This summer I didn’t go anywhere on holiday. I went down to Achill a lot over the summer. I stayed down at my granny’s house. My cousins from England came over for two weeks. They are living in Liverpool and, while they were over, it was my Granny’s seventy-eighth birthday.

During the summer, I went to Tayto Park. My parents said that were going shopping in Liffey Valley but surprised us by going to Tayto Park. We stayed in Feerick’s Hotel in Mullingar. I went on all the rides. The best ride I went on was the Cú Culainn Coaster. I went on it twice.

In August, I went to the Galway with the Mayo team. We stayed in a student accommodation in Salthill we went down on the Tuesday. We had no match. Then our first match was on Wednesday. We played Tulla United we beat them 7-0. On Thursday, we played Cavan/ Monaghan and Mervue United. We lost 3-0 against Cavan/Monaghan and then, after we played Mervue. We beat them 3-1. I scored a penalty but they came first. They went into the cup and we went into the plate.

On that night, we went to the pool. On Friday, we played Shrewsbury Town. We beat them 2-0. I scored another penalty! That afternoon, we went to Pure Skills. It was really good fun. Then on the Saturday we played Carlow in the final. We lost 0-2. They scored two free kicks and didn’t have one other chance. Then I rushed straight up to the Mayo match and just made it for the National Anthem.
 
I enjoyed the summer!

Seosamh

I did a lot of things over the summer holidays. We went to Dublin. We went to Tayto Park. That was the highlight of my holidays. I was too scared to go on the roller coaster. It is the third highest coaster in Europe. I went on it before but I was too scared to go on it again. I was more interested in the zoo, seeing all of the animals in their habitats. My favourite animal was the tiger. We went to see them at feeding time. The zoo keepers put the food up on a high platform and we all enjoyed watching the tigers jump up and get the food.

After the zoo, we called in to our aunt’s house for a little while and to have a cup of tea. When we had all finished up, we left. Instead of going straight home, we were heading to Loch Key Forest Park for the day. When we arrived, we paid and got our wristbands. We all decided that all of us would like to do the tree top walk. We got our listening devices and headed off. They told us about the history of lock key and about how it burned down in a fire they didn’t rebuild it but they left the foundations. When we finished the walk, we all got ice-creams and sat down at some park benches. When we finished eating, we went back into the car.

But instead of going home, we went swimming! When we had put our swimming togs on, we went out to the side of the pool and jumped in. After swimming for a while, we all decided that we would like to go on some waterslides. There was one called the vortex. It was all dark inside. After that, we went on one with a raft. You sat in the raft and the lifeguard pushed you and you were off! Going up and down around sharp corners going side to side was great!!!

Saidbh

During my summer holidays, my family and I went on a trip to Portugal. I had the time of my life and it was my second time going on a plane.

When we arrived, we went in a taxi to drive over to our hotel. I loved the accent they had when they spoke to us. I thought it was strange to see people drive on the right hand side of the road. When we arrived, the lady handed us our room key and directed us to where we would be staying.

When we got into our room, we were greeted by a large room and two doors. One doorway had two doors leading to a bedroom which had two beds, and that’s where Jack and I stayed. The other door had a bathroom with an amazing shower that I loved. The other door in the living room led to a balcony which I loved and it had an amazing view looking over the city of Portimao. .After that we went out on a walk to a shop called Continente. It was like Tesco but bigger and better. We got food and ordered pizza. It was soooooo good. Then we went back to our hotel stayed up for a bit and went to bed

The next day we went to aqua a massive shopping centre. It had so many shops and it even had Primark which I was so happy to see. It also had McDonalds, Lefties, Flying Tiger and Clair’s.  They are just the ones that I liked. I bought so much stuff with my money. Then we rented a driveable car that cost two euro. I was pushing my brother Jack around. It was such fun.

Then next day we went on a boat with lots of people. We were on a pirate ship. It was class. There were fake cannon and we got costumes. It was so good. We went on the trip for three hours and we got food. There was music and lots of  lovely people.

On the last day, we went to a zoo called Zoo Lagos. It had so many animals that I had never seen like a toucan, parrots and a massive leopard. Then for dinner, we had an ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT-BUFFET. It was so good! 
We went home in an aeroplane. Soon, I will be going to Spain and I can’t wait for that.;]

Kayleigh

This summer I went on a trip to Killarney which is in Kerry.

The car journey was really long and we even stopped for lunch. The cafe was lovely and we even got some cake to have later. We got back in the car and kept on driving. Two hours later we arrived in the golf resort where we were staying.

The resort was amazing and it had so many exquisite views. We were really excited to look around the town, so we unpacked our bags and hit the town.
I`d just like to say, the town was nothing short of amazing. It had everything from Chinese restaurants to Tommy Hilfiger clothes shops. I loved it and I went to bed that night with a belly full of Chinese food.

The next day we went on a fifteen-km cycle. We saw some really famous places like Muckross House, where there were hundreds of people eating ice-cream and relaxing in the twenty-three degrees heat. Another place we went was Torc Waterfall, where you could climb the rocks beside the waterfall. If you climbed to the very top of the rocks, you could almost touch the falling water.

But something I noticed on the cycle was, there so many Americans. I asked my mum and dad about this and they said that Killarney is a very popular place for American tourists.

The following day was probably the highlight of my summer. My older sister came all the way from Dublin, to celebrate her birthday with us. We went on a horse-drawn carriage up the Gap of Dunloe, except for my sisters who went on a horse instead. The views of the mountains and lakes were breath taking.

When we turned back, we got some coffe and hot choclate at Kate Kearney’s Cottage.

Later that day, we went to town for dinner. The food was exquisite and my older sister was very thankful.

