Borrisoleigh TY students take a trip to Craggaunowen

By Anna Fitzgerald

Last Thursday, the TYs at St. Joseph's College, Borrisoleigh, took a historical trip to Craggaunowen, Co. Clare, where they learned about the way of life in ancient Ireland.

Our first task was to learn how to make a wattle and daub wall.

We then visited the crannogs, which were little huts that the druid lived in, and learned about life in the Bronze Age.

It was interesting to learn that during this time, the druids gave a symbol, usually different trees, for the first letter in your name.

During our workshop, we made clay pots similar to the ones they would have used during this time.

After this, we made our way back through the woods to the 16th-century castle, where a woman dressed in medieval clothes was sitting in front of a spinning wheel.

Thurles school choir perform at Mass celebrating 250 years of the Ursuline sisters in Ireland

She showed us how to spin wool with both a spinning wheel and an oldbronze-age wool spinner, and we learned the history of wool spinning and how it dates to hundreds of years ago.

We all got to use carding brushes for separating the wool.

Our last activity was to braid our own bracelets.

We returned to Borrisoleigh feeling tired and closer to their ancestors than ever.