Dunluce Heritage Day
Mill Strand Integrated Primary School held a spectacular event at Dunluce Castle in June celebrating the unique cultural heritage of the Causeway Coast.
Pupils from Tayvallich and local primary schools, as well as members of the local community all contributed to the day, facilitated by Mill Strand Integrated School with the support of Bushmills Education Centre and North Coast Integrated College. The morning session saw Dunluce's ancient ruins resonating to the haunting melodies of traditional music and regaling tall tales of reenacted myths and legends as Mill Strand pupils told their four fantastic ghost stories.
After a culinary treat of an outdoor cooked lunch at its best, supplied by local restauranteur Sean McIlroy, from Jackman & Pye, visitors engaged in a range of traditional arts, crafts, games and fighting skills.
The day proved to be an outstanding success, bringing the ruins of Dunluce to life and with visiting American Tourists declaring that
"This is by far the best tourist attraction we've sen since we came to Ireland!!!! Do you guys do this EVERY day?"
Pupils from Tayvallich and local primary schools, as well as members of the local community all contributed to the day, facilitated by Mill Strand Integrated School with the support of Bushmills Education Centre and North Coast Integrated College. The morning session saw Dunluce's ancient ruins resonating to the haunting melodies of traditional music and regaling tall tales of reenacted myths and legends as Mill Strand pupils told their four fantastic ghost stories.
After a culinary treat of an outdoor cooked lunch at its best, supplied by local restauranteur Sean McIlroy, from Jackman & Pye, visitors engaged in a range of traditional arts, crafts, games and fighting skills.
The day proved to be an outstanding success, bringing the ruins of Dunluce to life and with visiting American Tourists declaring that
"This is by far the best tourist attraction we've sen since we came to Ireland!!!! Do you guys do this EVERY day?"
Story Telling - Tall Tales & Epic Yarns
10.30-11-30
Year 6 pupils from Mill Strand Integrated School, dressed in period costume, led visitors through the historic castle bringing to life myths and legends surrounding this most famous of Causeway Coast landmarks. Our pupils have researched many of the tall tales surrounding Dunluce and had selected four that they found particularly interesting. We are indebted to local story teller Noreen Hamilton for facilitating workshops to prepare for the event. The four pieces regaled on the day included: Niamh's Story The Tale of Peter Carey Three Dunluce Ghosts and The 'Banquet' The story telling was widely acclaimed with foreign visitors declaring that "this is the best tourist attraction we have seen since visiting Ireland.... and asking, do you guys do this every day?" It certainly was a colourful event, enhanced with Irish dancing and traditional music courtesy of our visiting musicians from Ballycastle and Amy North from Mill Strand Integrated School on the Harp. |
BBQ Lunch - Sponsored by Jackman & Pye, Portrush
Our BBQ, hosted by Sean McIlroy from Jackman & Pye provided a welcome lunch for all our guests and participants. The BBQ, held within the outer ward of the Castle was a real feast and the fantastic smell of cooking drifted through the ancient ruins, watering the taste buds of guests and visitors to the site.
Pottery Making
Facilitated by our sister school, North Coast Integrated College, pupils tried their hand at ancient pottery techniques, making coil pots and goblets. We are grateful to Paul Mullan and Rosie Shaw, from the College for their enthusiastic support. Pottery workshops took place at the rear of the lodging block or within the outer ward of the castle. The location was ideal, not only allowing the children to sit in comfort on the grass, but also providing much needed shade to stop the clay drying too quickly on such a sunny day. Ancient Games
Again ancient rivalries were once again revisited on the field of sporting battle with pupils from all schools having the opportunity to engage in a variety of ancient sports including: tug of war, Taber tossing and bowls. Activities took place on the green, below the car park and climbing wall, just outside the main entrance to the castle and outer ward. |
Interactive Workshops
Pupils from Mill Strand Integrated School, Tayvallich School and St. Patrick's PS, Portrush enjoyed an afternoon of fun packed activity in and around the historic site.
The activities, split into to four sections included: The Wall & Archery (Activities supervised by qualified instructors) Facilitated by Bushmills Education Centre children climbed to dizzy heights at the highest point of the Dunluce site to get the opportunity to get a bird's eye glimpse of this beautiful historic landmark and get a feel for how raiders must have felt, scaling the cliffs, on one of Dunluce's most famous sieges. Pupils also had the opportunity to try their hand at the ancient skill of archery. Shooting at targets over a short range course, within the lodgings of the outer ward, the Irish/Scottish rivalry was rekindled in a much more friendly way than the walls of the castle have witnessed in the past!!! St Cuthbert's Church & Graveyard
Colin Breen and Gemma Reid from the University of Ulster took pupils on an exploration of history through evidence found at this historic site. St Cuthbert's was built on the site of an older medieval church and was completed in the late 1630s. Its roof was originally thatched. The graveyard's headstones tell the story and background of both Dunluce Castle and the surrounding merchant village and parish from 1630 onwards. One intriguing and unproven suggestion in local folklore is that some of the Spanish noblemen and sailors who perished with the Armada ship Girona at Port na Spaniagh, are buried there. |