 When we walked outside we heard the roar of a motorbike and loud music. It was a Fourth of July parade! There were floats, singing, music, motorbikes and even fireworks. The parade was so amazing even Abraham Lincoln was there. I loved the parade and was upset when it was over.

The car journey home felt like an eternity, but my head was filled with all the wonderful things we did in Kerry. But something I kept thinking about was, sixty-five years ago, my granny and grandad went on a horse-drawn carriage up the Gap of Dunloe for their honeymoon.

Pádraig

Ar an 14ú de mí Lúnasa , d’eitil mé féin agus mo chlann go dtí an Spáinn. Thurling an t-eitleán i Reus agus fuaireamar bus go dtí Salou. Shiúlamar ó stop an bhus go dtí ár n-árasán. Chasamar le cailín darbh ainm Laura agus thaispeán sí é dúinn. Bhí trí sheomra codlata, cistin nua aimsire, seomra suí álainn, seomra folctha, dhá bhalcóin agus linn snámha priobháideach againn. Dúirt Laura gan na doirse a fhágáil ar oscailt nó bheadh na feithidí ag teacht ar cuairt. Bhí sé an-te. Bhí an teocht is airde 38céim!

Roimh dul a chofladh,  fuaireamar amach go raibh fón póca mo mhamaí imithe. D’fhéachamar i ngach áit ach ní raibh sé le fáil. Chuamar go dtí oifig an bhus an t-aerphort agus  i ngach  mála. Ar an mbealach ar ais, chailleamar Meadhbh!! Bhí mo chroí i mo bhéal agam. Shiúlamar ar ais agus bhí áthas an domhain orm go raibh sí i siopa bréagán.

Ar an tríú lá, chuamar go dtí Port Aventura ar an traein. Chuaigh Meadhbh agus mo Dhaidí go dtí linn snámha agus chuaigh  Catherine, mo mhamaí agus mé féin go dtí na rollchostair. Chuamar go dtí Ferrari Land ar dtús ansin chuaigh muid go dtí Port Aventura. Bhí mé ard go leor le dul ar gach rud. Tar éis Port Aventura, chasamar lena chéile ag an doras.

Ar an lá deireanach chuamar go dtí an t-aerphort agus chuamar abhaile!!!!!

Emily

For my summer holidays 2019, I went to Bulgaria. It was my first time in Bulgaria. We drove from Mayo to Dublin Airport. We stayed on our holidays for fourteen days. We went to a place called Sunny Beach. We stayed in an apartment outside of the hotel but owned by the hotel. In my opinion I think that the apartment is better than a hotel room because you have more space than a hotel room. The pools were very well designed. All three were shaped like flowers but inside there was a really cold pool and a jacuzzi.

We wanted to explore it, but first we went to the beach. It was the cleanest beach I have every seen. The sand was so clean and the water was so clear. We stayed at the beach for an hour. Then my dad had dentist appointment to get his teeth whitened. For dinner, we went to this restaurant called the Sea Terrace. It was my birthday on the day, so my mum and dad got me foie gras and caviar. The food was the most delicious thing you could taste.

The next day, we travelled to the middle of nowhere. I did......salt and mud baths. The salt baths was very funny. It was magic. It was only half a metre deep and there was so much salt that you floated in it!!!! You had to stay in it for ten minutes and after, you went to this canal. At the bottom of it there was mud and you covered yourself with it. My dad said “we’re either very silly or very clever”. You had to let it dry in for ten minutes and to wash it off in the Black Sea. We visited lots of  old monuments and cities like the old town of Nesbare. When we were in Starbucks, there was glass on the ground so that you could see underground. You could see broken walls and old castles underneath.

We checked out and we got a taxi to the Airport in Burgas and unloaded our stuff. We went through security and boarded our plane. That was my holidays 2019!!!!!!!!
!
Jeaic

My Summer Holidays 2019!!! :)

During my summer holidays, I went to Clare. It was really good fun. I went to see my cousins Cody and Emma. In Clare, we went to an aqua park called West Coast Aqua Park. It was really great fun. The aqua park was in the sea. You were only allowed one hour. You could jump off one of the things that were there it was really great fun.

Before we went to Clare, it was my birthday. I got a bike, a gaming chair, money and USC vouchers and new shoes. I got clothes with my USC voucher. I also started hurling with Mitchels. I started five or six weeks ago. With my money I got from my birthday, I bought a hurling helmet and I got a pair of boots too. A few days after the start of our holidays, my mom got a new car. It is a Toyota Corolla. It’s a really good car. We used to have a blue Toyota. My Granddad is looking for a house in Castlebar. He used to live in Newport.

Just before the holidays ended, my dad went to a business called GCI. It is a company that fixes phones and laptops. He used to be in a business called FCS. My Granddad on my Dad’s side worked there too. We go to the new pool a lot because my mom works there. The learner pool is always hot. It’s like a bath and the big pool is always cold. We went down to Iniscrone once or twice. My auntie has a mobile home down there and it is right beside the beach so we can go down for a swim if we want to.

We also went to Galway to see my uncle Martin. We went to the Galway shopping centre and around town. I really like Galway. It is nice there.

Adam E R

When I was on summer holidays, I went two places. I was in London and Inisbofin. I had great fun.

When it was ten to twelve, ten minutes until the summer holidays, I was daydreaming about where I was going. I was gazing at the clock while I was doing so. We were playing music on the computer and having great fun. When it was a minute left, I packed my bag and left the school at twelve.

Two weeks after my last day in fifth class, I went to London to visit my cousins. I played with some kids around the estate and on my second I went shopping. On my last day I went to a playground, and to a pub. We played a soccer match with my friend from that estate and we had great fun overall.We went to Stansted the next morning the next morning by train. The worst thing was, we had to get up early: at six in the morning. I really enjoyed my first holiday.

