More photo’s will follow from our Third and Fourth Class
Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Classes had a very busy action packed school tour visiting Downpatrick Head, the Céide Fields before concluding at Wild Wet Adventure’s at Lough Talt.
We had an early start at Downpatrick Head where we were met by Gretta Manager of the Céide Fields Visitor Centre who kindly gave us a fantastic insight into the physical landscape and the legends that are associated with it.
It really was an open air History and Geography lesson where we explored the various rock types and formations before walking to the exciting blowholes on the headland and examining how they were formed. We heard of the connections with St.Patrick and explored the ruins of an old church.
It was then we saw Dún Bríste for the first time standing impressively away from the sea cliffs, we talked of how sea stacks were formed and even heard of the ruins of houses on top of it! We ended our visit hearing of the connections with World War 2 with the look out post for planes and ships and saw where Éire was carved into the landscape with stone to ensure all sides were in no doubt where they were flying over!
We then made the short trip to the Céide Fields where we learned much about how Stone Age people lived. The remains give a unique insight into the daily lives of some of Mayo’s earliest inhabitants
The story of the discovery of the Céide Fields happened by chance. In the 1930s, a local man named Patrick Caulfield noticed something unusual when he was cutting turf in the bog. As the peat was cut away piles of stone were revealed. The stones were arranged in a way that suggested they had been placed there by humans. Because it takes many thousands of years for bog to form, Mr. Caulfield knew that people had made these piles many, many years before.
Some years passed and Mr. Caulfield’s son, who had become an archaeologist, carried out further investigations into the stones in the bog. It was not long before the importance of the site became clear.Evidence showed that farming had been practised in the area more than five thousand years before. These early Mayo farmers divided land up with stone walls, cultivated their fields, kept animals and grew crops.
We all viewed the wonderful exhibition in the visitor centre before walking through the bog and seeing at first hand the aforementioned remains. It was a very interesting ned to our morning.
The final leg of our journey took us to Lough Talt where we incorporated some fun activities such as Stand up Paddle Boarding, Kayaking and Canoeing with an exciting hike to the Frenchman’s Grave on Humbert’s Way. This was a most enjoyable way to conclude our tour. We returned to school exhausted after our exciting school tour!
