By Niamh Ní Chonaill, Transition Year Student At Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí
Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí’s transition year students with our two teachers Máistir Breathnach and Iníon Ní Shé travelled up to Ratheniska, Co. Laois to visit the National Ploughing Championships on Wednesday.
It was an early morning for all as the bus left the school at 7.30am and a long journey to Laois. A stop for breakfast in the Obama Plaza in Moneygall gave everyone a well needed break and a chance to stretch our legs before we hit the long line of traffic in Stradbally.
We were greeted by blue skies when we arrived, the weather on our side once again. We relished the opportunity to be out in the fresh air after being cramped in the bus for the best part of four hours.
We made our way into the ploughing championships and were all shocked by the rows upon rows of stalls and huge crowds of people which we were greeted by, particularly those of us who had never been to the event before.
Wednesday was the busiest day of the championships with over 124,000 people attending. There was a great atmosphere around and everybody was in high spirits.
We then spent the next three hours ambling around the stalls, sampling food, collecting the free goodies that were on offer and looking at the amazing displays that were on show. We also paid a visit to the bazaar and some of the more traditional aspects of the Ploughing Championships such as horse shows and sheepdog trials.
It was a fantastic day for everyone, even if we didn’t see very much ploughing! It was a great opportunity to spend time together outside of school and we are all looking forward to our next trip.
The Transition Students from Gaelcholaiste Chiarrai who travelled to the Ploughing Championships on Wednesday.