On my second and last holiday I went to Inisbofin.It took us at least two-and-a-half-hours to get there but it was worth it. We went kayaking, pier jumping, cycling and swimming.

We went cycling around the island. There were a several lovely views, and there is a load of exciting hobbies to do on the island. After the swimming, I went pier jumping with my brother, Danny and my brother’s friend, Dale, and my parents, aunt, my uncle and my cousins were watching us. I jumped into the water first. I sprinted into the water because I was roasting. Then my brother and his friend went in at the same time. After the pier jumping, we went to the hotel. The next day, we went cycling with my relations. I had great fun on that day. That was the same for the next two days. All of us were knackered on the way home. I had great fun on my summer holidays and I can’t wait until my next summer holidays.

When I was in Inisbofin, there was a shop beside our hotel. They sold drinks, sweets etc. I bought a Coke but, when I strolled out of the shop, they stole a euro every time I went there. On our last day, my Dad went up to the man and confronted him. At the end he gave him back the money.

Adam Ó C

My Summer Holidays  2019

That was the best summer ever!

The first day, my dad my brothers and I went to a music camp in Westport. My brothers and I did beginner guitar and my dad did advanced guitar. We learnt the chords G, D, C, E, Am, Em and I was able to do a couple of melodies because I did ukulele last year. At the end of the week we had a concert so we could hear what the other groups did during the week.

I can’t remember a lot but we did go to the beach a couple of times when it was warmer. What I did do during the summer was I was to practise my soccer skills. I feel like I have improved a lot like running with the ball and dribbling with ball. I all so think I have improved on my work rate levels have gone up too, but I’ll see if that is true on Tuesday even though I’m not going to get on the Under-15 Mayo team because I’m under age. But I’m still on the under-13 mayo team.

It was around the end of the summer when it started to really feel like summer. One rainy day in Ireland, we flew to Girona Airport. When we got to Spain, we could all ready feel the intense heat. We had stayed there for a whole ten days and we had a blast coming in and out of the pool, playing football (even though it was very hot). One day we went out for lunch and the woman in the restaurant asked use where we were from. We told her we were from Ireland. Then all of a sudden she said DIA DUIT! She told us she spent a few months in Ireland and said she loved the place but hated the weather!

The last thing we did in France was swim in the Mediterranean Sea. It was so warm (compared to the Atlantic Ocean). The day we left more like night because it was 2:30am. We got a taxi to the airport where we flew back to Ireland. When we got back it was raining but it was still the best summer ever!!!!!!!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Le Cáit

This year for my summer holidays, I did quite a lot. I went to some breath-taking places and did some extraordinary summer camps. It really was a memorable summer.

At the start of the summer, I did the Michaela Summer Camp Foundation in Knock. If you’ve ever heard of Mickey Harte the Tyrone manager, you’ve must have heard about Michaela. Unfortunately, she died on her honeymoon in the Maldives. This is why the camps are dedicated to her. Shortly after that, I did Scoil Acla, I did the flute. I learned some alluring pieces of music that week. Each day after the classes, I went into the sea the waves were gigantic and tremendous but, once you first stepped into the Atlantic Ocean, you thought you would perish with the cold. Thankfully, there was a crểpe van near-by that made you feel like you were in front of the hearth at home.

I went to Inis Crone, and my friends and I went jumping of the pier. At first it was quite spine chilling, but you got the hang of it and, before you knew it, we were pushing each other and having a laugh. We went to Dundalk and   we stayed there because the next morning we had to wake up at three o’ clock in the morning to get to the airport. We arrived in Paris at around nine o’ clock.  We settled in to our hotel room which had a ravishing view of the Eiffel Tower. It truly was marvellous. Later that day, we went to the Paris Saint Germain Stadium and got a few excellent photos. Although it was a forty minute walk, it was certainly worth it. That evening I tried French macaroons for the first time. They were heavenly, but quite filling. I have to say the French do exquisite treats!

On the Tuesday we went to the Eiffel Tower. I got great photos by the fountains. Believe it or not, some people were splashing about in them, it was 31 degrees! We went shopping and I bought a pair of sunglasses and a sunhat, later that day I saw the Louvre I didn’t go in it to see the Mona Lisa though. We went on a boat on the Seine River. It was really fascinating all the lights and bridges in Paris.

First thing in the morning, we went on a hop-on, hop-off bus to the Notre Dame, I heard that the public will decide what to do with the burnt part of Notre Dame. Even burnt it looked quite elegant. We then went to the Arc de Triomphe. I saw these people who were trying to cross the road for fifteen minutes! But my brother found a passage-way underground. When we were there we went to the Renault café; you had you had your meal in the car! It was different, but intriguing. On the Thursday, we went we went up fifty flights of stairs to get to the Sacre Coeur Basilica. It truly was beautiful. On the Friday it was my birthday. We went to a Water Park! There were so many slides, and there was even a trap door! It was great fun! I had macaroons for a birthday cake.

On the Saturday, we departed France and were soon back in Dublin. Before I knew it, I was writing an essay about my summer holidays.

Tuathla Nic Gabhann

There were five minutes left of school until my summer holidays began.  I bolted out the door of the school with joy.  My Mum collected me from school and told me I was visiting my cousins, Evan and Niall, from Dublin. I couldn’t wait to see them as I haven’t seen them since Easter.  I was dreading the journey.

We arrived in about three-and-a-half hours, as the traffic was mental.  They greeted us at the front door with their Clontarf kits.  I was wearing my Ballintubber kit!  We played football whilst the parents drank tea and ate biscuits.  We played football until our legs were falling of us so we went inside, drank hot chocolate and watched a movie.  It was coming ten o’ clock and my auntie broke the news to me that we were staying a night at their house.  I was so happy.  I ran out to the car and got my suitcase.  It was eleven o’ clock before we got to bed. 

