School Tours 2023
Senior Infant School Tour to Moher Hill Farm
On Wednesday the 24th of May senior infants went on their school tour to Moher Hill Farm. We left first thing in the morning on the bus. We were so excited. When we arrived there we met a man who gave us food to feed the animals. We all got one bag of animal food each.
First, we fed the crazy sheep. They were black and white. They could see us but we couldn’t see their eyes at all because they were so fluffy! Next, we fed the little lambs. They were really cute. After that, we saw two llamas. One was white and one was brown. We also fed the Kunekune pigs. We couldn’t hold out our hands to feed them in case they bit us so we threw the food in for them. The pigs were really loud.
We even saw the tallest bird in the world, the ostrich and the second-tallest bird in the world, the emu. They were so big! Our teacher Niamh was really scared when feeding the Emus. Sarah was better but Margaret was the best at feeding the animals. She is so brave!
There were also calves, goats, ducks, horses and donkeys. The donkeys were really loud. We would hear them from the other side of the farm. We also held a bunny. The bunny’s name was Joe. We really liked doing this.
Later we visited the geese. The geese had spikey teeth so we had to throw the food into them instead of feeding them by hand. We also saw Pygmy goats. There was one baby goat who wouldn’t stop screaming. We saw highland cows from Scotland. They have big horns and had so much hair to keep them warm in the cold. We also saw raccoons from North America. We think they were scared of us because some of them hid behind nettles.
After the animals, we ate our lunch together in the play area. Then we played in the playground, soft play area, sand pit and with go-karts. We were so excited to get to bounce on a massive bouncy castle. We had so much fun together.
After an amazing experience we left to go back to the school on the bus.
By Diarmuid O Malley, Erin Waters, Erin Maloney, and Oran Malone.
School Tours 2022
Ice-Skating
Ice Skating: On 13th Dec 6th class went ice skating in Limerick. We left at 9.45 am and arrived at 10.30 am. We got there early so we could have a snack before we put on our slates. When we first went on the ice it was very slippy! It was also quite cold, so we wrapped up in warm clothes. We were allowed on the ice rink for an hour before we had a snack and headed back on the bus. Most of us fell a few times, but we got back up again. We had lots of fun! On the way home we were surprised with a visit to Newmarket on Fergus playground. We played hide and seek in the playground. We really enjoyed our day out.
By Isabelle O’ Doherty and Ava Harte
Junior Infant School Tour to Lee’s Road
We went to Lee’s road on school tour. We all went there on a big white and black bus. It was so much fun. We brought our lunch and some treats with us in our bags, we were so excited. When we got to Lee’s road we played lots of games with the parachute, played soccer and went to the playground. We also went for a long walk in the woods, we saw birds, a bumblebee, and lots of dogs, and we think even maybe saw bear tracks. We went on the wooden playground too and even played in a house made of sticks. We drove back to school but stopped for ice-creams on the way. We had such a fun time that some of us even fell asleep on the way back to school.
By Lucy O’ Keeffe, Albie Johnson, Amy Mc Inerney and Erin Waters
Senior Infants Tour to Moher Hill Farm
On Tuesday 21st June we went to Moher Hill farm on School Tour with Niamh, Sinéad, Claire, Louise and Ursula. We all got on a big bus and waved goodbye to everyone. First we stopped at Lahinch and went to the playground there, after that we went to down to beach and sat on the rocks to eat our lunch. We then got back on the bus and went to the farm. We got to do loads of different fun activities there. We drove go karts, played in giant sandpit, a bouncy castle, a ball pit and a playground. We were so busy having so much fun. We went on a walk through a fairy garden, and then Martin the farmer brought us on a big walk to meet all the animals. He gave everyone a little bag of animal food. We saw lots of animals, lambs, sheep, goats, racoons, ducks, deer, bunnies, guinea pigs, turtles, ponies and we left little bits of food on the fences for them to eat. Some of us were really brave and even let the animals eat out of our hands. At the end of the walk Niamh tried to feed the Emu. She was really scared at first because the emu had a sharp beak but she got brave and fed him, we all cheered. At the end of the tour we got back on the bus to go home. We had a great day and would love to meet the animals again.
By Michael Kennedy, Alex O Donnell, Dara O’Connor and Emily Ryan
First Class Tour to the Aillwee Caves and Birds of Prey
On Wednesday 22nd June we went to the Aillwee caves on School Tour with Amy and Mary. When we got there we met our guide, she told us lots of cool interesting facts about the caves. We were shocked to learn that 10,000 years ago bears lived in the caves. She also told us that
the caves were discovered by a man named Jack McCann who found the caves after his dog chased a rabbit into them. She guided us through the caves and showed us loads of different things there such as stalactites and stalagmites, we also saw an underground waterfall. The cave was really damp and when the guide turned off the lights it was pitch black and we couldn’t see a thing. We couldn’t even see our hands in front of our faces.
