MUSEUM MANIA!
The GAA Museum run loads of cool activities for kids and recently they had a mad Cú Chulainn theme day. Kids stepped back in time to a land of warriors, legends and mighty hurlers in the Croke Park Museum to see what life was like for Cú Chulainn. Iron Age helmets were tried on, players defended themselves with giant shields and they played hurling with a hairball sliotar! Yeeuuch! At least the kids didn’t have to slay a giant hound!
Kids step back in time to a land of warriors and legends
There is loads of cool stuff coming up in the GAA Museum – check this out;
June
Thursday 5th June, 18.30
NEW The Legends Tour - Jimmy Keavney
Former Dublin star and GAA legend JIMMY KEAVNEY joins Museum staff on a special tour of Croke Park reliving some of Dublin’s glory days. Booking is essential as places are limited. Adults €12, Child €7, Student / Senior €10, Family €30
Thursday 26th June, 18.30
NEW The Legends Tour - Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh
GAA commentating legend Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh joins GAA Museum staff on a unforgettable tour going behind the scenes of Croke Park Stadium . Booking is essential as places are limited. Adults €12, Child €7, Student / Senior €10, Family €30
Monday 30th June, 12.00 to 15.00
All-Stars Art Attack - Once upon a time!
Join Education Officer Selina O’Regan in a special Art Attack where you make, design, write and illustrate your very own GAA themed book. Ages 7+. Booking is essential as places are limited. €4 per child.
THE GAALLERY@CROKER
Cúl4kidz and the GAA Museum have teamed up to give you the chance to exhibit your skills at Croke Park. This is the chance of a lifetime to take your side alongside the greats in the most famous stadium in the world. Yes, we are giving you the chance to have your cool GAAllery artwork put up in lights in the walls of Croke Park. Each edition of Cúl4kidz will have a Star Prize GAAllery winner and they will not only win a t-shirt but they will have their artwork framed and put up on the wall around Croke Park. Keep sending in your great artwork and we will be in touch with the winners.
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FÉILE 2008 HITS THE NET!
It’s going to be a another bumper summer of Féile action with two great events lined up. To help you keep up to speed with all that is happening we have all the info on their cool websites.
Féile Peil na nÓg is the festival of football and takes place in Co Cavan, from July 4th to July 6th. The Féile Peil na nÓg website is; http://feilenanog2008.gaa.ie/
Féile na nGael is the festival of hurling, camogie and handball and this year it’s heading to Laois and Offaly, from Friday 20th to Sunday 22nd of June. The small ball festival site is; http://feilenangael08.gaa.ie/index.html
So log on now and get rooting for your club or county team!
Keady players Damien Corvan and Nathan Greene raise the Dr Birch Trophy after winning the Div 4 Féile na nGael title in 2007
KILDARE ALL SET FOR 2009!
Cavan will have all the fun of the Féile Peil na nÓg this year but next year it is heading to Kildare, the Home of the Thoroughbred. The Lilywhites are really excited about it and cant wait for all the boys' and girls' teams from all over Ireland, Europe and USA.
This year, as part of their preparations, Bord na nÓg Cill Dara will host Féile Laighean on Saturday 31st May, 2008. This event will involve boys' and girls' teams from every club in Kildare and teams from all other 11 Leinster counties. The matches will be played at GAA venues throughout Kildare. All roads lead to Kildare - check out their website at;
www.feilelaighean2008.ie
SPRING SPECIAL
COMPETITION WINNERS
Again we had loads of entries, let’s hope you were one of the winners of a cool Liam 07 or Sam 07 DVD;
The 5 winners of Liam 07 DVDs are:
Oisín Ryan, Lucan, Co Dublin;
Jessica Heneghan, Claregalway, Co Galway;
Colin Hanlon, Portarlington, Co Offaly;
Katie O’Riordan, Ardfert, Co Kerry and
Patrick O’Dea, Dungarvan, Co Waterford.
The 5 winners of Sam 07 DVDs are:
Michelle Walsh, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford;
Seán Molloy, Nenagh, Co Tipperary;
Sarah Kelly, Naas, Co Kildare;
Michelle Hayes, Rosscarbery, Co Cork and
Ryan Connolly, Ballyconnell, Co Cavan.
GET ACTIVE!
Céim ar Aghaidh is a cool GAA programme for schools where you can learn school subjects through the theme of Gaelic Games. Included in the pack is the "My Active Body" book which helps you make healthy decisions when you are eating.
Eithne Branagan, a 6th Class pupil in Scoil Mhuire, Sandymount in Dublin 4 reviewed the book for us. Here’s what she thought.
