On Tuesday all of Ty headed out along with some of the religion teachers to the town of Kildare. This trip was organized so we could reflect on Saint Bridget and your personal religious beliefs. It was a day of pilgrimage but an enjoyable day where we even got to do some shopping!
Our first stop was Kildare's tourist centre where we watched a short video about the history of Saint Bridget and the area of Kildare. We learnt the round tower was there for defense and so much more facts. What really amazed me was, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, had been to Kildare town last April! We were shown a picture of him holding a Saint Bridget's cross which had been sent to hang in the Kildare tourist centre. Although this wasn't something many people saw, it really made me think. Although so many religions and cultures have and are constantly clashing it really made me happy to see the Dalai Lama, head of the Buddhist religion hold a Catholic symbol peacefully and with such joy.
Next we visited Saint Bridget's cathedral, where today The Church Of Ireland still holds mass. The stone ornaments were very impressive and the stained glass windows were beautiful. We also saw the round tower here. This round tower was the tallest in Ireland until the cone top was knocked off, today it is the second tallest in Ireland.
We than had a shopping and lunch break in Kildare Village outlets.
We than walked to the original Saint Bridgets well. The sun began to shine so brightly on the way and all of us who had spent the morning ice cold began to quickly warm up, it defiantly raised spirits.
At the first well we each had the option to walk down to the well, walk around the edge of it and bless ourselves with the holy water. Even though I am not religious I did find it nice to take part in this. We could say a private prayer which I also find has a lot more meaning as apposed to reciting things you may not understand.
We walked to the second well next which was a beautiful green area with a small stream, statues, benches, flowers and of course, the well. Here an optional short prayer service was held. Not everyone joined in and I really liked that it was your decision. For me, I don't enjoy prayer services as such, I feel I can't connect properly with what I would like to reflect on. I choose to walk around the well on my own after the prayer service. Some girls did this too and others felt they enjoyed the prayer service.
I really liked that throughout our trip we were given options as I feel religion is something that should always be your personal choose and no one should interfere with that.
Also as part of our study of Bridget we have started a blog, please check out my poem on this blog!
Thanks :)
Last Wednesday we had a very fun Transition Year day out.
We set off on our buses, Fodla buzzing on the mini bus (again!). We broke into our classes, all we had to do was find Sarah Kelly who had disappeared to Eiru and then we set off to our first stop.
In the National Library we saw an exhibition of old Irish artifacts and drawings. It was really enjoyable when Ms.C explained the maps to Sive and I.
Next we went to the National Museum where we saw the bog bodies! It was so surreal. Some of the bodies were still so intact. It was hard to believe that they had been there so long. The bodies really reminded me of a book called 'Bog Child' by Siobhan Dowd which is one to read! In the National Museum we also saw an exhibition called The Faddan More Psalter. It was so interesting! I watched a short video here and decided on the spot I want to be an archaeologist. Well, I change my career path about every month but it's nice to have options. If you want to become an archaeologist too here's the link to The Faddan More Psalter project on the National Museum website. It's a great website, have a look around it. Or better yet, visit the museum. It's great... as museums go ;)
Next we went to the Yeats exhibition. I loved it! It was filled with primary sources from the W.B Yeats and his family. It was so interesting to see his school reports, diaries and family tree along with so many poems and plays. I was really shocked by how many poems he had wrote. There was interactive boards at the exhibition and they showed a timeline of pretty much everything important in the life of Yeats. I really did learn a lot, I'm not trying to impress the teachers.
Then was lunch on Grafton street. Walking around with Shannon and we see a camera man from Rte, being Meg, I asked him could we be on the TV and he said yes please! So airing today (Tuesday) at 4 o'clock on Rte2 you will see Shannon and I play our very small, and not so important part in this TV show. What it's about? You'll have to tune in to see :)
Finally we went to Juno and the Paycock in the Abbey theatre. It was a great performance and the acting was really strong. Mary and Johnny's acting really impressed me, maybe it was because Johnny was so good looking though. Everything from the stage direction to the lighting was excellent in this performance.
Thanks to the English teachers for organising a great day out, it was enjoyed by all! :)
xo-M