When we got out of the caves we walked down to the “Birds of Prey Arena”. We saw a Bateleur Eagle from Africa named Batty, a Barn owl named Jess and a Falcon called Simon. Simon did lots of tricks for us. His handler threw a rope high up in the air and Simon had to try and catch it. He was super fast and we were all amazed. After that we went to the dolmen Poulnabrone to eat our lunch and while we were there we spotted some old Irish writing on an Ogham stone. Altogether we had a fantastic day.
By Jesse O’ Driscoll and Patrick Brooks
3rd class trip to Cragganowen/The Planet:
On June 9th we went on our tour to Cragganowen. In Cragganowen we saw donkeys, goats and boars. We went inside huts. It was really dark and there was a hole in the roof. There were stools inside the huts to sit on. There was also wet straw on the floor. We also saw the boat used by St Brendan on his voyage to America. We also saw the Fulacht Fia which was used to cook food. We ate our lunch, got back on the bus and went to The Planet. Here we played laser tag and bowling. We had a really great time on our tour.
By Lily Mc Mahon and Dylan Mc Inerney
Fourth Class tour to Mullaghmore
On Wednesday 22nd of June Fourth Class went on a school tour to Mullaghmore with Anne, Saoirse, Colm, Michelle and Diane. The bus had to drive us through the Burren to get there so we saw lots of beautiful sites on the way such as flowers, lots of rocks, trees and we all
thought that Mullaghmore looked like a giant cinnamon bun from far away. When we got there we walked along a track and saw loads of different wildflowers like the bloody cranesbill, the dog rose, orchids and even saw two little frogs. When we got onto Mullaghmore we befriended two local dogs, we named them Peg and Eddie. We think they could have been the unofficial guides of the mountain so we were glad of their company and their guidance. When we got half way to the top we stopped for a snack and a quick rest. After this the climb got steeper and our legs were getting very tired and sore. We eventually got to the top and we started cheering everyone on once they got there, it was good fun. We had our lunch at the top and then decided to do a bit of rock climbing for fun. Saoirse then encouraged us to have a “Mindful Moment”, so we closed our eyes and listened to all the different sounds on the mountain. We opened our eyes and took in all the beautiful views. It looked like there was a few different types of weather on all sides of the mountain. We even saw Father Ted’s house and Michelle played the theme tune for us too. We took a different route coming down, and it seemed way faster to us. We got back on the bus and went for ice-cream before coming back to school. Overall it was a great day and we can’t wait to go up again and hopefully bump into Peg and Eddie again.
By Ayda Ryan, Jessica Hassett, Ella Johnson and Isabelle Mangan
Junior Infant School Tour to Lee’s Road
We went to Lee’s road on school tour. We all went there on a big white and black bus. It was so much fun. We brought our lunch and some treats with us in our bags, we were so excited. When we got to Lee’s road we played lots of games with the parachute, played soccer and went to the playground. We also went for a long walk in the woods, we saw birds, a bumblebee, and lots of dogs, and we think even maybe saw bear tracks. We went on the wooden playground too and even played in a house made of sticks. We drove back to school but stopped for ice-creams on the way. We had such a fun time that some of us even fell asleep on the way back to school.
By Lucy O’ Keeffe, Albie Johnson, Amy Mc Inerney and Erin Waters
Senior Infants Tour to Moher Hill Farm
On Tuesday 21st June we went to Moher Hill farm on School Tour with Niamh, Sinéad, Claire, Louise and Ursula. We all got on a big bus and waved goodbye to everyone. First we stopped at Lahinch and went to the playground there, after that we went to down to beach and sat on the rocks to eat our lunch. We then got back on the bus and went to the farm. We got to do loads of different fun activities there. We drove go karts, played in giant sandpit, a bouncy castle, a ball pit and a playground. We were so busy having so much fun. We went on a walk through a fairy garden, and then Martin the farmer brought us on a big walk to meet all the animals. He gave everyone a little bag of animal food. We saw lots of animals, lambs, sheep, goats, racoons, ducks, deer, bunnies, guinea pigs, turtles, ponies and we left little bits of food on the fences for them to eat. Some of us were really brave and even let the animals eat out of our hands. At the end of the walk Niamh tried to feed the Emu. She was really scared at first because the emu had a sharp beak but she got brave and fed him, we all cheered. At the end of the tour we got back on the bus to go home. We had a great day and would love to meet the animals again.
By Michael Kennedy, Alex O Donnell, Dara O’Connor and Emily Ryan
First Class Tour to the Aillwee Caves and Birds of Prey
On Wednesday 22nd June we went to the Aillwee caves on School Tour with Amy and Mary. When we got there we met our guide, she told us lots of cool interesting facts about the caves. We were shocked to learn that 10,000 years ago bears lived in the caves. She also told us that
the caves were discovered by a man named Jack McCann who found the caves after his dog chased a rabbit into them. She guided us through the caves and showed us loads of different things there such as stalactites and stalagmites, we also saw an underground waterfall. The cave was really damp and when the guide turned off the lights it was pitch black and we couldn’t see a thing. We couldn’t even see our hands in front of our faces.