I had an early start to the morning   as we were making our way to Kilmainham Gaol.  The tour was very good.  The man told us about the history and showed us the cells.  It was twelve o’ clock by then and it was time to head home.  I had a great time in Dublin. 

On Friday the twenty fourth of July, I was making my way to Achill for the Scoil Acla camp.  We were staying in a campsite in Keel opposite the beach in my caravan for a week.  The music camp doesn’t start until Monday.  On Friday night my friends from Achill came to my caravan.  We had great fun.  We played bored games and went for dinner in Achill Head Hotel.  By the time we got home, it was time for bed. 

On Saturday and Sunday when we were resting for our music camp, we realised Daithí’s go-cart was missing.  I got on my bike as quickly as I could and cycled to the playground with my Dad.  We saw teenagers pedalling around as fast as they could go.  We caught up to them and made an effort to stop but we had no chance.  They wouldn’t stop.  Feidhlim’s Mother rang the guards and they were there in a shot.  The guards dealt with them and we got our go-cart back.

From Monday to Friday, we went to camp.  The camp was from nine to one.  Every day after the camp, I would get a crêpe.  Then I’d go surfing on Keel Beach.  At night, we would go to a session.  We thoroughly enjoyed the week so we stayed two extra nights.  On Saturday my Dad and I went to the Mayo versus Donegal match in Castlebar.  On Sunday we went for a walk on the beach.  I really enjoyed my active time in Achill.

The football adventure started when I was getting on the train at half six in the morning.  We were in Croke Park by one o‘clock. We watched the minor match and then the senior match.  It was a bad day for Mayo as they lost in both matches. 

After the match, we went back to our friend’s apartment and ordered pizza and chips.  That night we stayed in a hotel in Clondalkin.  We woke up very early so we could get home as early as possible.  We were home by twelve o’ clock and soon lying on the couch.  I’d a very nice time in Dublin but it could’ve been better if Mayo had won.

I really enjoyed my summer holidays.  Now I’m in sixth class working very hard. 

Seán
 
                                                        

My Summer Holidays

This summer I did a lot of things. First of all we went to France. We stayed in a place in Brittany called Carnac. We stayed in a campsite with a waterpark in it. We went to the waterpark every day. We went to a really cool place called Mont Saint Michel.

The next thing we did was stay in a mobile home for a week in Achill for a summer camp called Scoil Acla. All my friends from music were staying beside me because Scoil Acla is a music camp. My friends and I went to the beach every day. When we weren’t at the beach we were outside playing football and hurling.

One week after Scoil Acla it was the All Ireland fleadh in Drogheda. All my music friends were also at this. My family and I stayed in a B&B. The owner of the B&B had two dogs, they loved me and my sister. I had two competitions. On Friday, my grúpa ceoil and I were playing today. We played well and we actually placed! My group and I were so happy.

On Saturday, I was in the under-twelve flute slow airs competition. I knew I didn’t have much of a chance in the first place because the All Ireland Fleadh has a very high standard of musicians. When it was my turn to go up, I was very nervous, but in the end, I was happy with the way I played that day.    

Alex Dunlop

This summer I got a new baby cousin.  Her name is Croía.  She lives in Galway with her mum, her dad and her big brother,  Callum.  Callum is two years old.  During the summer, we got to mind Callum and Croía.  Croía was only five weeks old at the time.  They’re both so cute.  Croía was born on the 24/06/2019 and Callum will be three soon.  I think he’s three on either the 7th or the 9th of February.

On the second morning, we had soccer so we had to drop Croía of at Mum’s friend’s house because it was a bit cold out.  When we were at Celtic, I got to mind Callum because Mum was coaching the Girls’ Academy.  We went for a walk around the pitch and then we went into the clubhouse for a while.  After a while, Mum left the other coaches in charge and brought Callum and me to the shop to buy some chocolate and crisps.  When we got back to Celtic, Mum went back out to the pitch and Callum and I stayed in the car and shared a packet of Meanies and some Chocolate Jaffa-Cake things.  When the training was over, we went back to collect Croía and then we went back home and played for a while.At two o’ clock we had to go to gymnastics and, when we came back, Callum and Croía had already gone back home.

We also went on lots of walks and visited our nanny and auntie, uncle and cousins a few times.  We went swimming once a week with Mum and we went to Tourmakeady Falls.  On our way to Tourmakeady Falls, we got lost.  We started driving along loads of country roads and then up a mountain.  When we eventually realised that we were going the wrong way and had turned around and started going back we had to stop a car going the other way to ask for directions. 

When we stopped the car we realised it was Dónal Vaughan.  He gave us the directions and we finally found Tourmakeady Falls.  We walked through the forest and toward the waterfall.  It was a rainy day but Juliette and I still took our shoes and socks off and went paddling in the little pool.  We went up onto the rock and Mum took a few photos.  There was only one other family there and the dad started talking to Mum and Sophie.  He asked them what they thought of the new swimming pool and they said it was only Ok and that it was always quite cold.  Then he said that he helped design it, and then Mum and Sophie started saying it was great.  After Tourmakeady Falls, we went to our Nanny’s house and we stayed there for a while.

Sophie did her Leaving Cert last year and she got the course she wanted in Limerick.  I don’t remember exactly how many points she got, but she did really well.  Now she’s doing the science of psychology in U.L.  She got on-campus accommodation to, and she’s in Killmurray.  That’s the name of her village.  The week before we started school, we went up to Limerick because Sophie had an induction day.  We went up in the car and then we all got out in U.L. and had lunch.  After about an hour, we left and headed back home.  We were all tired after the long road trip, so we went to bed early that night. 

