Teach your pupils how to build a giant nest, create a butterfly garden or make their own family tree!
The resources provided here have been submitted by Heritage Experts, teachers or prepared by other educational organisations. The resources are both fun and educational and are designed to inspire and develop an appreciation and curiosity about Ireland’s wonderful natural and cultural heritage.
Resources can be searched for under the following categories:
Join Eanna Ní Lamhna, as she takes you on a journey exploring the native trees of Ireland.
This film was produced in cooperation with Orla Farrell of Easy Treesie.
Read moreRead lessEasy Treesie's goal is for every child in Ireland to plant a tree and to sponsor one in the Global South. A million trees by December 2023. Read more at http://easytreesie.weebly.com/...
Sir Walter Raleigh's Treasure Trail
Highlights of things to see and do in Youghal’s Raleigh Quarter. Download brochure for detail on wonderful sights and unique history.
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This site has abundant resources for primary pupils. Teachers can download a 12-module resource pack and pupils can find interesting facts, games and activities.
The history of Ireland can literally be found in its walled towns. You can find lots of information on them on the Irish Walled Towns Network website listed below and information on European walled towns on the other website listed.
Read moreRead lessThings To do
1. Have a mini-medieval festival!
2. Download the Shield worksheet below and design your own family shield, using icons and symbols to represent your family.
Find or identify heritage sites and explore heritage data sets anywhere in Ireland.
Ireland’s most comprehensive heritage resource, HeritageMaps.ie enables you locate a vast range of heritage-related sites and projects.
The HeritageMaps.ie viewer provides access to national heritage data sets in map form while incorporating additional contextual data from a wide range of online sources.
The earliest people that came to Ireland arrived about 9,000 years ago. These people were hunters, fishers and gatherers who used stone to make their tools. This booklet provides information about Co. Wicklow during this period.
This booklet for older age groups provides lots of interesting information about Co. Wicklow during the late Middle Ages. By the middle of the 12th Century many of the Viking towns, such as Dublin and Wexford, as well as the Irish ruling families had forged strong trade and political links with England and mainland Europe. This booklet provides information about Co. Wicklow during this period.
By the year AD 800 Ireland had become a favourite target of the Scandinavian warriors known as 'Vikings'. They arrived by sea in their sturdy ships in search of loot. This booklet provides information about Co. Wicklow during this period.
This site contains interesting information on the history and culture of the travelling community, including old photographs, sound recordings and personal accounts from individual travellers.
Acclaimed comedian Neil Delamere takes on Ireland’s favourite saint, meeting experts, historians and Paddy’s Day revellers to separate the truth from the myth. The reality turns out to be a little different – he was probably Welsh, there were no snakes, the shamrock is a pagan symbol and Christianity got here before before he did. Oh, and St Patrick isn’t even a saint! This film won the Celtic Media Award Best Factual Entertainment in 2014.
The Heritage Office of Kilkenny County Council has developed eight lesson plans, which will be useful for teachers of 4th, 5th and 6th class groups, on aspects of the River Nore's heritage. They are designed to be used in conjunction with the ‘Explore the Nore’ poster (downloadable below).
Read moreRead lessThe river Nore (An Fheoir) rises in the Devil’s Bit Mountain in Co. Tipperary. It then flows through County Laois and enters County Kilkenny at the townland of Ballynaslee. It flows through Co. Kilkenny, before flowing into the River Barrow a few kilometres north of New Ross.
It is known as one of the Three Sisters Rivers (Barrow, Nore, Suir). The River Nore is 140km in length and drains an area of approximately 861 hectares. It has a very steep gradient, but this is lessened by the many weirs built along its length.
This project is kindly supported by the Kilkenny Education Centre and the Heritage Council.
Neil Delamere goes back to his half-Viking, half-Norman roots to uncover the fact and fiction behind his hairy ancestors, while trying to see if he has any Viking left in him as he learns to eat, dress, sail and fight like one. Neil also takes to the stand-up stage in Waterford to share his newfound insights. This film won the IFTA Best Factual Entertainment award in 2012.