When we got out of the caves we walked down to the “Birds of Prey Arena”. We saw a Bateleur Eagle from Africa named Batty, a Barn owl named Jess and a Falcon called Simon. Simon did lots of tricks for us. His handler threw a rope high up in the air and Simon had to try and catch it. He was super fast and we were all amazed. After that we went to the dolmen Poulnabrone to eat our lunch and while we were there we spotted some old Irish writing on an Ogham stone. Altogether we had a fantastic day.
By Jesse O’ Driscoll and Patrick Brooks
3rd class trip to Cragganowen/The Planet:
On June 9th we went on our tour to Cragganowen. In Cragganowen we saw donkeys, goats and boars. We went inside huts. It was really dark and there was a hole in the roof. There were stools inside the huts to sit on. There was also wet straw on the floor. We also saw the boat used by St Brendan on his voyage to America. We also saw the Fulacht Fia which was used to cook food. We ate our lunch, got back on the bus and went to The Planet. Here we played laser tag and bowling. We had a really great time on our tour.
By Lily Mc Mahon and Dylan Mc Inerney
Fourth Class tour to Mullaghmore
On Wednesday 22nd of June Fourth Class went on a school tour to Mullaghmore with Anne, Saoirse, Colm, Michelle and Diane. The bus had to drive us through the Burren to get there so we saw lots of beautiful sites on the way such as flowers, lots of rocks, trees and we all
thought that Mullaghmore looked like a giant cinnamon bun from far away. When we got there we walked along a track and saw loads of different wildflowers like the bloody cranesbill, the dog rose, orchids and even saw two little frogs. When we got onto Mullaghmore we befriended two local dogs, we named them Peg and Eddie. We think they could have been the unofficial guides of the mountain so we were glad of their company and their guidance. When we got half way to the top we stopped for a snack and a quick rest. After this the climb got steeper and our legs were getting very tired and sore. We eventually got to the top and we started cheering everyone on once they got there, it was good fun. We had our lunch at the top and then decided to do a bit of rock climbing for fun. Saoirse then encouraged us to have a “Mindful Moment”, so we closed our eyes and listened to all the different sounds on the mountain. We opened our eyes and took in all the beautiful views. It looked like there was a few different types of weather on all sides of the mountain. We even saw Father Ted’s house and Michelle played the theme tune for us too. We took a different route coming down, and it seemed way faster to us. We got back on the bus and went for ice-cream before coming back to school. Overall it was a great day and we can’t wait to go up again and hopefully bump into Peg and Eddie again.
By Ayda Ryan, Jessica Hassett, Ella Johnson and Isabelle Mangan
5th class trip to Derg Isle Adventure Centre
On May 31st we went to Derg Isle Adventure centre. When we get there we got changed. Firstly we went to the obstacle course area. We had to go through tyres, over wooden poles, climb over nets, and jump over and under barriers. After the obstacle course, we did team games, where we had to work in teams of about 8 to solve puzzles and complete tasks. We then put on lifejackets and went kayaking. When we were kayaking the man on the speedboat started to make waves which meant it was more difficult for us and more fun for us. We were able to get out of the kayaks and float on the water. In between the obstacle course and the kayaking we had our lunch. Some people also chose to do stand-up paddling. We had a really good day!
By Ava O Halloran and Alex Fennell
Sixth Class Tour to Inis Oirr
On Thursday the 23rd of June Sixth Class went on their school trip to Inis Oirr. We had been looking forward to it for ages. We all met at Doolin Pier at 10 o clock in the morning and got on the boat, checking in at the hostel on the island at 10.30. Mr Curran, Mary, Mr O Reilly, Edel, Colm and Ewelina all came with us. The weather was beautiful on the first day and we were allowed our own bit of freedom initially to explore around where we were staying. Then we went swimming at the beach, it was good fun but that water was freezing. Mr Curran, Mr O Reilly and Colm were brave and jumped in too, much to our surprise. That night Saoirse cooked us a delicious chicken curry and afterwards, we went to a céilí at the Irish College. We were dancing for about an hour and all the instructions were in Irish, so we had great fun speaking Irish to each other. We walked down to the Plassy Shipwreck at about 11pm, built a bonfire and had yummy smores. After that, we went back to the hostel, but we could barely sleep with excitement as it was like being on the biggest sleepover ever with all of our friends.
On Friday, the weather was horrible, it rained all day but we made the best of it. We had a tasty fry for breakfast and spent the morning playing charades, board games and cards. After we took a spin around the island on the Wanderly Wagon and saw all the sites such as the lighthouse, the Plassy, old cottages and lots of cows. That was really good fun. Then we went for dinner in the restaurant and started packing up to go home. The trip back was a bit choppy, but thankfully no one got sick. Some of the teachers looked a bit green but they managed to keep it together.
Altogether we had an amazing time in Inis Oirr and we will remember it forever, so we want to give a huge thank you to all the teachers for organising it.
By Leanne Dixon, Aoife Reynolds and Laura Warner
Knockanean National School 