Alexa

If you’ve ever been to Spain, then you must know the horrifying story of….THE BANANA BOAT!!!
If you have not, well… Let me begin.

I’ll start off by saying that my summer holidays in Ireland were perfect. Achill was AMAZING!!! Every day that week, Scoil Acla took place and, after the classes, we hit the waves. (Sorry, that wasn’t meant rhyme.)But could the Fleadh Cheoil Drogheda top that? Drogheda was unreal. I went there for Scoil Éigse and the Feadh, which was the best thing ever! But only if you enjoy music. And then, Spain happened…..

I was not ready for the scalding heat and that awful burning sun. I could not leave the apartment during the day!!! But one day, I woke up and it was raining. Imagine that:  rain in Spain! For once, it was lovely and cool. For that reason, I went to the beach.

I arrived at the beach and immediately regretted my decision. The wind was howling and the sea was churning. My bucket and spade was blowing away! And suddenly I saw something on the horizon……..
NO. NO! NOOOOOOOOO!!! My worst enemy……..THE BANANA BOAT!!!

It rose out of the sea and floated towards me with a look of yellow banana menace on its face. I didn’t like it, but I knew what I had to do….. I had to BATTLE the BANANA!!!

I wrestled it to the sea floor but it tipped me over. I couldn’t win and the banana knew it. Only one thing that could save me then…. a speed boat!

I attached the banana to my speedboat and swung it round and round. Eventually, it was so dizzy that it knocked itself out. I went in for the kill.

By the time I had dragged the banana back to land the video that someone had posted of my BATTLE with the BANANA had gone viral! I was a hero because I had saved Spain from that evil banana.

Lucia

The first thing I want to say is that I think that this summer went so fast. This year I spent a lot of time outdoors, playing soccer and gaelic matches.

I really enjoy playing football matches. I enjoy playing Gaelic more than soccer. I play in the forwards for Gaelic and soccer. I have Gaelic matches most Mondays. I have soccer matches every second Tuesday. Other soccer clubs have already finished for the season but we are going indoors so we are doing soccer over the winter. We still have three more soccer matches left.

For my summer holidays, I went to Dublin for the day with my mum, my brother and my aunt. We got the train from Castlebar to Dublin at half-seven. We got a taxi from the train station to Croke Park. We did the Croke Park Tour. It was really good fun. I learned lots of new stuff about Gaelic football through the years. We ran out the Croke Park tunnel and I was the captain for the day. I loved being the captain. We went to the player lounge, we went in the stand, we were in the corporate boxes and we were in the dressing rooms too. In the dressing rooms, jerseys from every gaelic team hanging up. Then, after the tour, we went to the museum. There were loads of football games that you could play for free. Then we went to the souvenir shop and there were bottles, keyrings and pens with every team’s crest in Ireland. I got a pink GAA bottle and two Mayo keyrings.

Then we went to Penney’s to go shopping. I love shopping but that day I didn’t feel like shopping because I was so hungry. I just kept asking my mum when were we getting food. I was so hungry that I couldn’t even have a proper look at clothes. Then when we paid for our clothes we went to Supermac’s . I got a double cheese burger meal and a strawberry milkshake. Then we went to Smiggle and I got a scented marshmallow flog that was a rubber and I got two squishies that was ten euro each but it was buy one, get one free so that’s why I got two of them.

Then we had to get a bus from Dublin to Kildare because there was work being done on the train tracks. We got the train from Kildare to Castlebar. I was so grateful that I went to Dublin with my mum, my brother and my aunt Sharon.

Saoirse

My Dad drove us to Dublin Airport just in time. We parked in the A3 section and took the shuttle bus to the main building. It didn’t take long to get there. It was all a big rush to get to the right departures gate on time. We weighed our suitcase and placed it onto the conveyor belt were it was taken to the plane. Once everything was under control, we browsed around the shops and got a quick bite to eat.

We hurried to the gate and boarded the plane. I had a window seat beside my mum Dad had to sit in the middle of the plane, while we were only a few seats from the front. It was a two-and-a-half hour flight to Salou. I watched films on my tablet the whole way. We landed safely in the small airport of Reus.

We got the bus to our hotel, Villa Romana. It was late so as soon as we got our suite we went to bed. The next day was great. We went to Costa Cairibe water park in Portadventura. On one slide I couldn’t breathe. There was one vertical slide and it was brilliant! We raced down the race slides and I won almost every time! There was a beautiful ocean blue pool with a small artificial waterfall. We got dressed and headed back to the hotel around 6:00. When we where dried and dressed we went for a walk down the promenade and looked in the shops.

It poured rain the next day. We couldn’t believe the change in the weather. We ignored the weather and decided we would check out Ferrari Land. We did a Ferrari simulation and they said that my dad was 0.10 seconds off the fastest they have ever seen. There was a vertical roller coaster that went vertically upwards then straight down. There wasn’t as much to do so we left and went to Portadventura. We bought ponchos and went on all of the wet rides like the flume ride and the river ride.

It was beautiful again the next day. We went to the beach and got a paddle boat for rent. After a while of having the boat we decided to bring it back and get a ride on a jet-ski. My dad drove while I held on to the back and mum videoed from the shore. We got some ice-cream and myself and mum got a massage.

It was the last day before we had to leave and we went to Portadventura last time. We went on the top 3 recommended rides and bought some pictures of us on them. We looked so funny! There were loop-de-loops and corkscrews on one and a big figure eight on another. I tasted a churro for the first time and now I’m hooked on them.

