Senior Room School Tour to Dublin

Yesterday the Senior Room went on their school tour to Dublin.

They had an early start to the day boarding the train at Rathmore station at 7.57am. We hopped aboard full of excitement for the day ahead!

We arrived in Heuston Station, Dublin before 11am. We got off the train to bustling crowds of travelers and commuters all going about their day. We headed out the door and to the Luas and bus stops outside. We had our change ready for the bus and paid the driver by putting the change into the box and telling him that we were going to the city centre. We headed up the stairs of the double decker so that we could see the sights of the city as we drove through.

We arrived at Nassau street and made our way on foot to Kildare Street where we stopped at our first destination of the day - The National Archaeological Museum. We were very excited about our trip because we had learned about Bog Bodies, The Ardagh Chalice, The Tara Brooch, Egyptians, Brian Boru and the Battle of Clontarf, Celts, and much more! The museum is full of treasures  that are over 2000 years old!

After that, we walked up to St. Stephen's Green. It was a beautiful day so we stopped to sit on the grass and eat our picnic lunch and enjoy the sunshine.

We continued our day by returning to Kildare Street and Leinster House. We were met by Michael Healy-Rae at gate. He shook each of our hands in turn and welcomed us in.

He brought us to a lounge where he treated us all to a mineral and a chocolate bar. He told us some fantastic stories and kept us all entertained! After that we walked up a very impressive staircase and he showed us into the public gallery where we could see some ministers debating in the Dáil Chamber. The Ceann Comhairle sat at the top with his Clerks. At one point there was an argument, and  the Ceann Comhairle had to step in and bring order back to the Chamber. We spotted Michael Noonan and James Reilly in the Chamber.

Michael Healy-Rae left us there and we were joined by a guide from the Dáil called Brendan. He was from Dublin and nearly kicked some of us out for wearing Kerry jerseys!!

He brought us around the different places in the Dáil, showed us paintings of all the former Taisigh, a replica of the original proclamation paper - signed by President Sean T O'Kelly, the rooms of the Seanad (which had a very impressive ceiling) and a painting of Austin Stack.

We had a great time but it was time to return home. We went to SuperMacs where we had pizzas, or chips and burgers and then headed back to Heuston Station. We boarded the train for home at 5.05pm and were back in Rathmore Station at 8pm, exhausted but happy after our days adventures.

Junior Room School Tour - Inisfallen Island and Pony Tales

Yesterday, the Junior Room enjoyed an abundance of activities that Killarney had to offer.

First off, the Junior Room visited "Pony Tales" where they were introduced to all the horses and ponies that reside there. The children were given the opportunity to groom Jacko, one of the horses. The children thoroughly enjoyed the horse ride around the arena where they were each given 2 rounds and finished with a trick called, 'Around the World'. This involved performing a 360 degrees rotation on the saddle of the horse and every child masterfully completed the task!

By about 11:30am, we had arrived at the Outlet Centre where we were to meet the tourist train. We headed to Ross Castle where we fed the ducks and boarded a boat. It brought us out to Inisfallen Island.

 The boat ride was beautiful and therapeutic, the sight of O'Donoghue's Rock and the glinting water in the summer sun transported us back to Ireland's past where the boisterous individuals of Inisfallen Island were abandoned and punished as prisoners on this rock, never to escape.

Once we arrived at the island, we settled down at a picnic bench and dug into our lunches. The island was peaceful and is most definitely the gem to Killarney's beautiful treasures. Once we had eaten our fill, we had a game of soccer and then we decided to explore the island were we learned about the wild foxgloves and ferns that grew there. Once we reached the periphery of the lake, we turned back and packed our bags to return to the mainland.

We boarded the train and went for a tour of Killarney town. Music was playing, hands were clapping, feet were tapping and everyone on the streets looked in and smiled. It must have been some sight to behold!

The children really enjoyed the playground where they had a go on the zipline, the swings and conquered the climbing rocket. By now, we were all exhausted from our exciting adventure at Inisfallen Island so we decided to head home.

However, the day was much too hot to go home without ice-cream! One pitstop later, we were en route home to Shrone where mothers were waiting patiently for their children.

Everybody that attended the tour, students and teachers alike, had a wonderful day.