Thursday, April 14th

Today we went to Glasnevin, a cemetery housing over 1.5 million people. There are more

people in the cemetery than people living in Dublin. Before we went to Glasnevin, we had three lessons. The first lesson focused on science and was presented by Mr. Carey. The second lesson was on the topography of Ireland and was presented by Mr. O'Shea. The third and final lesson we had was an overview of the 1916 uprising and was presented by Mr. Doyle. During the science lesson we learned that the color of fire can change depending on what chemical is sprayed into the flame. During the Irish topography lesson we learned that Ireland has such a diverse landscape for a small island. The most beautiful landscapes in Ireland are found by the coast. The Wicklow mountains, which are just south of the city were formed by the tectonic plates colliding and pushing upwards. Millions of years ago the Wicklow Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains were the same mountain range, but as the plates moved away from each other so did the land. 400 million years ago the Wicklow mountains were taller than the Andes, but as time went on they eroded away. The final lesson of the morning was on the 1916 Uprising. The previous blogs have done a great job explaining the events that occurred during the 1916 Uprising, so I won't go into detail about that. After the lectures, the group hopped on a bus at the school and headed to Glasnevin. When we arrived at Glasnevin, we had some time to walk around the museum and learn a little bit about the history of Glasnevin before we experienced it ourselves. The first tomb we visited in the cemetery was that of Daniel O'Connell. Daniel O'Connell, often referred to as the liberator or the emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the early to mid 19th century. He campaigned for Catholic emancipation. His tomb was very grand. It was marked by a round tower, which looked over the whole cemetery. The inside of the
tomb was very beautiful. The designs on the wall were very detailed and intricate. After
O'Connell's tomb, we traveled to the burial site of Charles Stewart Parnell. Parnell wished to be buried among the common people. He also wished his burial site not be marked by a headstone, but eventually his burial site was marked with a giant boulder. After the tour, the group headed in for lunch at the tower cafe.