We left the next day and headed to the airport. Again we weighed our bag and they said our bag was 21kg which is one kg over the limit. My parents were annoyed at this as we had to take out the ponchos we had bought and shove them into my carry-on bag. When they weighed it again it was 17kg! Ponchos hardly weighed 4kg! After that we went through security. I got a burger king and waited for the departure gate to open. They kept calling the gate number but when every time we looked up, it still wasn’t open. It took more than an hour for them to let people onto the plane. I was annoyed when we got our seats as there was a small child sitting right behind me. IT WOULD NOT STOP CRYING!!!!!!!

I’m happy to be back in Ireland now but sometimes I wish I could relive the whole experience, though I’m sure my family will be going on another holiday like that one someday or another.
  
Casie

Summer Holiday 2019

I had a great summer holiday. At the very end of fifth class, I was glad to be going out of school. For the first couple of weeks, we didn’t do much. We just hung around the house in our pyjamas.

Then, Love Lannagh came around the corner. I was very excited. When the day finally we headed off to the car. I was looking forward to it very much.

When we arrived. I had a good look around. It was interesting, but honestly not great. My mam got a phone call. She looked worried when she hung up. She told me my granny went to hospital. I was very upset.

Even though that was bad start, I was still very happy. We soon got my new kitten named Po, and he was soooooooooooooooooooooooo cute! Then my birthday came up. I went with my friends to the cinema. It was great! We had lots of fun. Then I went to Tuathla’s party. It was such fun! Then I went to Dublin!

In Dublin, we went shopping. We went to Dublin Zoo and then most of all, Phoenix Park! Phoenix Park was great because we saw a herd of about fifty Sika deer! I really love animals so I was so excited to see them!

I also went horse-riding and cantered over a 70cm jump! Cantering is between a trot and a gallop. It is very fast. It was a bumpy ride and quite scary but I really enjoyed it! The horse I was riding was called Scooby Doo.

We also saw a family of wild foxes outside our garden. And I even saw two TINY fox cubs! I was outside and my dogs were barking loads. So I walked around the garden to see why they were barking. And then two fox cubs jumped right out of a bush right in front of me!!!! They were sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute! We also saw them that night and we even seen three adult foxes! We got great pictures.

I really enjoyed my summer holiday! I would rate it a 7/10 It wasn’t the best, but I really enjoyed it!                
 
Fiadh :3

At the start of my summer, I had a week of water camp, on the second week I had cúl camp then I went to my granny’s house with all my cousins for my birthday. I had a bigger party then I wanted to but, hey, what can you do?

At the end of my summer I went to Cyprus and that’s where my real summer began.

At the beginning, my dad and I had to go up to Dublin. We had to get up at 3:00am but I wasn’t able to get to sleep until 12:00am. We got up at 3:00am because our flight was at 5:00am.  When we first got there I saw my cousin and auntie.  Then we went through security and all the shops.  It was a five-hour flight.

Once we got to Paphos, my dad and I went to get our car after that we went to our apartment. It was only for a day and night we dropped off our bags and went out for a look around we went to “The king of the tombs” but it was too hot to look around for more than a hour. We still got a good look around. After that we went to bed.

On day two we went up to where the wedding was. I forget the name of the place. When we got there, I changed into my swimming togs and went straight into the sea with all my cousins. On day three we went on a seven-hour boat trip we left at ten and came back at half five. After a while we stopped and went swimming and we got on the boat again, we also got food. We started sailing again and stopped at a water park. I went paragliding and saw two turtles! Then we started sailing and we went back to where we were staying. At the end of the day we had a henna party.

On day four was the day of the wedding. The first thing we did to have breakfast. Then we went to my auntie’s cabin and got changed into our PJs. A few minutes after that the hair and makeup people came. It took us around three to four hours to get us all ready. After that the groom’s mother went M.I.A. It turned out that she was wrapping food for the wedding. Once everybody sat down, we walked up to the beach for the wedding. The mass was about twenty minutes long. After that, there was a party. At the party there was a belly dancer. My cousin started dancing with her. It was hilarious. When the belly dancer left, we all started dancing. My little cousin started dancing and we all followed her. At the end of the night, we lit some lanterns.

For the rest of our time there we were just swimming eating ice-cream or lying on a blow-up-doughnut. If we were not doing that, we were babysitting. On the third-last day, we went back to Paphos. On the second-last day, we went to a water park. It was amazing. There was a fifty-foot drop and other slides. On the last day, we went to the airport and got onto our flight.

When we got back, we got a cab and drove to my uncle’s house to get our car. We drove back down to Mayo. We got here at about 10:00pm. Then I went straight to sleep.

The next thing I know, I am back at school.

Iseult

This summer we went to Spain. We drove down to Knock Airport. After waiting a bit, we then went into the plane. It was a three-hour flight. As soon as we landed in Malaga Airport, we got to our taxi and drove to our house in San Pedro. We only stayed at the house for three days. We arrived at Cordoba.

We went to our hotel called Eurostar Palace. There was a pool at the top of the hotel and we went to it everyday. We did a lot of sightseeing to castles, museums, churches, mosques and synagogues. There was an old and new part of the city. We did the sightseeing in the old part and a lot shopping in the new part. We ate our lunch and dinner in the new part.

After a few days in Cordoba, we drove back to San Pedro. My auntie and uncle came over to join us on our holidays. Everyday we went to the beach and we went swimming, paddle boarding and sunbathing. In the evening after we had our dinner, we went for a swim in the pool because it was still sunny and warm. Every evening we went for a walk along promenade to do some people watching. We ate ice-creams.

After two weeks, we flew back to rainy Ireland from sunny Spain. During the summer, my brother was playing in a hurling Féile down in Cork. We stayed in Inchydoney Island. We travelled around west Cork to all the hurling matches. We went to Kilbrittain, Bandon, Clonakilty and Blarney. They were beaten by Bishopstown in the semi-final.

