2017 star teachers to visit Ireland's national museum

PIC: The National Museum of Ireland is one of the must-visit tourist attractions in Dublin. (Courtesy photo)

EDUCATION | TRAVEL

 At the end of this month, five winners of New Vision's Teachers Making a Difference 2017 competition will travel to Ireland courtesy of the Irish embassy, Trocaire and Simba Travelcare, one of Uganda's leading tour and travel management companies. A number of sites have been lined up to make the teachers' experiences memorable. In a series of stories, we unveil for you the places they will be visiting while on this historic trip. We bring you the history of the National Museum of Ireland 

Established over 100 years ago, Ireland's National Museum is a one-stop centre for the events and traditions on which present-day Ireland is anchored. The museum boasts seven galleries, with artefact dating as far back as 7000 BC.

The teachers will be treated to the rich archeological collection that epitomises Irish civilisation from prehistoric times until the end of the middle ages and beyond. The period covered by the exhibitions extends from the Mesolithic, through to the end of the medieval period. It also includes internationally known treasures, such as the Ardagh Chalice, ‘Tara' Brooch and Derrynaflan Hoard.

The exhibitions include the treasury, prehistoric Ireland, or-Ireland's gold, ceramic and glass from ancient Cyprus, ancient Egypt, kingship and sacrifice, Viking Ireland and medieval Ireland (1150-1550). The Treasury The exhibition shows the unique treasures of early medieval Ireland, exploring their connections with both the pagan past and the wider Christian culture of the time.

The objects on display are of international significance, not just as archaeological evidence, but because collectively and often individually, they represent major landmarks in early European culture. Or-Ireland's Gold The collection of prehistoric gold work ranges in date between 2200 BC and 500 BC.

Most are pieces of jewelry; the precise function is unknown. These range from what is referred to as the Early Bronze age, where the principal gold products were made from sheet gold, such as sun discs and the crescentic gold collars called lunulae. The late Bronze age came in around 900 BC with a change of style.

Pre-historic Ireland The teachers will also explore human settlement in Ireland from the stone tools of the first hunter-gatherers around 7000 BC, to the bronze weapons of the Late Bronze Age around 500 BC.

A reconstructed passage tomb provides a backdrop to the tools, pottery and personal objects of the Neolithic farmers, including a beautifully decorated flint mace head from Knowth, one of the three famous passage tombs of Brú na Bóinne with Newgrange and Dowth, Co. Meath. Kingship and sacrifice Following the discoveries of Iron Age bog bodies at Oldcroghan, Co. Offaly and Clonycavan, Co. Meath in 2003, a team of international specialists worked with the Irish Antiquities Division and Conservation Department to examine these human remains.

Kingship and Sacrifice according to the Museum's review, gives an overview of the results of the analysis and, along with other bog bodies from Museum collections, offers an opportunity to literally come ‘face to face' with the past.

Viking Ireland Vikings and their descendants had a profound impact on Ireland, from their first appearance just before 800AD until after 1150AD.

Traditionally seen as raiders and invaders, Vikings also helped transform Ireland economically, culturally and politically. This exhibition explores the Viking Age in Ireland through surviving objects, including objects from Viking graves of the 9th and 10th centuries and from settlement sites of the 10th to 12th centuries. Medieval Ireland The exhibition contains three galleries — power, work and prayer — reflecting the three-fold division of medieval society (nobles, common people and clergy).

The lifestyle of nobles is explored, while surviving arms and armour reflect the distinctive characteristics of warfare in medieval Ireland. Findings from urban excavations illustrate Ireland's import trade and the various crafts and industries operating in towns.

Ancient Egypt The teachers will most definitely be drawn to this particular exhibition. Egypt is not only on the African continent but the Nile, for which it derives its lifeline flows from Uganda.

The majority of Egyptian artefacts were acquired from excavations carried out in Egypt between the 1890s and the 1920s and range in date from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages. According to the museum records, the artefacts are drawn from excavations of the Egypt Exploration Fund in London from sites such as Hieraconpolis, Deir el-Bahri, Ehnasya, Oxyrhynchus, Tarkhan and Riqqa.

The exhibition also includes findings collected by Irish travellers, such as Lady Harriet Kavanagh. Ceramics and glass This exhibition focuses on Cypriot artefacts, many of which have never been exhibited before. Most of the pieces are ceramic and probably come from tombs uncovered in the 19th Century. 

ABOUT TMAD 

The Teachers Making a Difference competition is part of the Ugandans Making a Difference (TMAD) project initiated by New Vision in April 2008. The project aims at recognising and rewarding those individuals who have innovatively used limited resources to make a positive impact in their communities. New Vision has always implemented the project either singly or in partnership with institutions that share similar objectives. The initiative followed the success of the annual Women Achievers Awards launched in 2005.

While the Women Achievers' project targets women, Teachers Making a Difference focuses on all professional teachers innovatively delivering the school curriculum — from preprimary to advanced level of education, including technical and vocational training institutions.

(This story was first published in the New Vision newspaper of Wednesday, January 10, 2018)