"My Active Body" tells you how to keep fit and healthy and what you should eat. It teaches children that they should eat more fruit and vegetables and less junk food. It also teaches us to play more sports rather than staying in and watching TV. The chapters have fun and clever titles such as "Brilliant Bones" and "A Stretch in Time". My favourite chapter is definitely "Recipe Time" full of yummie smoothies. I think the book is excellent and would be suitable for kids from 2nd to 6th Class.
Why not ask you teacher about it and check out www.ceim.gaa.ie
SNAP TO IT!
The GAA Museum at Croke Park are running a fantastic photo competition with Fujifilm. The competition is open to Primary school children only and entry is free so get snapping! What you have to do is capture a GAA sports related moment anywhere from your club to Croke Park. The photo must be taken within the period March to September this year and must be submitted with an entry form. The pic can be sent in as a print or in digital format.
For entry forms and further details, please contact Eimear at Croke Park on edoherty@crokepark.ie or 01-8192342. Further details will also be available from www.crokepark.ie and www.fujifilm.ie
Prizes include a cool digital camera, a class trip to Croke Park and a photo workshop with Podge Kelly. So what are you waiting for? Snap to it!
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BLITZ BONANZA
All during May, Go Games Blitz Centres took off all over the country from Belfast to Bantry with kids getting to play small-sided games in both Hurling and Gaelic Football. Kids were encouraged to develop their full potential with an emphasis on skill and personal development - it wasn’t about winning and there were no winners or medal presentations which was a nice change. Parents also took part and they got the chance to manage the teams which was cool. The Blitz Centres were a big hit and it looks like they are here to stay.
HAPPY CAMPERS
It’s going to be one long hot summer for GAA kids cos the nationwide VHI Cúl Camps are back again this year. This summer you can take part in these cool camps and learn the skills of hurling and Gaelic football from the experts and also get top Cúl Camps gear. The camps were a big hit last year and will be bigger and better than ever before so make sure you don’t miss out. Cúl Camps will also be taking place as far afield as New york, Boston and Coventry which is cool for overseas GAA kids.
Also log onto www.vhiculcamps.gaa.ie and find out everything you need to know to
be a happy Cúl Camper in 2008. Also, check out our list of Cúl Camps County Coordinators. Find your county, get in touch and find out where and when it’s happening in your area thissummer.
GAA GETS NEW LOGO!
An exciting new GAA identity has been designed and it was unveiled at Congress in Sligo in April. The GAA name has now been uniquely styled for the Association. It has been designed to represent youth and the excitement of our games.
The GAA's original logo stemmed from the first All-Ireland medal, crafted around 1910 and inspired by the Irish High Cross. This was the source for the new crest, and along with the new GAA name, the history and heritage is now sitting within the new crest. Over the next 6 to 12 months you will start seeing the GAA name on everything from books, footballs and jerseys to advertisements promoting our games.
Logos are very important as they give organisations an identity and let people know who they are dealing with. We all know logos like Bebo and Nike, well now the GAA has one that will match all the others out there.
The GAA is at the heart of everything with this cool new logo
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CAMÁN CAMÁN LET’S STICK TOGETHER!
2008 is the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue and last month The Lucan Sarsfields club from Dublin with the help of the Camogie Association hosted a social inclusion day to welcome new ethnic groups into the community. It was called "Camán Camán Lets Stick Together" and children from 27 different countries joined with Irish children from 8 primary schools in Lucan for a day of camogie and fun, fun, fun.
It was a big success and we hope that other clubs around the country will organise similar days. So Camán everybody, get involved and let’s stick together!
(left to right) Gráinne Eelay (9) currently attending Gaelscoil Naomh Phadraig, Layla Mohammed (9) originally from Somalia, currently attending Scoil Mhuire Woodview, and Japleen Kaur (9) originally from India, currently attending Scoil Mhuire Girls NS, having Camogie fun!
Cusack Centre GOES HI-TECH!
Michael Cusack was the man that started the GAA. He was born in Carron at the heart of the Burren in County Clare during the famine year of 1847. Michael Cusack was a great athlete and teacher and today his amazing story is told in a new visitor centre near his native village of Carron.
Here you can see the old thatched cottage where he was born and in June there will be a whole new exciting audiovisual experience. This cool new exhibition will see a 3D hologram image of Michael Cusack as he gives a ‘virtual’ tour to those who enter his homestead. Visitors, both young and old, get a chance to step back in time with Michael by hearing tales from his past; from stories of things he did as a boy growing up in Carron during famine times to his life as a teacher and his involvement in the setting up
of the GAA.
The cottage where Michael Cusack was born in Carron, Co Clare
To discover more about his story, visit our new website www.michaelcusack.ie. The new Michael Cusack Centre is open every day until the end of September between the hours of 10am and 5pm.
For more information call the Michael Cusack Centre at 065-7089944 or email: info@michaelcusack.ie
If you have any interesting stories or pics why not send them into us here at info@cul4kidz.com and get them on the CúlBYTES section!
