Ireland Part Three – Schools, Festivals & Fun in Ireland

Ross Castle: Photo © Copyright barbara walsh and licensed for reuse under [CC BY 2.0]

This week I returned to Killarney, Ireland, where my friends Caitlin and Aidan live. If you haven't seen my coloring page from Ireland yet, you can check it out under Part One of my adventure. It's includes the beautiful and grand Ross Castle (pictured above), right near Killarney. I wanted to learn more about my friends and their school, because how we learn can shape how we grow.

In Ireland, primary school is a lot like anywhere else. Kids go to primary school until about 11 or 12 years old then move to post-primary. They'll learn the same things as most schools: math, science, social studies, arts and health education. In Ireland, the children learn not only English, but some Irish too, to keep the old language alive.

Caitlin and Aidan go to a special school, St. Oliver's National School, that spends a lot of time teaching their kids about how to be world citizens, just like my friends in Mrs. Joyce's 3/4 J class in Australia! That means they learn about other countries, global issues like climate change, and how to treat others well by respecting themselves enough to do the right things.

This felt like an exceptional kind of place to me. Traveling the world like I do, it's always nice to see others thinking about the whole world as well! We only get one planet Earth, so it's up to all of us to take care of whatever parts we can.

I joined the kids in their sign language class and learned how to use sign language to "talk" to kids who can't hear. I need a lot more practice, and it's tricky when you have claws instead of fingers, but I think I learned a thing or two! After that, the kids went to a gardening class and everyone learned about how to plant and grow food. This is special because knowing where your food comes from is an important part of eating healthy and taking care of your body and the environment.

Below is a video to give you a better idea about what is taught at schools like St. Oliver's National School, which are part of a global network called Changemaker Schools created by the international organization, Ashoka.

During a recess, the kids played a game they called "shadows". Aidan explained it to me like this:

"This is a catching game, but you must stand on someone's shadow to catch them. Then, they are the chaser. If you are being chased you can run to a shaded place where you have no shadow, and then you are safe. You can only stay there while you count to 10 . If you crouch down low you have a smaller shadow and it's harder to stand on it."

The game was a lot of fun, and I was pretty good at it since I played a very similar game called "shadow stomping" with my friends Yoshiko and Akira when I visited Japan! In the afternoon they also had a yoga class! I had such a great time at the school, and I'm really excited to see them learning about the world as one big community.

Aran Islands: Photo By No machine-readable author provided. Sebd assumed (based on copyright claims). [GFDL], [CC-BY-SA-3.0] or [CC BY 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons

A few days later I traveled north to a city called Galway. Galway has a fascinating history. It began as a fishing village but over many years, and many wars, was eventually run by the 14 Tribes of Galway: 14 families who ran successful merchant businesses that traded with Europe. In 1654 the English Parliament took over the trading in Galway, taking away much of the political power of the Tribes, but the people there are still very proud of their history and lineage. 

Tribes of Galway-Eyre Square: By Eoin Gardiner [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons 

And they should be! Galway is also known for their impressive festivals. They have a festival for almost every month of the year! This month is the famous Galway International Arts Festival. When I arrived, there were people lining the streets waiting for the day's festivities to begin.

This year the festival is going from July 11th to the 24th. It really is an amazing sight to see! I saw street performers doing everything from music to dance to acrobatics. There was even a man jumping around on stilts! There are plays, music performances, comedy, and visual arts demonstrations.

Crowd Waiting for Galway Arts Festival Street Parade: Photo By Peter Clarke at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

I think one of my favorites was by a man named  Francisco de Pájaro, from Barcelona, Spain. He likes to take trash and turn in into works of art! His little people made from trash bags are so much fun to look at because it's easy to imagine them coming to life. Since humanity generates 3.5 million tonnes of garbage per day, it is pretty nice to see some of it being put to use, and promoting art too! Have you ever recycled garbage into art? Try using a toilet paper roll to make crafts, or turning an old jam jar into something pretty. Here's a cute animated video of Francisco in action:

There were giant bug sculptures too, and those were awesome! Some had moving parts and even breathed fire! One group, the Les P’Tits Bras’ ("The Scent of Sawdust") is a 19th century style circus group that performed amazing feats of strength and agility.

Please check out the pictures and videos below to see and learn more.

Scene from the Galway Arts Festival Parade: Photo By Peter Clarke at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Fish on the move - Galway Arts Festival Parade: Photo By Peter Clarke (Own work) [GFDL] or [CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0] via Wikimedia Commons

Celtic Knot

I really enjoyed the arts festival because of all of the culture and creativity. While I was in Galway, and pretty much anywhere else in Ireland, I kept seeing these fancy knot designs drawn or engraved in things. Caitlin explained that they are called "Celtic knots". They always have no start and no end, sometimes being as simple as a triangle-like shape, sometimes much more complicated.

The triangle shape is called Triquetra, and is special to the Irish because it represents many things that come in threes like:

• Spirit, Mind, Body

• Father, Son, Holy Ghost

• Mother, Father, Child

• Past, Present, Future

If you'd like to learn how to make one, try these instructions:

1. Cut three identical strips of paper the shape of the yellow strip in the picture.

2. Place them on a sheet of paper, gluing or taping only the ends down, to make the shape in the picture.

3. Remember to weave them over and under each other.

4. Try to come up with other designs using other shapes and the same over/under process. And remember, it should be connected from beginning to end.

Here are a couple examples:

Slán (goodbye) friends and see you next week!

-Joy Sun Bear