A carving of St. Patrick portrays him standing above a snake. Legend has it that when he rang his bell on top of Croagh Patrick in County Mayo, all snakes in Ireland fled.

At the base of Croagh Patrick stands the greystone ruin of an Augustinian friary. It is lapped by the waters of Clew Bay. Pilgrims traditional starting point for their route up the mountain, founded in 1456 by the O'Malley family, Murrisk Abbey, was destroyed by the English in the late 16th century. The fine stonework of the east window, with delicate bar tracery, indicates something of what was lost. It is surrounded by a windswept cemetery and bent hawthorn trees.

On September 16th 1999, fifty Transition Year students decided to climb Ireland's equivalent to Mount Everest.

The spirits were high as we climbed aboard the bus that was to take us to our challenge. The journey took about 1 hour which was extremely tiring, but we soon got motivated.

As soon as we arrived at the mountain, we were instructed to pose for a pre-climb photograph. After our images were captured, we set off. We all started the climb together, but pretty soon, it became obvious that the really fit people would reach the summit before us. The reason for this was because the majority of the group felt it necessary to stop at least every five minutes to rest.

We reached the summit in good time, it took about three hours. The way down was extremely difficult. Sarah and I had one stick between us, which was handy. We spent the whole way down falling and tripping.

The climb had finally come to an end, nobody managed to fall, everybodys limbs were still intact. That was until we reached the final pathway. Sinead tripped over a stray stone and managed to cut her leg so badly that it needed stitches.

As we piled back on the bus that would take us home, we remembered the day's events. We, as a group can honestly say that in hindsight the trip to climb the Reek was a great experience.

By: Mary Hennelly,Sarah Hession and Ann Concannon.

Our Work Experience in Macnus Theatre

As part of our Transition Year work experience we went to the Macnus Theatre helping them to prepare for the Saint Patrick's Day Parades in both Galway and Dublin. It was brilliant fun and we learned loads of new ideas about art.

The atmosphere in the workshop was really relaxed. Everybody was very nice, friendly and helpful and we got on great with everybody. The timetable was also very flexible as we were allowed come and go as we pleased - much to our shopping delight.

On our first day the door was locked until 10.00 and when we eventually got in we had the pleasure of watching the 'Cirque du Solier' on video. An hour and five trapeze acts later we were shipped off to 'B1' - the costume room. There we spent the remainder of the day sanding approximately 100 meters of beer piping. Then we messed up the dye when Sinead thought ( more like was told that) highlighter pink (supposedly orange) and blue made dark orange. We went home that day with sore pinky-purple hands.

The remainder of our first week was spent sticking fur on gloves, finishing off masks and cutting green material into mega big blades of grass. Because the material was so crinkled it was impossible to follow the pattern, hence all the wonky blades. Also we spent ages cutting the sanded down pipes and making circles, which we later found out we weren't supposed to do - thanks Roisin!

The next week everyone was gone to Dublin so we spent the whole time making grass skirts with Austin and Niamh. The skirts were to be used in the Galway Parade.

On Paddys Day it was a great thrill to see Alan - the guy that Sinead loved, and the costumes that we had helped make in the Parade on the television.

Thanks for the great work experience to all at Macnus!

by Trisha Brennan and Sinead Clarke

Education in Ireland

1900 - 1922

Primary Schools

In the early years of the twentieth century almost all Irish children attended Primary schools. In most places boys and girls were learning the three R's - Reading, writing and arithmetic. The usual method of teaching involved learning things 'off by heart'. Discipline was strict and pupils were expected to sit quietly at their desks. A pupil who misbehaved could be punished with a stick or a leather strap. Pupils of different religions were segregated.

Secondary Schools

The majority of children received no further education after primary schools. Most secondary schools were controlled by catholic religious orders or by the bishops. The Christian Brothers did provide free secondary education to some boys but the majority demanded fees. As a result most of the pupils were the children of strong farmers, business men and professional people such as lawyers and doctors. Many catholic schools were boarding schools and this added further to the cost of education

Emphasis was placed on academic subjects. Latin was widely taught but few pupils did French. Subjects such as woodwork or metalwork were taught.

By 1911 girls made up one third of secondary school pupils. In girls' schools subjects such as music, art and needlework were widely taught.

University Education

University education was confined to the children of the rich and the vast majority of the students were male.

1922 - 63

Primary Schools

From the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922, governments have sought to use schools to advance Irish as a spoken language of the people.

In 1922 schools were instructed to teach Irish for at least 1 hour a day.

From 1926 infant classes were taught entirely through Irish.

Gaeltach summer schools were set up to help teachers learn Irish.

In 1929 an examination known as the primary certificate was introduced to sixth class pupils. At first it was optional but in 1943 it became compulsory. Only Irish, English and Arithmetic were examined and in many schools only three subjects were taught in sixth class. The primary certificate was abolished in 1967.

