TY Review :D

Well, well, well where to I begin????
TY has been such a busy year , even busier than third year. We have so many projects to be doing all year round, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Most of the projects that we are doing a a fun and interesting, and you get to work with new people. Ty is also a very good opportunity to improve your core subjects. I know it sounds weird, but it is really useful for leaving cert, as you get a whole extra year to practice your core subjects. You have a very good advantage over people who do not do ty. Many people say that ty is a doss, but that could not be further from the truth. Just because it is not about academics does not mean that it is a doss.
We did so many things over the whole year.I wont name all of them because I will be here for years,but here are some:
Social development day, colour me beautiful, fun run, pilates, modern dancing, english plays, mini company, f1 in schools, sean nos dancing, music night, fashion show, swim a mile, croke park, state laboratories visit, Irish youth ballet, young scientist and scifest, tag rugby tournament, easter feaster, charity work, Gaisce......I could go on for ages!!!!
Ty has definitely benefited me. I have met so many new people and made friends for life :) ty gives you opportunities that you would not get in any other year. I learned so many new things, and I will feel a lot more prepared for the LC than I would have if I went straight into 5th year.
You get out of ty what you put into it. Dont just cruise along and hope for the best.You need to put some work in, and then you will get the most out of the year. Ty teached you to be very organised, which is good preparation for the rest of your life. You get great life experiences, like work experience, which makes you feel like a proper worker everyday! You meet great people, and I will really miss Amina and Emnet <3 I know that next year, we will all be even closer.
Ty is an amazing year, quite stressful at times(!) but I would definitely reccomend it :)

Geography Links

1) http://jessmchughty.blogspot.com/2011/05/geography-george-best.html
2) http://jessmchughty.blogspot.com/2011/05/eric-cantona.html
3) http://jessmchughty.blogspot.com/2011/05/peter-schmeichel.html
4) http://jessmchughty.blogspot.com/2011/05/bobby-charlton.html
5) http://jessmchughty.blogspot.com/2011/05/geography-5-ryan-giggs.html

Geography 5 - Ryan Giggs

Giggs was born on the 29 Nov 1973. He holds an amazing amount of records for the club. He was voted United's greatest player ever in a world wide poll conducted by http://www.manutd.com/. He was presented with the award by Alex Ferguson. He is known for his balance, pace, skill and ability to dribble past opponents.
Giggs was spotted as a 13-year-old by Manchester City scout Dennis Schofield. His talent became widely recognised, and Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson went to his house personally to urge him to sign for United instead of Manchester City, and he joined them on 29 November 1987 - his 14th birthday. Giggs turned professional on 29 November 1990 (his 17th birthday), by which time he was described by various sources to be the finest prospect in English football since George Best in the 1960s. Giggs made his League debut against Everton at Old Trafford on 2 March 1991, as a substitute for the injured full-back Denis Irwin in a 2–0 defeat. In his first full start, Giggs was credited with his first ever goal in a 1–0 win in the Manchester derby on 4 May 1991. Giggs broke into the first team even though he was still aged only 17, a mark of his skill and maturity, and paved the way as the first of many Manchester United youth players to rise into the first team under Ferguson. As the youngest member of the United first team squad, Giggs looked to the older players such as Bryan Robson for advice. He became a first-team regular early in the 1991–92 season
By the start of the 1992–93 season, the first season of the newly formed Premier League, Giggs was firmly established as United's first choice left winger, and became known as one of British football's most prodigious young players. Giggs, as the leader of this new revival of pacy and stylish football after the traditional years of long ball and route one styles of previous decades, played a key role in reshaping English football, and helped United to its first top division title win for 26 years, though they didn't go top until after Christmas and fought off competition from Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers and Norwich City.
His emergence and the arrival of Eric Cantona heralded the dominance of United in the new league. His manager was very protective of him, refusing to allow Giggs to be interviewed until he turned 20. The 1993/1994 season was when Man Utd won the double, and Giggs had a huge role in this achievment. Off the pitch, newspapers claimed Giggs had "single-handedly revolutionised football's image" when he appeared as teenager "with pace to burn." As a result of this, he was afforded many opportunities not normally offered to footballers at his young age, such as hosting his own television show, Ryan Giggs' Soccer Skills, which aired in 1994, and also had a book based on the series. Giggs was part of the Premier League's attempt to market itself globally, re forging its image after the hoolaginism years of the 1980's. Giggs became a household name and is hailed as the "Premiership's first poster boy". At the end of the 1993-94 season, Giggs won a second title in a row, and became the first player in history to win two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards, a feat that has not been bettered. It is worth reminding that at this stage, he was still only 21 years of age.
Giggs proved to be a great goalscorer, many of his memorable goals being shortlisted for various Goal of the Season awards. Widely regarded as among his best were those against Queens Park Rangers in 1993, Tottenham in 1994, Everton in 1995, Coventry in 1996, and the most remarkable of all, his solo-goal against Arsenal in the replay of the 1999 FA Cup semi-final. During extra time, Giggs picked up possession after Patrick Vieira gave the ball away, then ran from the half-way line, dribbled past the whole Arsenal back line, including Tony Adams, Lee Dixon and Martin Keown before launching his left-footed strike just under David Seaman's bar and beyond his reach.
1994–95 saw Giggs restricted through injury to 29 Premier League games and only 1 goal, later in the season he recovered his form and fitness, though it was too late to help United to any major trophies. They lost the premier league to Blackburn, and a 1-0 defeat in the FA cup final saw them lose to Everton. In the 1994-95 season, Giggs did get on the scoresheet twice in the opening Champions League game against IFK Gothenburg, but Man Utd failed to progress to the quarter finals. Giggs managed only 4 goals in all competitions in that season.
In 1995–96, Giggs returned to full form and played a vital part in United's unique second double, his goal against Everton at Goodison Park on 9 September 1995 being shortlisted for the "goal of the season" award. Giggs played along some of the breakthrough youngsters such as Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, David Beckham and Paul Scholes, who all signed for United. The following season, Giggs had his first real chance to shine in Europe. Having played a key role in United winning their third league title in four seasons, he helped them reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, the first United side in 28 years to achieve this. However, their hopes of European glory were ended by Borussia Dortmund, who edged them out by winning each leg of the semi-final 1–0.
In 1997–98, United were pipped to the Premier League title by Arsenal, following a dismal run of form leaving them without a trophy for only the second time since 1989. The following season, Giggs missed a lot of games through injury, but when he was fit his form was excellent and he played in both of United's cup finals that season. Memorable moments were his extra-time goal in the FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal to give United a 2–1 win, and his 90th minute equaliser in the home leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Juventus, a 1–1 draw which was followed two weeks later by a 3–2 win in Turin where United came from two goals behind.

