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Oisín in Tír na nÓg

This week Junior & Senior Infants learned about Oisín in Tír na nÓg.

Long, long ago in the green hills of CountyKerry lived a great giant called Fionn Mac Cool. He had a son called Oisin. He was a great warrior and poet. One sunny morning when the Fianna were hunting they saw a beautiful elegant horse galloping closer to them. On the horse’s back rode the most beautiful girl. Her name was Niamh. She had long fair hair as golden as the summer sun. Her dress was a lovely pale blue colour, studded with stars. Immediately the Fianna couldn’t help but stare at this beautiful girl. “Who are you and where have you come from?” asked Fionn. “I am Niamh from Tir Na Nog, my father is the King. I have heard as lot about the great poet and warrior Oisin,” answered Niamh.

Niamh, the princess of Tir na Nog, wanted Oisin to go with her in the peaceful land. “Tell me” Oisin said in an amazed voice, “What sort of land is Tir na Nog?” “Tir na Nog is the land of youth” replied Niamh. “It is a happy place with no pain or sorrow” she said. “Any wish you make will come true and no one grows old there. If you come with me you will find that all this is true about the great land of Tir na Nog” Niamh said in a desperate voice. She really wanted Oisin to go and live with her in Tir na Nog. Oisin mounted the beautiful white horse and cried his goodbyes to his great father and friends. He promised that he would return to Ireland soon. The horse galloped off over the water moving as swiftly as a shadow. The Fianna were upset to see their hero go, but Fionn Mac Cool the great warrior reminded them of Oisin’s promise to return back to Ireland soon.

Oisin decide he would go with Niamh. After a while he missed his father deeply. Oisin did not know how long he had been away. Oisin thought he had only been away for a few years but he had actually been away three hundred years. At first Niamh did not want him to go back to Ireland but he pleaded with her and she let him.

“Take my white horse” offered Niamh. “Whatever you do, do not touch the soil of Ireland” said Niamh. “If you do you will never return to me or Tir na Nog again” whispered Niamh. Oisin set off over the deep, clear sea. After a while he reached Ireland.

When Oisin went home he saw some men trying to life a very big rock. He leaned over to help them, and with that he fell off the beautiful white horse. It ran way into the trees and Oisin hit the soil of Ireland. Suddenly, he was an old man. He asked a man if he knew where Fionn Mac Cool lived. The man explained to him that Fionn had died many years ago.

Oisin was heart broken. Oisin went on telling his story of Tir na Nog and his father Fionn and the Fianna.

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Cork City Gaol

On the 13th of March, we had a tour of the Cork City Gaol.

First, we went to the Governor’s Office. On the table, there were two keys which were big but light.
Then the tour guide, Sonya, showed us the weighing chair. They weighed the prisoners every morning. If they were lighter than the wardens, that would mean that they were not feeding them.
There were two sections – the males and the female & children section. We went to the males’ section. We saw a lot of model prisoners and a lot of cells. We learned the history of some of the prisoners. It was very hard for them. They slept on beds made of wood. We went to the next level where we saw graffiti on the walls done by the prisoners. Then Sonya showed us where the prisoners did their exercise. All they could do was run around in a circle.
Finally, we saw a film about the gaol, which was very good. We all thought it was very interesting.

4th class

Yesterday we went to Cork City Gaol. We got an excellent tour around the gaol. Our tour guide was Sonya. We found out that men were on one side and women and children were on the other. The Governor’s name was John Barry Murphy and he was the first Irish Catholic governor. The first governor made a tunnel to his house. We met some wax prisoners in the cells. We tried a cell and it was creepy. We met the wax doctor of the prison and he was holding a suitcase. Then we watched a mini movie which was excellent. We really want to go back. It was brilliant.

3rd class

2 sets of images to be viewed

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Eoin’s Grandad, Dónal

A visit from Dónal O’Driscoll

Dónal O’Driscoll, Eoin’s grandad, visited our class and told us stories about when he was a young boy.

We learned that life was very different then.
Dónal didn’t have Nintendos or computers to play with and he had to walk to school. He told us that his house had no electricity and that they had no television to watch. His family had a farm and Dónal’s family got most of the food they ate from their animals. They had no car and if they wanted to go somewhere they would have to walk, cycle or ask a neighbour who had a car for a drive.
Dónal and his family didn’t go Trick or Treating at Halloween. Instead they used to make their own masks and play games at home, like snap apple (we still play that game today!).

Dónal said that teachers are much nicer now, because when he was in school you would get a slap if you were being bold!

We really enjoyed listening to Dónal and his stories. Toys and life have really changed since Dónal was a young boy.

Infant Classroom

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