This week at Kinsale Community School marked the celebration of History Week. The purpose of this week is to celebrate our local history, our past, to bring history to life for students and to reflect on the importance of studying History. We had many activities and events planned throughout the week with our Junior Cycle History students, our Senior Cycle History students and our staff.

History Themed Scavenger Hunt

The week began with a scavenger hunt, where students had to guess the historical places around the school. From the Proclamation outside the school, to the plaque honouring Holocaust survivor Tomi Reichental, this activity brought history to life for students and opened their eyes to the historical benchmarks around the school campus.

Shannon Forde - ‘Don’t Forget Me Now’ Presentation

Our Senior Cycle students welcomed past-pupil Shannon Forde on Tuesday, the 15th of March. Shannon, a local historian, spoke to the students about the War of Independence in Kinsale and the presence of Cumann na mBan during this time. She read excerpts from her book ‘Don’t Forget Me Now’ and followed with a questions and answers session which allowed students to learn more about the topic, and about studying history at University.

Kinsale Historical Walking Tours - Barry Moloney

Mr Hartnett’s 2nd Year classes took an historical walking tour throughout Kinsale, guided by Barry Moloney, another local historian. Again, bringing history to life in the community around us.

History Art Work

Our students created some lovely pieces of art work which highlighted the importance of history and also some comparative pictures of Kinsale past and present.

History Themed Wordle & Kahoot Quizzes

Ms Hayley Fitzgerald and Mr Josh McCarthy put together some very exciting History themed Kahoot quizzes for our Junior Cycle History students and a daily History Themed Wordle. Our staff and students loved this fun and educational based activities.

Flag Raising Ceremony

We finished off our History Week celebrations with our flag raising ceremony. Third Year student Aoibheann Ferguson was our MC for the event and Senior Cycle students, Lily Fitzgerald, Dominique Mueller and Emily Bergin read the Proclamation of Independence. Our trad band, guided by Ms Kearney played beautiful music and Ahmrán na bhFíann played as the flag was ceremoniously risen. This was a lovely way to play tribute to the tri-colour and the Thomas F Meagher foundation, as well as celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.

Many thanks to everyone who was involved in the planning and preparations for this very eventful and very important week. In particular we would like to send our thanks and congratulations to the head of the History Department, Ms Maria Kennedy, for all of her hard work putting this week together, Mr Diarmuid O’Donovan for all of his hard work and dedication and to all of our history teachers on staff who go above and beyond to promote the subject of history on a daily basis through their teaching and shared love of history. Thank you to all of our staff and students for getting so involved in our history week.