On the 14th September 2017 our whole Ty group went on a retreat to Knock with our teachers Miss Dunne and Miss Ryan. WE had to be in school for 7:45 that morning as the bus was leaving the school at 8 o'clock. Everyone was very tired as we had received our junior cert results the day before and were out that night. After a two hour bus journey we arrived at Knock.
When we got off the bus we were taken into the day center and given name badges. Our teachers then assigned two students to each table and we were with students from other schools all around Ireland. We were then told what we were going to be doing, we were going to be listening to four different speakers talk on four different problems that are associated with life in Ireland today. The four speakers were: Father Peter McVerry, Cara Austinberg, John Monaghan and Joanne O'reirdan.
Our first speaker was Father Peter McVerry, he talked to us on the problem of homelessness in Ireland today. He told us all about homelessness and how big it is in Ireland today. He talked about his many hostels throughout the country. He said the main reason for homelessness is alcohol and drugs. He said many children are brought up in an horrible environment at home as there parents are high on drugs and they constantly fight all of the time and never have any time for the children. Also some people are influenced by peer pressure and are forced int taking drugs and drinking which in later life can lead to homelessness. It was a very enjoying speech and I really enjoyed it.
The next speaker was Dr Cara Austinborg, her talk was about global warming and the effects its having on the planet. She explained many different ways on how this is affecting our planet, some of these are; polar ice caps are melting, fish are dying because of the litter in the sea, the burning of fossil fuels is causing the ozone layer to collapse, which has lead to the polar ice caps melting.
The next speaker was John Moughan, he was the former warden of Mount Joy prison in Dublin. He talked about roots and how it its very important to always remember where your from.
Our final speaker was Joanne O'Reirdan, I thought that she was the most inspiring of all as what she has done and accomplished is amazing. Joanne was born with a very rare disease called tetra -amelia syndrome which means she was born with no lim's. She has met people such as Barack Obama. She has accomplished so much even witj her condition.
Overall I really enjoyed this talk.
When we got off the bus we were taken into the day center and given name badges. Our teachers then assigned two students to each table and we were with students from other schools all around Ireland. We were then told what we were going to be doing, we were going to be listening to four different speakers talk on four different problems that are associated with life in Ireland today. The four speakers were: Father Peter McVerry, Cara Austinberg, John Monaghan and Joanne O'reirdan.
Our first speaker was Father Peter McVerry, he talked to us on the problem of homelessness in Ireland today. He told us all about homelessness and how big it is in Ireland today. He talked about his many hostels throughout the country. He said the main reason for homelessness is alcohol and drugs. He said many children are brought up in an horrible environment at home as there parents are high on drugs and they constantly fight all of the time and never have any time for the children. Also some people are influenced by peer pressure and are forced int taking drugs and drinking which in later life can lead to homelessness. It was a very enjoying speech and I really enjoyed it.
The next speaker was Dr Cara Austinborg, her talk was about global warming and the effects its having on the planet. She explained many different ways on how this is affecting our planet, some of these are; polar ice caps are melting, fish are dying because of the litter in the sea, the burning of fossil fuels is causing the ozone layer to collapse, which has lead to the polar ice caps melting.
The next speaker was John Moughan, he was the former warden of Mount Joy prison in Dublin. He talked about roots and how it its very important to always remember where your from.
Our final speaker was Joanne O'Reirdan, I thought that she was the most inspiring of all as what she has done and accomplished is amazing. Joanne was born with a very rare disease called tetra -amelia syndrome which means she was born with no lim's. She has met people such as Barack Obama. She has accomplished so much even witj her condition.
Overall I really enjoyed this talk.