A trip to the Phoenix Park
On 19th April, Ruth’s 6th class had the pleasure of being joined by Paul Rouse for a historical tour of the Phoenix Park. We stopped off en route in Arbour Hill cemetery, where we learned about the signatories of the proclamation and about JFK’s visit in 1963.
We then made our way to the entrance of the Phoenix Park where Paul read us some of the very interesting bye-laws (and we saw Leo Varadkar going for a jog!)
Next we visited the Victorian People’s Flower Garden and learnt about its history.
We found out lots of interesting information about the bandstand before breaking for a snack (and lots of running around!).
Learning about the history of the zoo was really interesting and Paul also told us about the Tailteann Games which were held in the park in 1924. Did you know that over 5,000 athletes came to compete in the event, including Johnny Weismuller, who played Tarzan? We thought it was fascinating that he competed in the swimming competition which was held in the pond in the zoo!
Our class loves sport so we really enjoyed learning about the history of polo and cricket in the park, along with lots of other sports too!
It was fun to stop by the Áras and find out more about it.
One of the highlights of the trip was our search for a small white cross placed in the ground to commemorate Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Henry Burke who were fatally stabbed in Phoenix Park in Dublin on 6 May 1882.
We rounded off our trip with visits to the Papal Cross, the Magazine Fort and a fun game of chasing around the Wellington Monument. We had such a fun day!
