Author: Jillian Robinson

The revolutionary period in Irish history was the period in the 1910s and early 1920s when Irish nationalist opinion shifted from the Home Rule-supporting Irish Parliamentary Party to the republican Sinn Féin movement. There were several waves of civil unrest linked to Ulster loyalism, trade unionism, and physical force republicanism, leading to the Irish War of Independence, the creation of the independent Irish Free State, the Partition of Ireland, and the Irish Civil War. Noreen and Megan are very interested in history and created this interesting project based on Irish History 1917-1922.

Please click this link to view their project:

Irish History 1917-1922

This short video shows Noreen sharing her wisdom with her friends:

Music is a wonderful medium for bringing people together. John Sexton and Ronan Mullane both share a love for music. John wrote this song entitled ‘What People May Say’ and performed it  with the help of Ronan who is playing the guitar.

Adare was built in the 13th century as a heritage town on the Maigue river. It was a market town in the Middle Ages. In the 18th century the thatched houses that Adare is known for were built by the Earl of Dunraven. In 1232 the church built a monastery which was later restored in 1852 by the Countess of Dunraven. This interesting project created by Maurice Hannigan and Sean Salamh provides information on the history of the towns Castle and Manor.

To view Maurice and Sean’s project please click this link:

Maurice Hannigan and Sean Salamah- Adare History

Click on this link to view more interesting facts about the village of Adare:

https://adarevillage.com/

 

 

Many people know the tune ‘An Irish Lullaby’ from the singing of Bing Crosby (Going My Way, 1944), it was originally written by J.R. Shannon (1881-1946) in 1913. It premiered in Chauncey Olcott’s New York stage production of Shameen Dhu (Black Haired Jimmy.)  Many Irish people  learned it from their grandparents and it is still popular today. The wonderful Mary Cronin sang the song at our final intergenerational workshop- fantastic!

Irish Lullaby Lyrics

Over in Killarney, many years ago
My mother sang a song to me
in tones so sweet and low
Just a simple little ditty
in her good old Irish way
And I’d give the world if she could sing
that song to me this day

Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, hush now, don’t you cry!
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, that’s an Irish lullaby.

Oft in dreams I wander
to that cot again.
I feel her arms a-hugging me
As when she held me then.
And I hear her voice a-hummin’
to me as in the days of yore,
when she used to rock me fast asleep
outside the cabin door.

Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, hush now, don’t you cry!
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, that’s an Irish lullaby.

The audience were captivated by Mary’s rendition of the song

The history of Irish currency reflects Ireland’s political development over the last 1000 years. It began with the Vikings, who hammered out the very first Irish coins in Dublin in the 10th century. This interesting project was created by Mary Guiry and Kayla Mc Mahon.

Click this link yo view their project:

Mary Guiry and Kayla Mc Mahon- The History of Irish Currency