We also went to Tralee Co. Kerry for the Rose of Tralee. We stayed in the Rose Hotel which was right beside the famous dome. We went to the funfair and went on the biggest ride. We went to the parade and ate our dinner in nice restaurants. It was my favourite summer all round.

Maitiú

Everyone was so excited to be staying in France for three weeks. We were all looking forward to the boat, speaking French, getting a bit of sun, and going to the shops. It was going to be the best family holiday ever.
The preparation started months before. Firstly, dad booked the campsite in France. A month before we were to leave, the preparations started to become more urgent.

Dad took the caravan out of storage and we cleaned it together. We packed all our clothes, food, beach toys and bikes.

On the 19th of July, we were ready to holiday. We drove to Cork Port and boarded the ferry ‘Pont Avon'. It was a huge boat with a cinema, swimming pool, shop and restaurants. We sailed through the night for fourteen hours. I shared a cabin with my sister. We enjoyed the journey so much.

When the boat arrived at Roscoff Port in Brittany, it was blue and cloud free. We drove to Fouesnant, a small seaside town in Brittany. On the way, we passed beautiful villages with old houses, narrow streets and tall churches.

We stayed in an amazing campsite near the sea at Fouesnant. It had an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, with water slides, playgrounds and a pizza parlour. Every night, there was entertainment on the campsite, singing and music shows, magic, dancing and games. There was a greenway nearby so every day I could cycle to the beach and the shops in town.

In France, I met a lot of people from France, England and Ireland. I ate different food like crêpes.
The best part of the holiday for me was the Airborne World War Two museum in Normandy. Here, I saw the planes and tanks used in the war and the story of the D-Day landing. It was amazing.

France is a great county and I am forward to going back soon.

Sinéad

My summer holidays were great fun. One day, my family and I went to Keem Beach. A local man and a woman told us that we had to go up a small hill to get there and pointed in the direction. As we went up the hill, we realised it wasn’t a small hill at all. It was a massive cliff drive and we could see the sea. Dad kept joking that his hands were getting slippy and that he might drive us off the cliff. We were all a little bit scared but it was also great fun. My sister Megan and I were in the back of the Mercedes and when we went round corners, we could see the sea the clearest. It was a lovely turquoise blue colour with a few boats here and there, and the sun was shining the whole day long.

At 12 o’ clock on one of the hottest days of the summer, my neighbours and I were playing outside in the boiling heat of 30 degrees. It was in the middle of the day so the weather was at its hottest. Then we heard neighbours splashing about in their swimsuits in the paddling pool out the back garden. As we called for them, we secretly hoped they would invite us into their back garden. And sure enough they did! We all raced down to ask our parents if we were allowed. We all met at their wall with swimsuits and towels and everyone was allowed. Everyone ran into the back garden. Some people dipped their legs into the paddling pool. There was also a slide going into the pool. They all told me to go down the slide and that the water was warm. Unfortunately I believed them, went down the slide and got soaked but it was actually refreshing so I just laughed. Then their mother brought out some sweets like maoms, lollipops and marshmallows. We played in the pool for a few more hours and then we started to get cold.
We all went home and got changed into cosy clothes. The sun had gone behind the clouds so it was colder. That was one of the best days of my summer and I enjoyed it so much.

I didn’t do much this summer but I spent so much time outdoors and did a lot of cool stuff like going horse-riding and going to an eagle show. I went to a few parties and the cinema. But now I’m looking forward to Halloween and Christmas.

Zoey Ní Dháibhí

Hi I’m Luca and I’m going to tell you about my summer holidays. On my summer holidays, I went to France. We went up to Dublin which is a three-hour journey in a car. We stopped off at Applegreen and I got a subway. Then from Applegreen, it was only twenty minutes away from the airport.

When we arrived at the airport, we had to wait three hours until our flight. We waited at the gate and, just before we got on the plane, I got some sweets because they would be more expensive on the plane. We went on the plane and I tried to go to sleep because it was a two-hour journey to Nice, France. The turbulence was rough on the landing. We arrived at 10pm at night and it was still really hot. We arrived at the hotel and left our bags and went out for dinner.

Everywhere was closed so we went to McDonald’s it tasted different to the one in Ireland. We walked back to the apartment and went to bed. The next morning we went down to the pool and then we went to the local shopping centre called CAP 3000. Then after that we went to the aqua park on the sea. We got life vests and got told the rules. We swam twenty metres to get there. I was first on the bouncy castle. I started running and I slipped because the water on the castle made it slippy.

We went to Cannes on the fifth day. It was very hot and expensive there. We were going to go to Monaco but it was an hour away on a train. We went to Antibes too that wasn’t as hot as Cannes. On the last day, we went to Nice we took the train and back. We were staying at Saint-Laurent-Du-Var. On the last few days of the summer I went for a sleepover at my cousins’ house. I can’t wait for next summer!!

Luca

This year I went to Spain for my summer holiday. I went to Lloret de Mar, Girona. We stayed in Rosamar Garden. Our room was quite nice. There were two double beds, a desk and a bathroom. There was also a balcony.
The pool at the hotel was really nice. There were also lots of slides. One of the slides was white. You had to go down on a doughnut. You could go down on a single doughnut or a double doughnut. Then there was a big blue one. You go down on a mat. Four people can go down at the same time.

On Tuesday when we were there, it rained for most of the day. Inside, there was a pool table, a lolly pop machine and a lot of other stuff as well. The food there was quite nice the nicest food there was beef and pasta. Outside there was mini golf, a playground and table tennis.

One evening, we went on a fishing trip. We were hoping to catch some squid!  We anchored the boat approximately 1km from the shore. In the end we caught no squid, probably because we needed to be farther out from the shore. I caught two fish and my brother caught four fish.

