Complete Guide: H1 Leaving Cert History 2025

History Higher Level Leaving Cert

 

This guide is for students who will finish their Leaving Cert in 2025. 

If you are sitting the Leaving Cert in 2026, please refer to History 2026.

Contents

General study and exam tips 

Course layout

Study and revision tips

Exam timing

 

Section 1: Answering Document-based Questions

Assessing the sources

General skills for answering questions

Question 1: Comprehension

Question 2: Comparison

Question 3: Criticism

Question 4: Context 

 

Section 1: Document Case Study

Stalin’s show trials

The Nuremberg Rallies

The Jarrow March

Question 4 mini essay sample answer: What did the Nuremberg Rallies contribute to Nazi propaganda? (2016)

 

Sections 2 and 3: Essay Writing 

Essay skills

Planning and laying out an essay

Other tips and tricks

Sample plan (What was the impact on Northern Ireland of international developments during the period 1932 – 1945)

 

Section 2: Irish History 

Topic 1: Ireland and the Union, 1815 – 1870

Background

Economy and Society

Politics and Administration

Religion, Culture and Science

Sample essays

What were the responses of Charles Trevelyan and/or Asenath Nicholson to Famine in Ireland? (2017)

What were the aims of Daniel O’Connell and to what extent did he achieve them? (2016)

Topic 2: Movements for political and social reform.

Politics and Administration

Religion, Culture and Science

Economy and Society

Sample essay

How did Unionism develop during the period 1886 – 1914? (2011)

What did one or more of the following contribute to cultural revival during the period 1870- 1914: the GAA; the Gaelic League; the Anglo-Irish Literary Revival? (2012)

Topic 3: The pursuit of sovereignty and the impact of partition.

Politics and Administration

Religion, Culture and Science

Economy and Society

Sample Essay:

What was the significance of the Eucharistic Congress, 1932?

How did Anglo-Irish relations develop during the years 1922-1945? (2019)

How did the Irish government contribute to the consolidation of democracy, 1922-1932? (2011)

How did the threat and use of physical force affect Ireland during the period 1912-1923? (2013)

Why were both the terms and negotiations of the Anglo-Irish treaty controversial? (2021)

What did one or more of the following contribute to Irish affairs: (Michael Collins)

How successful were the economic and social policies of Fianna Fail under de Valera between 1932 and 1937?

Topic 5: Politics and society in Northern Ireland

Politics and Administration

Religion, Culture and Science

Economy and Society

Sample essay

What was the contribution of the Apprentice Boys of Derry to the celebration of religious and cultural identity among that city’s unionist minority? (2006)

Topic 6: Government, economy and society in the Republic of Ireland, 1949 – 1989:

The First Inter-Party Government

Ireland in the 1950s

Ireland in the 1960s

The National Coalition, 1973 – 1977

Changing Governments in the late 70s and early 80s

The Fine Gael-Labour Coalition of the 1980s

Fianna Fáil in Coalition

Sample essay

How did Anglo-Irish relations develop during the period 1949-1989? (2012)

 

Section 3: Europe and the Wider World 

Topic 3: Dictatorship and Democracy in Europe

Communism in Russia

Sample essay: 

How effective were Stalin’s moves for change during his time as leader of Russia?

The rise of Fascism (Italy and Germany)

Sample essay: 

How did dictators use propaganda and/or terror to maintain their power?

What were the main characteristics of Fascist regimes in Europe, 1920 – 1945 (2023)

How did Church-State Relations develop under Hitler?

During the Inter War period, what factors contributed to the rise of the Nazis?

How did Hitler’s foreign policies lead to World War II?

Britain, France and the Twentieth Century

Sample essay: What were the causes and consequences of The Jarrow March, October 1936?

Topic 4: Division and Realignment in Europe

The Sovietisation of Eastern Europe

Case Study: The 1956 Hungarian Uprising

The Establishment and Evolution of the EEC

Case Study: The 1973 Oil Crisis

The Soviet economy (1945-92)

Case Study: The Second Vatican Council

Topic 5: European retreat from Empire and aftermath

The Creation of European Empires

European Empires after WWII

The British and Dutch Empires in Asia

French Withdrawal from Asia

Case Study: British withdrawal from India 426 British and Portuguese Withdrawal from Africa

Case study: The secession of Katanga, 1960-1965

French Decolonisation in Africa and the Algerian War

Post-colonial Immigration in Europe

Case study: Race Relations in France in the 1980s

Sample essay

To what extent did race become a major issue in Britain and/or in France? (2009)

Why did Katanga secede from the Congo and why did the secession bring about international involvement? (2019)

Topic 6: the United States and the World 

Perspective: Politics and administration

Sample essay: politics and administration.

What were the strengths and weaknesses of Lyndon Johnson as a political leader? (2014) 

What were the significant developments in U.S. foreign policy from 1973-1987? (2007)

Perspective: religion, culture and science 

Sample essay: religion, culture and science

What was the importance of one or more of the following: McCarthyism; the Moon Landing, 1969; developments in information technology? (2006) 

Why did the U.S. lose the Vietnam War and/or what was the significance of the Moon landing? (2011)

Perspective: economy and society

Sample essay: economy and society 

What were the main developments in race relations in the US, 1945 – 1968? (2013)

Why did the Montgomery Bus Boycott take place, how was it carried out, and to what extend was it successful? (2015)

With our guide on History, you will get:

access to our informal History FAQ video

access to 625Lab: we will give you feedback on one typed up answer corrected. Use the 625Lab submission form 

the notes as detailed above

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This is a distilled set of notes with H1 past paper answers. It is 569 A4 pages (180,000 words) of only the most relevant insights for your H1. We know how hard it can be, and it is our passion to make it easier for the students who come after us. Our team, composed of people who got 625+ points, distilled our own best notes, sample answers and tips, so that you don’t have to fight these battles on your own or reinvent the wheel. Whether you want 625 points, or to simply maximise your points, this will – guaranteed – have useful insights to make your life easier. If you want feedback on an essay – just send it in! We will give you tips on how you – specifically you – can improve. It’s our nature to go beyond what is expected!  If you are unhappy with the product, contact us within 2 weeks of purchase and we will issue a no qualms refund in full.

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Intended to replace a revision course, it is a 569 A4 page (180,000 word) document with only the most relevant material for your History Higher Level H1. You can use it as a reference, or read it start to finish.

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