The House of Lords and Chester Beatty Library
Before the Act of Union, in the 1700s,the Irish parliament, composed mainly of noblemen and religious leaders met in the House of Lords and House of Commons. The House of Lords still remains on the site of the Bank of Ireland in College Green. It is known as 'Grattan's Parliament', after Henry Grattan.
| We visited Grattan's parliament in the House of Lords. On either side of the room, there were two tapestries, one was of the battle of the Boyne and one was of the Willaimite-Jacobite War or the Siege of Derry. They are titled 'The Glorious Defence of LondonDerry' and The Glorious Attack of Boyne'. They are over 300 years old. Our guide told us that the tapestries have survived for so long because they never had direct sunlight and that 26 stitches are in one inch of tapestry. They were woven by a Dutch weaver named Beaver. |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
The oak fireplace was very ornate.
|
In the middle of room, hanging from the ceiling, there is a 1,233 piece chandelier. It started off with candles, changed to gas and now electricity. There was a twin chandelier in the House of Commons which now hangs in the examination hall in Trinity College. The 200 year old grandfather clock still worked!
|
We saw a silver mace which was covered in a gold wash. The mace had to be present at all times as it represented the authority of the king of England. This mace had lain hidden under a bed for 40 years and was then auctioned
|
The ceiling was very ornate and was covered with unique flowers
|
We then visited the photographic exhibition of life in China by John Thompson in the Chester Beatty library.These photographs were 150 years old.There were pictures of men, women and children. Men and boys wore a long plait down their back. We saw photographs of young brides about to enter arranged marriages and bound and unbound feet. We learned that long nails were a sign of wealth and prosperity. John Thompson produced all the photographs himself. There were also shoes, fans and embroidered silk on display. We returned to school after lunch and a run around the garden maze. look below at some of the photographs. It was a great day. By Eimear and Hannah |
|
|
|
Croke Park 2011
Twenty 5th and 6th class girls were chosen for the school gaelic team after trials in early September. Almost immediately we had our first game against St. Brigid's Castleknock. Unfortunately we lost but showed good promise. All our matches were on a Wednesday and we trained every Tuesday in the VEC grounds. Ms. Coughlan and Ms Gibbons coached us and Zoe from Templeogue/Synge Street came on board too. We had our biggest defeat against St. Colmcille's, Knocklyon. They were super and we were no match for them. But we didn't put our heads down and following some vigorous training sessions, we became more comfortable playing together as a team. When we came up against St. Pios in our third match, we drew in an exciting finish. We had one more match in the qualifiers and realised how much we really wanted to win and go forward to the playoffs. We fought hard into extra time and our parents and ourselves jumped for joy when we got into the quarter final, where we met St. Paul's, Greenhills and won a very close match. We felt very nervous playing Scoil Treasa, Mt. merrion in the semi-final. A lot of our teachers, classmates, parents and Ms. Hume all came to support us. We played better than we ever thought we could and were comfortable winners.
By Ellen, Emer, Erica and Jordan, 6th Class
On Wednesday, December 14th, a very cold day, girls from first to sixth class travelled by bus to support our team in the final at Croke Park against St. Brigid's, Cabinteely. We wore face paint and brought mascots. We were very excited. We sang and chanted to support our team. They played excellently and won second place in the league. They were awarded lovely medals and some girls took grass from Croke Park as a souvenir! There was a reception in the school later for the team and their famillies. There was plenty of pizza! Ms Hume gave the girls a lovely mascot and Ms. Coughlan, Ms. Gibbons and Zoe were presented with flowers. Well done girls and coaches for all the hard work!. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Team Plan!
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
We had a great time the reception |
 |
 |
 |
Ms. Coughlan. Ms. Gibbons and Zoe received flowers
|
|
 |
 |
Back to School!
Open Day 2011
On the 26th of May our school had an open day. each class's work was displayed in the P.E hall. All of our work that wasn't displayed in the P.E hall was displayed outside our class rooms. Children's parents and people who are thinking of sending their children to the school next year showed up to look at our work. We had four girls from each 6th class giving visitors tours. Eventually the children got to go down to the P.E hall to see the displays. Our new green flag was displayed in the front hall. We were very proud of our work. By Danielle Varley and Saoirse Keaveny.
|
Each class displayed its work
|
 |
 |
Senior Infants painted the queen! |
Our visitors loved the beautiful paintings of Irish legends by Kate's mum Joanne Murphy. They really add to our serenity garden
|
 |
 |
Seachtain na Gaeilge 2011
Bhí Seachtain na Gaeilge again ó 14ú Márta go 16ú Márta. Gach lá bhí ceol agus comhrá againn ar an intercom. Rinneamar postaeir agus chrochamar ar fud na scoile iad. Dé Luain bhí tráth na gceist againn. Ar an Mháirt, d'fhéachamar ar taispeantais rince agus ceoil sa halla. Chaitheamar éadaí glasa agus bhí céillí mór againn ar an gCéadaoin. Bhaineamar spraoi as Seachtain na Gaeilge.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Garda Band
 |
The garda band came to our school on Wednesday, November 10th. They played fantastic music. They played 'The Pink Panther' amd 'Spongebob'and The Wheels on the Bus'. I liked the songs better than the original ones because it was more exciting. Our teacher sang a song with the band. it was fun. My friends and I were dancing. i could not have had a better time. by Kayla, Amelia and Sarah |
|
 |
Ms Kearney sang for us!
|
|
 |
 |
Gardaí Visit