The Royal Irish Academy has created 14 great lesson plans for primary school children with worksheets, quizzes and stories on some of the objects contained in ‘The History of Ireland in 100 Objects’ exhibition. They’re all free to use and include images, video, and audio.
The PDFs below provide a history of local government in Kilkenny, encouraging the children to become familiar with important events in the history of the locality and referring to the wider national context where relevant.
Theobald Fitzwalter, an English nobleman, came with the young Prince John, to Ireland in 1185. The prince gave Fitzwalter a large area of land and the important job of Chief Butler of Ireland. This meant that if the king was visiting Ireland, the Chief Butler had to make sure there was plenty of food and drink ready for him and for the group travelling with him. Download the full PDF below for the full story of the Butler family.
Read moreRead lessThis resource encourages the children to become familiar with important events in the history of the locality, referring to the wider national context where relevant.
An introduction into different types of buildings that are in the locality.
Read moreRead lessThings To do
1. Go on a building ramble. Ask the children to look at the different types of houses that are in their neighbourhood. Do a mini survey of where they live and what kind of house/ apartment they live in.
2. Download the Front Doors worksheet below and draw a picture of four different doors they see on their way to school.
3. Tell the three Little Pigs Story and get the children to draw the three different types of houses.
Content of the study
Children should learn about:
1. The cause and effect of the flood.
2. The River Nore and how it has changed from the time of the flood.
3. The story of the flood as told in the Kilkenny People.
4. Memories of people about the 1947 flood.
Skills and concepts development
Children should be able to:
1. Time and Chronology:
2. Change and continuity:
3. Cause and effect:
4. Using evidence:
5. Synthesis and Communication:
5. Empathy:
Methodologies
Assessment
Published by Kilkenny Education Centre with support from the Heritage Council, this beautifully illustrated publication provides in-depth knowledge about the medieval city of Kilkenny with its narrow streets, its distinctive townscape and rich historic fabric.
St. Kieran’s Street in Kilkenny is named after St. Kieran's Well and the site of an ancient church at its northern end. In times past it was named Low Lane, Back Lane and King Street. The presentation, walking trail and worksheets below allow the children to discover the rich heritage of the street first hand.
Read moreRead lessThis resource ties in to the strand unit, ‘my locality throughout the ages’, which requires the children to become familiar with important events in the history of the locality, referring to the wider national context where relevant.
Saint Brigid is remembered for her spirituality, charity and compassion. Her feast day is on the 1st February, the first day of spring. It is customary on St Brigid’s Day to make a cross, known as a ‘St Brigid’s Cross’, out of rushes or reeds (other materials may be used if no rushes or reeds are available).
Read moreRead lessOnce the cross is woven, it is blessed with holy water by a priest. It is then hung on the front doors of homes and left in place all year, to be burned and replaced with a newly-woven cross on the next St Brigid’s Day.
How to make a St. Brigid’s Cross
You will need:
Instructions:
Roscommon Castle is a dramatic and imposing 13th Century Norman Castle. It was built in 1269 by Robert de Ufford, on lands he had seized from the Augustinian Priory. The castle has a tumultuous past which can be explored with junior level children in the presentation below.
Read moreRead lessToday, the Castle's past can be visited while enjoying adjacent Loughnaneane Park and Playground, a 14 acre recreational area. The natural features of the park include a turlough and a wildlife conservation area which is a habitat of unique flora and fauna.
Image by Mike Searle and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Developed to compliment the National Curriculum in England, this site is aimed at 7-11 year olds. It includes some great resources, including an interactive Anglo-Saxon virtual village.
In the twentieth century, concrete walls gradually replaced traditional stone walls. In the past, the building material for walls was stone, usually from local quarries. Download the Old Stone Walls information sheet below for more information.
Let the children explore continuity and change over time by discussing these old ads and the difference in prices between now and then.
