We visited:
We went to Dunguaire Castle on the 7th of June 2001.
It's in Kinvara, Co. Galway. It is surrounded by Galway Bay.
Dunguaire Castle is named after Guaire the King of Connacht who died in 662 AD. Dunguaire is really a tower house, which was an invention of the Normans. The difference between the Normans and Irish castles is, the Normans used timber and the Irish used wicker in the ceiling.
The 1st floor was the Cellar, the 2nd floor the banquet hall, 3rd was the sitting room, and the 4th floor was Lady Ampthill's room. She bought the castle in 1952 and lived there on her own until she sold it to the government.
The first floor was like their fridge. They used it because it was the coldest room in the house. They stored their food in large barrels. They stored food, Spanish wine and salt in the barrels.
The 2nd floor was used for banquets and dining and it still used today. The third floor was the merchants sleeping quarters. They slept on sheep skin and straw.
The 4th floor was Lady Amthill's sittingroom.
You can walk around the roof and get a view of Galway Bay.
The Cliffs of Moher were very high and extremely dangerous. In front of the cliffs is the Atlantic Ocean. If you tried to throw a stone into the Atlantic Ocean it would be so high that it would hit the rocks and never get near the water at all.
As the Atlantic waves crash against the West Coast of Ireland, they eat into the rock along the coast and wear it away. These form caves, arches, sea stacks and the spectacular cliffs such as the cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs of Moher were marvellous and have great scenery. Many sea birds nest along the cliffs. They look very small in the distance.
The Cliffs stretch to Hag's Head in the south. There are lots of steps along the cliffs, leading up to O'Brien's Tower. It was actually lovely.
On Thursday the 7th of June, our school of Lenamore N.S. went on a school tour to Clare. After visiting Dunguaire castle, and the Cliffs of Moher, we went to Ailwee cave. Aillwee cave is outside Ballyvaughan in Co.Clare. Jacko McGann discovered it in 1940. He was out hunting with his dog for rabbits. The dog found a hole and ran into it and that's how Aillwee cave was discovered.
We saw lots and lots of Stalagmites and Stalactites. They are formed by rain dripping calcite through the limestone rock above the cave. They take many thousands of years to form. The temperature in Ailwee Cave is always the same. Ailwee means ''yellow cliff".
The Burren is one of the most special places in Ireland. The word Burren come from the Irish word 'boireann' which means 'rocky place'. The Burren is all limestone. It took millions of years to form. There are massive slabs of limestone, called clints. The rainwater has cut cracks in the rock. The cracks are called grikes. In places, there are huge rocks called erratics. These were carried to Clare from Connemara during the Ice Age. Lots of unusual plants grow in the Burren. Plants from the northern and southern hemisphere grow side by side.
We finished our tour in Lahinch Leisure Centre. We had great fun. It was COOL!!!