Architecture Module

    Architecture Module

For our architecture module, all the girls in our form teamed up to create a tree-house out of lolly pop sticks and other materials. It took us very long to decide what we would create but when we eventually did decide, we never looked back. We had great fun making the treehouse and we were awarded an A for our efforts. It was very good to be able to work with others and create a solid project together.

Dublin Museums

    A trip to the Dublin Museums

            It was such a nice treat to be able to spend a day in the centre of Dublin and to be able to get a chance to visit museums that even though are so close to us we actually never find the time to visit. Our form classes all split up and it was actually really great to be able to spend the day chatting just to people in my form and I think we all found ourselves bonding as a form class. In the morning we were given the freedom to do a bit of shopping and go for a coffee on  Grafton Street and we all had fun browsing the shops and some of us grabbed a hot chocolate from Butlers (you can’t beat their hot chocolate!!). 

          Mid-morning we headed off to the National Gallery of Ireland in Merrion Square West. Although I am not very interested in art, I surprisingly found myself enthralled by the beautiful gallery and magnificent paintings that surrounded us. I think my sense of awe was definitely enhanced by our fantastic guide Valerie who's passion for the paintings and the artists themselves helped us to become really interested in all the art shown. We got up close and personal with Caravaggio’s The taking of Christ and Valerie explained different features of Caravaggio’s work. It was magnificent to see such a famous and brilliant piece of work and it was very funny when Ms. Ni Mhairtin touched one of the paintings and nearly made the alarm system go off. We were nearly crying with laughter! We also got to see Monet’s Basin with a Single Sail Boat which was beautiful and so perfect until we learnt from Valerie that this perfect painting had actually been vandalised in 2014. The first thought that ran through my head was how could someone damage this amazing painting in any shape or form. As I am quite interested in criminal law and court cases I asked Valerie to explain what happened and I was told the story and all about his trial and he got prosecuted with 6 years in prison. It was fascinating to hear about this case and the damaging of the painting. 

               After the National Gallery of Ireland, we all split up for lunch and myself and a few of the girls went to Wagamama’s for lunch. When lunch was over, our form met back at The National History Museum beside the Dail. RTE was even there to greet us when we arrived, only joking! They were just awaiting some TD’s coming out of the dail but all the same it was a nice thought to be famous for a minute! We walked around the museum for about an hour and as I am doing history for the Leaving Cert I found it very interesting to look at some of the artefacts and I even got to see the Ardagh Chalice, The Tara Broach and a lunalae. Seeing these artefacts in a history book compared to in real life is no comparison and it was great to be able to see them so closely. 

             Overall, it was a good day and it was really great to be given independence and trust on the day out. I learnt so much about art and history so it was a really worthwhile trip. 

Croke park and Glasnevin Cemetery

           A Cultural trip to Croke Park and Glasnevin Cemetery 

          We went on an Irish Culture trip to Croke Park and Glasnevin Cemetery in order to get an insight into the history that surrounds us and also to see famous elements of Ireland. In the morning we travelled first to Croke Park and were given a full tour of the dressing rooms and the pitch, it was amazing to get that personal insight into how Croke Park is ran and we were even in the same room  as One Direction were once in. We had full access to the dressing rooms where different teams prep before their match and we were shown the astro-turf where they practice and warm up right before the game. We got the opportunity to walk out onto the pitch as if we were players about to play a match which was very cool and we got to stand in the place the winning teams stand when they are presented with their trophies and prizes. The tour guide took us all the way up to the top of the seating area and we looked right down on the pitch which was quite unpleasant if you are scared of heights but also breathtaking. We then played some interactive games to do with GAA which were very fun and after we finished our tour we went to the lovely cafe in Croke Park and grabbed lunch. I think we were all very thankful to have a really interesting and enthusiastic guide who was brilliant. 

               With the Croke Par tour finished we hopped back on the bus and ventured to Glasnevin Cementry which I expected to be quite boring but actually ended up being very engrossing and intriguing. Dublin’s Glasnevin Cemetery is the final resting place of many famous Irish people. Opened in the 1830s with high walls and seven watchtowers that were to be manned by armed guards to deter bodysnatchers, the cemetery is practically a 'Who’s Who' of key historical figures. Some of these include Daniel O’Connell, Called the “Great Liberator,” O’Connell was an Irish political leader and a campaigner for Catholic Emancipation and the repeal of the Act of Union, Charles Stewart Parnell, The founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, who was sent to an early grave by a scandalous adultery case, and  Eamonn De Valera, A leader in Ireland’s struggle for independence, founder of the Fianna Fail political party, and de Valera also served as Prime Minister and President of Ireland. Glasnevin had a new phone system installed for his funeral. Not only did we get to learn about these people but we even got to stand right beside their grave. Everyone touched Daniel O’Connell’s grave as it is said that if you touch it, it will bring you good luck. 

                    Overall, the trip was very good as I learnt a lot about historic figures and the runnings of Croke Park. 

Making a difference in Festina Lente

   Difference Day

                  

            Difference day was a rewarding, challenging and stimulating day. Difference day was a day to make a change in our community and we chose to make a change in Festina Lente. Festina Lente is an embracing not-for-profit organisation which provides a range of occupational, learning and employment opportunities for people whose needs have not been met in mainstream services.The organisation work with adults with intellectual or physical disabilities and offer horse riding lessons and other services. Festina Lente give so much to the community so we decided to give back to Festina Leinte by fundraising and renovating the grounds. 

