignation of US president Nixon in 1974.