School Tour 2002



School Tour 2002

Sch Tour 1 Tour of Croke Park Stadium, Dublin.

Read Rónán's account ...
 Read Angelina's account ...
 Read Shane's account ...


Rónán's account...
On Wednesday 29th of May 2002, I got up at five to seven. I knew that this day was going to be great because I was going on the school tour to Dublin and our mother was coming with us. I got dressed and went down to the kitchen where I got myself a bowl of Weetabix. I spent the next ten minutes getting my bag ready. Maeve, my sister, spent half an hour trying to find something to wear. Mammy and I made the lunches and I filled the bottles of water. We were at the school at five to eight. But we didn’t leave school until 8 o’clock. I sat with Paul and we talked and read two “ Nintendo” magazines. We reached Dublin at eleven o’clock. We saw O’Connell Bridge, the Four Courts and the entrance to the Phoenix Park. We parked outside the National Museum of Ireland and we all got off the bus. The first thing you’d notice when you walk into the museum is the size of the place! It was sixty-two feet in height from the middle of the souvenir shop floor to the ceiling. We had a tour guide called Éimear and she showed us the Lurgan Logboat, which was found in Gallagh bog near Ballinasloe. Next we went and looked at some “Lanula’s” made of gold. We also saw some gold that was twisted into bands. We saw some Bronze Age horns, swords and three shields. Éimear pressed a button and horn music started to play. After that she showed us the remains of a two thousand year old man who had been stabbed, strangled and drowned. Next we looked at the Ardagh Chalice and the Tara Brooch in the Treasure’s Room. Then we were allowed to look around by ourselves. From there we went to Dáil Éireann where we met Minister Noel Treacy T.D. who gave us biros and some information on Dáil Éireann and the history of Leinster House. Peter, the tour guide showed us the Upper House and we saw portraits of former Taoisigh. Then we saw the Lower House and the public gallery. He showed us Irish law books, which dated back to the 1300’s. Finally he showed us to a room that had photographs of T.D.’s and special visitors to the Dáil, like Tony Blair and Bill Clinton. We were hungry by then so we went to St. Stephen’s Green where we had lunch. After lunch we chased the pigeons and fed the ducks. Then we went to the “Natural History Museum” where we saw a fin whale, reptiles, tons of fish, all types of mammals and hundreds of birds. My favourite was the bird with the 'Elvis' hairstyle!
Sch Tour 2 Stadium Tour Croke Park, Dublin.
Before long we were on our way to Croke Park where our tour guide Barry showed us the changing rooms, the warm–up area, the service tunnel and the entrance to the pitch. We also saw all the stands, all the levels and one corporate box. Then we watched a film called “A Sunday in September”. It was good. From there we went to the balance, strength and height area where we could try and score points by using a hurley and sliotar or by kicking a football against a metal partition.
After that we went bowling. It was great fun until Paul did something to the bumper and our team started to lose. We had chips and whatever we wanted. I came in second place. We left Dublin at half past seven and arrived back home at a quarter past ten. It was the best school tour I’ve ever been on!
By Rónán Cooney
Age 12 years

Angelina's account...
On Wednesday 29th May 2002 we went on our school tour to Dublin. We visited the National Museum of Ireland, Dáil Éireann, the Natural History Museum of Ireland, Croke Park and we went bowling in Palmerstown. The day was full of excitement. In the National Museum there were the objects from the Stone Age and the Bronze Age. In the Stone Age part of the museum I saw a boat and I think about twenty or thirty people could fit in it. The reason why it is called the Stone Age is because the people used stone for tools and weapons. In the Bronze Age section, I saw lovely golden belts and lunala necklaces. There was a huge shield, and some daggers and swords on display also. We saw a skeleton of a man who had died around 2000 years ago. He had been strangled, stabbed and drowned. Then we were allowed to wander around the museum with a partner and we saw mummies and a glass case with sand and ancient pottery. Then we went to Dáil Eireann which is the Irish Parliament. We met Minister Noel Treacy T.D. and he greeted us. He gave us pens and information about Leinster House which is the name of the building. He asked a man to take us on a tour of Leinster House. We went into the upper house and the lower houses. It was great fun.
Sch Tour 3 Lunch in St. Stephen's Green.
We had our lunch in St. Stephen's Green where we fed the ducks and chased the pigeons. After that we went to the Natural History Museum and I saw a real shark but it was stuffed. I saw stuffed rabbits, corncrakes, seals, deer and fish which were strange but funny. We went to the second floor and saw the humped back whale and the fin whale which is a very big mammal. I was amazed that it was so beautiful and I did not want to leave.
Then we went to Croke Park and we got a guide to show us around the stadium. I did not like it very much but I took pictures of the pitch. Then we went bowling and I was the winner on my team. We got chips and drinks and then we went home. I hope we can do it again some time but the main part was we had fun.
By Angelina Taylor.
Age 8 years.

Shane's account...
I woke up at half seven, put on my clothes and ate my breakfast. Then I was on my way to school. The bus was already there. I sat beside Bryan and before long we were on our way to Dublin. After a while Bryan and I changed places up beside Aisling and Maeve. We listened to music on Aisling’s speakers. Soon enough we arrived in Dublin. We got out of the bus and we went into The National Museum of Ireland. Our guide’s name was Éimear. First we saw the Lurgan Logboat. It was about fifteen metres long and it could fit twenty people. It was found in 1902 in a bog in Galway and was carved from oak. Then we saw lunuala necklaces. They were worn around the neck and they were made from gold. Then we saw the Ardagh Chalice and the Tara Brooch. They are probably the two most famous treasures in Ireland. Then we were allowed to go around by ourselves. I saw mummies and a Viking section and ornaments from the Medieval time, but then we had to leave.
Next we went to Dáil Éireann. We met Minister Noel Treacy T.D. and he gave us pens and information about Leinster House and Dáil Éireann. We got a guide and his name was Peter. He showed us all around Leinster House. He showed us the Senate and the public gallery where all the people sat. He also showed us the Dáil Chamber and he explained to us what goes on there. He showed us some portraits of former Taoisigh.
Sch Tour 4 Minister Noel Treacy T.D.
welcomes us to Dáil Éireann.
We saw some statues of Chares Stewart Parnell and Daniel O’ Connell. Then we left and had our lunch. We had our lunch in St Stephen’s Green. I had buns, a banana and a small packet of sweets. Everyone was chasing the pigeons. Then it started dripping rain so we left there. We arrived at the ‘Natural History Museum of Ireland’. We saw the corncrake, which is the rarest bird in Ireland on the first floor. We saw rabbits, weasels, insects, fish and badgers. On the second floor we saw gorillas, tigers, hippos, rhinos, giraffes and zebras. On the third floor we saw pelicans, a skeleton of a dodo, crocodiles, snakes and bats. On the fourth floor we saw shells, lots of insects and fish. Then we had to leave to avoid the traffic. It took us less than an hour to get to Croke Park. Our guide was Barry and we went down the service tunnel and into one of the dressing rooms. There were lots of showers, a warm up area, and a safe room where players could leave their valuables. There was also a place where the players could get a massage. Barry also showed us all the levels in the Cusack Stand. Later I bought a sliotar and a cap in the museum shop. Then the bus driver was in a hurry to get to Palmerstown before the traffic got too bad. It took us about a half hour to get to Palmerstown where we played bowling. I came third in my group. I had a burger, chips and a drink of coke. Then we had to go home. I enjoyed the bowling best of all. I enjoyed the day and I would like to go again sometime.
By Shane Farrell.
10 years.