Even with these changes a pupil's experience of primary school in 1955 would have been little different from a pupil's experience much earlier in the century

Second Level Schools

After 1922 secondary schools continued under religious control. Even though the payment of fees was required, the numbers of students attending them gradually increased. Changes in the second-level school system included:

In 1924 the Intermediate Certificate and Leaving Certificate Examinations were introduced. In order to achieve the Leaving Certificate pupils were required to pass 5 subjects including Irish or English. In 1934 it was mandatory to pass Irish.

In 1930 vocational schools were set up. They offered practical subjects such as woodwork and book keeping. Vocational schools were placed under the control of vocational education committees. (V.E.C.s). No fees were required.

Universities

After 1922 university education remained confined to the rich and only a small number of Leaving Certificate students went on to third level education.

During the 1960's the government increased investment in education. It was hoped that a well educated work force would help create a more prosperous country.

by Deirdre Cunningham

Ball Games in Ireland

Ball games are known to have been played by man from the earliest stages of civilised society. The old testament, the poet Homer and ancient Egyptian monuments all show that ball games were known in biblical times. Ball games proliferated in pre Christian Greece and pagan Egypt, in imperial Rome, Arthurian England and Viking Scandinavia. The ancient Persians, the Indians, the Aztecs and the Celts also enjoyed ball games.

The early Europeans played three kinds of ball games:

The ancestor of modern hurling and hockey where the ball was driven by a partly-curved stick;
The ancestor of soccer where the ball was propelled by foot only and
Modern Gaelic football, rugby and Australian Rules are all ;derived from the third type of ball game in which the ball was partly thrown by hand and partly kicked.

A version of the third type of game, popular in Ireland and England up to the mid-1800's was played across the open countryside by hundreds of participants.

An ancient game played with stick and ball, hurling is one of the fastest field games in the world. Men play in teams of fifteen. Women play camogie in teams of twelve. The ball may be struck with the hurling stick (camn), kicked, or struck with the open hand but may only be lifted directly from the ground using the camn. The camn may be used to dispossess players when they release the ball from the hand. Physical contact is allowed, shoulder to shoulder.

The national game of hurling has been a distinctively Irish pastime for at least two thousand years. The earliest reference to it came from the early dawn of civilisation in this country. Until the late 1840's hurling had been played all over this island from at least the early Christian period.

As a sporting spectacle it has attracted the admiration of foreign visitors here for centuries. An the uniquely Celtic brand of ball game played with sticks it has survived invasions, wars, internal strife, famine and numerous official and semi-official attempts at its suppression.

Hurling features widely in rural folklore - played by moonlight, by fairy folk, on the surface of lakes and even under their waters. Much more real than any legend of folk-tale is the evidence supplied by the Brehon Laws of the place of hurling in the social life of pre-christian Ireland. These laws contained elaborate provisions for compensation to a person injured or killed by a hurley or a hurling ball.

From the Norman invasion in the twelfth century attempts were made to persuade or force the Irish to shed their racial distinctiveness. The parliament sitting in Kilkenny in 1367 argues that 'too much game playing led to neglect of military service and prohibited 'the play ... men call hurling with great sticks upon the ground'.

Shortly after this Archbishop Colton of Armagh threatened excommunication for Catholics who played hurling which led to 'Mortal sins, beatings and ... homicides'. In 1527 the Statute of Galway ordered loyal subjects 'at no time to use ... the hurling of the little ball with hockey sticks or staves.!

None of these attempts to kill hurling succeeded. Instead, the invaders themselves eventually took to the game. A ballad published in 1789 describes a hurling match, probably played in the 1400's, in south Wexford by Welsh settlers close to where the Normans had first landed.

In the 1600's many Gaelic Chieftains had their own teams of paid or hired hurlers

by Aisling Devane

 

Cúchulainn was an ancient Irish hero in mythologywhose originally named Setanta. Cúchulainn got his name because he killed the hound who guarded the craftsman, Culainn's, house. He promised to guard Culainn's house in place of the hound, until the smith could raise a new guard dog, and was thus called Cuchulainn, which means "The Hound of Culainn".

His father Lugh Lámhfhada was the god of light - one of the Tuath de Danaan, the gods of early Irish myth. His mother was Dechtire. His wife was called Emer.

At the age of five he left home to join the Red Branch Knights of the Ulster army. With him he took his hurley, his silver ball, his javelin and his spear. He would hit the silver ball with the hurley, leap forward and hit it a second time before it touched the ground, toss the javelin ahead and then the spear, run after them all, catch the ball and javelin with one hand and the spear with the other. When he reached the palace at Emain Macha (Armagh), Cúchulainn beat 150 boys at hurling. He was a born warrior and soon was living at the court of King Conor Mac Nessa. Cúchulainn became the leader of the Red Branch Knights.

Cuchulainn became Ulster's greatest hero, an Irish Achilles. When Queen Maeve of Connacht invaded Ulster and stole the king's prize bull, she put a curse on the fighting men of Ulster who were crippled at their most desperate hour. Only Cuchulainn, immune due to his divine heritage, was able to battle the raiders. This proved to be his last and greatest adventure. He died defending Ulster from the army of Queen Maeve, and drew his last breath tied to a pillar, with Morrigan (A Battle Goddess) perched in the form of a raven on his shoulder.