             The day before Difference day, everyone in TY took part in the 3 peak challenge in order to raise money for Festina Lente so we could re-vamp parts of the organisations grounds. We arrived down at Festina Lente at 9:00am and immediately got into our working groups where we all carried out various jobs in order to clean the grounds and just make the place look a little brighter. My team was to sand and paint the outside of the reception building, which when finished looked absolutely amazing, so fresh and brand new looking, we were quite impressed with our painting and sanding skills! We even got to wear those cool white painting overalls which got quite messy in the process of painting. 

             

The rest of the year were doing other various jobs like hanging up the beautiful, impressive murals some of the artistic TYs painted, gardening, painting the arena, and replacing the boards around the arena with new ones. It was such a successful day and everyone worked so hard together in order to really make a difference in Festina Leinte. A huge thank you to Mr Denis O’Reilly who helped organise everything and early gave us the motivation to make a difference. 

A Sponsored walk for Festina Lente

   3 Peaks Challenge

              Taking part in the 3 peaks challenge was definitely a huge challenge for everyone in TY but we definitely reaped the benefits of it. The reason we decided to take part in the 3 peaks challenge was to fundraise for Festina Lente for our Difference day, where we would clean and paint the grounds of Festina Lente. We each got people we know to sponsor us and everyone raised €100 each which went towards buying supplies like paint and sandpaper. 

           

             Once we got ourselves sponsored and raised the money, we started the 3 peak challenge. We walked 17km in one day, 17km mightn't sound too difficult but trust me, it was challenging! We hiked up the sugarloaf, a smaller sugarloaf, and Bray head. Fortunately for us, it was the hottest day of the year with the sun shimmering on our faces and the opportunity for us to bask in the hot weather, we even managed to get sun burnt! At each peak we reached we would take pictures of the beautiful scenes or just admire the surrounding countryside. It was so nice to do the 3 peak challenge as we knew we were walking for a good cause. 

          

                

As we walked along in the boiling weather, we chatted among ourselves and tried not to complain too much about the steep hills we were attempting to climb! Although it was exhausting, it is great to be able to say that I climbed 3 peaks and did it for a fantastic organisation like Festina Lente who deserve the funding and awareness. The 3 peaks challenge was a brilliant day and it ended on a high note when we all got ice-cream on Bray sea front. It was a rewarding fulfilling day that had incredible outcomes .

A Legal Studies Correspondence Course with DCU

         Law Assignment 4 with DCU’s Legal Studies Course

Law Assignment four was about Precedent and Reading a case. This assignment helped me to interpret a legal case and read in a way that highlights the relevant answers that will apply to the questions asked.  In this assignment, I read an English case called R v. Blaue. “R” stands for “Regina” (i.e. the Queen of England) – the case is a criminal case, where the crown is prosecuting a defendant, who is Mr. Blaue. The case took place in 1975, and relates to a man who stabbed a woman who was a practicing Jehovah’s Witness. Because of her religious beliefs, the woman refused a blood transfusion, and died. The Court had to establish whether the man could be convicted, even though the woman partly caused her own death by refusing medical help. 

This was a challenging yet interesting case which taught me about the chain of causation in a case. Questions like ‘what are the facts of this case’, ‘explain the reasons for the trial judge’s summing up’ and ‘what conclusion does the judge draw in the end and what were his reasonings’ were asked and I tried my very best to answer them in the clearest logical way. 

My feedback from my tutor was very good and she noted that yet again that I had submitted an excellent assignment and clearly understood what was asked of me throughout the assignment. She wrote that some of the questions were ambiguous and could go either way but the way I had answered them was the correct interpretation. I was very grateful for the good feedback and every week I feel like I am getting a bit stronger and better at writing my assignments. 

Unfortunately, I only have two more assignments left and assignment 5 is coming up soon. It is based on capital punishment which I find a very interesting topic. In assignment 5 the questions are of a more argumentative style which suits me as I love to debate different issues. I’ll have to add capital punishment to the list of possible debate topics after I'm finished this assignment! 

SVP Talk

      A talk with St. Vincent De Paul

         

            Recently, all the TYs were invited to a talk with Claire, a woman representing the charity St Vincent De Paul. We were all very eager to attend as we have already done so much work with SVP, from hamper packing to clothes drives to bag packing. I personally, did 13 weeks community service in a SVP thrift shop so I already have personal experience with this worthwhile charity and I was looking forward to the talk. 

          
    Claire used a bright powerpoint presentation to aide her talk and although her voice was very quiet she was quite engaging. She discussed the youth aspects of SVP and how we as young people can put our talents and initiative into helping SVP. Claire taught us about Frederic Ozanam who founded the organisation and told us how SVP developed into he well-known charity it is today.Ireland is part of the international Society which is represented in over 140 countries: having 700,000 members and 1.5m volunteers : 51,000 Conferences: helping 30 million poor throughout the world.

           

       
               In St Gerards, we have a SVP conference run by the 5th years who are all members and they fundraise and spread awareness for SVP. Claire talked to us about how worthwhile working with SVP can be and how we should get involved with the SVP conference next year. I really would like to continue working with SVP so I will definitely apply to be on the conference next year. 

           Overall, I learnt a lot from Claire and the talk really inspired me to get even more involved with the charity of St. Vincent De Paul.