The shopping in Lloret de Mar was really good. My brother and I got two football kits each. We got a lot of stuff for friends and family.

On the morning we were leaving, we had to wake up at 2:00am. I was very tired. We arrived at the airport at around 2:45am. The flight took around two hours and thirty minutes.

Then we arrived in Knock Airport. When we arrived in Knock, the weather was quite nice. After we got our bags, we went home.

Sorcha

My Summer Holidays

  
The first thing we did on my summer holidays was to go to Barcelona in Spain. It was really hot. It was also the first time I remember going abroad.

After we got back, I went to a music camp summer school. It was great because I got to meet a lot of new people and play my flute.

After that camp I went to a Cúl Camp in Castlebar. I knew most of the people there and it was really good.

A few weeks after that we went to Portugal! I think it was the best because it was so hot. We went to Faro Quarteira. We stayed in an apartment in an apartment block. We stayed in Portugal for five days.

When we got back, it was the last month of the summer holidays. We rented a cruising boat and went down the River Shannon. We were in the boat for three days. On the last day, we jumped in the river! It was really, really cold.

When we got back, there was only one week left of the summer holidays.

Then we went back to school, after a wonderful holiday.

Rosa

This summer was jam-packed with adventure, fun and water: lots of water! I went abroad, had underwater adventures and had lots of fun with my family. I went to Portugal, Achill and Donegal. My grandparents got a new dog, Max. But most importantly, it was my last summer in Scoil Raifteirí!

I first went to Portugal for two weeks. My family went with my Uncle Paul’s family like every other year. We go with them every year. This year we stayed at the Four Seasons Country Club in Quinta Da Lago like every other year. We went swimming twice a day, most days. We went to the beach as well. We went to Aqualand this year too. The weather was nice this year but not as nice as other years. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

Every Year we see lots of different animals like snakes, frogs and lizards. But this year Cathal and I made friends with a cat. The cat was a lovely black colour. We met it one day coming back from the pool. We finally whittled our way into its confidence with some ham and time. I wanted to call it “Emerald” on account of its emerald green eyes. The next morning we spotted it one last time at 3:30 a.m. when we were departing.

One week later we set off for Achill as we were doing Scoil Acla. I did guitar accompaniment at Scoil Acla. My teacher was a superb musician called Tom Lyons. When we weren’t in class or at sessions we were pier-jumping, body boarding or swimming. Two of my cousins came as well, Bláithín and Amelie. They enjoyed Achill as well.

I left Achill on Friday, as I was diving the next day. On Friday night, my cousins and I got a lift from my Dad up to Árainn Mhóir Island. The next day my cousin Shaun and I had an early start. We woke up at 6:15 and were on the boat on the way out at 7:30. I can tell you one thing: the boat woke us up. The forty-minute drive passed in the blink of an eye as Shaun and I both fell asleep in the leather seats of my uncle’s Mercedes. We finally reached the Meevagh Dive centre at 8:45. We met our instructor Liam Gallagher first thing in the morning. We then spent half the day in the classroom. We spent the next day-and-a-half in the pool. The two days after that were spent diving in Downings. We also did our exam on the fourth day and we both passed with flying colours. The rest of the holiday was spent working with my uncle, pier-jumping and hanging around the island.

Feidhlim

Don’t Feed the Coatis!

My wife and I enjoyed a life of luxury at the Hotel Riu Tequila, at the Yucatan peninsula on the Gulf of Mexico.

...

Full board meant we could eat and drink as much as we pleased.

We had a dazzling array of food available at all hours, and tried out a few cocktails.
In addition, there was a well-stocked drinks cabinet in our air-conditioned room.

...

I can only assume we were able to afford such luxury because the staff probably received very little pay. We felt awkward at the discrepancy between hotel guests and the polite and ever-helpful waiters and cleaners who looked after us. It was easy for us to slip twenty-peso tips to them every now and again, but we still felt a sense of guilt. I felt for the workers when they had their bags checked outside the hotel as they ended a shift.

...

We enjoyed the presence of the coatis who roamed the spacious hotel complex.

These relatives of the raccoon were a popular subject for photos by the guests. They were sometimes a little too cheeky, and might make off with food left momentarily unattended at a poolside. I saw one jump up and steal the lemon from someone’s drink. As a consequence of such behaviour, there were signs which asked hotel guests not to hand-feed them, as they would develop more brazen habits. I broke this rule on one occasion. I threw down some pieces of bread to a family of coatis who were in the tree-lined grassy area below our balcony on the second floor. There was no one around to witness the misdemeanour. Neither was I betrayed by the eager coatis, as they ran for the cover of the trees to consume their snack.

...

Now meet my friend, the agouti, known locally as the sereque.

I must confess: I sinned again. Well, it wasn’t an offence, technically, as there was no mention of agoutis on those signs. Here he is, picking up a piece of manna from the second-floor balcony. This large rodent likes to eat nuts, fruit and seeds, but was evidently partial to a bit of bread as well. He quickly scarpered to the trees and disposed of the evidence of my peccadillo.

...

On our last morning, my wife and I reflected on our two wonderful weeks. We had swum in the sea, visited animal reserves, and marvelled at the wonderful pyramids bequeathed by the Mayan and Toltec civilizations. We had enjoyed lovely food at no extra cost. We had loved the early-morning swims in the pool before the heat of the day.

...

Suddenly, we could hear a rustling noise from below our balcony. I brought the camera and a piece of bread. This time, I saw a young gardener, toiling in the humidity. There are limits to the hotel air conditioning. He looked up. I mimicked drinking from a bottle. He nodded, almost desperately. I put away the bread and the camera, and returned with a nice, cold bottle of Sprite from the fridge.

He caught it expertly, looked around to make sure he wasn’t being observed, and darted beneath the trees.

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