The highpoint in the 1998–99 season was when Giggs set up the equalising goal scored by Teddy Sheringham in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final that set United on their way to the Treble. Striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored the winning goal with the last kick of the game, which saw Man Utd win the treble that season. Giggs became United's longest serving player when Denis Irwin left in May 2002, and he became a part of the club, despite still being in his twenties. Giggs continued to excel in the four years that followed the Treble triumph of 1999. United were Premier League champions in three of the four seasons following the treble, as well as reaching the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals three times and the semi-finals once. He celebrated his 10-year anniversary at Old Trafford with a testimonial match against Celtic at the start of the 2001–02 campaign. He scored his 100th goal against Chelsean in 2002.
Giggs has reinvented himself and continues to contribute positively to the United cause even after team-mates like David Beckham and Roy Keane had left. Giggs has also benefited from being largely injury-free aside from a series of hamstring problems which, according to his autobiography, prevents him from running at full throttle to this day. December 2007 brought two landmark achievements - Ryan was awarded the OBE for his services to football and he scored his 100th league career goal in the 4-0 victory over Derby County at Old Trafford.
On 11th may 2008, he scored the second goal which saw Man Utd win the league title. On 21 May 2008, Giggs broke Bobby Charlton's appearance record for United when coming on as an 87th minute substitute for Paul Scholes in the Champions League Final against Chelsea. United would go on to win the Final, defeating Chelsea 6–5 on penalties after a 1–1 draw after extra time.
On 8 February 2009, Giggs maintained his record of being the only player to score in every season of the Premier League since its beginning in 1992 by netting the only goal in a 1–0 win over West Ham United. He got the PFA player of the year in April 2009. In 2009, Man utd and Giggs won their 11th title.
Giggs still has the pace and skill that he had 20 years ago today. He is Man Utd's longest serving player, and has never played for any other team. He has never been sent off for United, which shows his dedication and respect to the game. He has won the most awards for United and has the most number of apperances - 874. This number will continue to grow though, as will his goals tally- 159.

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital and largest city of Wales. Cardiff is a significant tourism centre and the most popular visitor destination in Wales with 14.6 million visitors in 2009. The development of the Cardiff Docks played a major part in Cardiff’s development by being the means of exporting coal from the South Wales Valleys to the rest of the world, helping to power the industrial age. It was the worlds largest coal port. The coal mining industry helped fund the growth of Cardiff to become the capital city of Wales and helped the Third Marquis of Bute, who owned the docks, become the richest man in the world at the time. From the 1850s coal replaced iron as the industrial foundation of South Wales, as the Cynon Valley and Rhondda Valley were mined. In 1862, 2,000,000 tons of coal were exported from Cardiff Docks; by 1913, this had risen to 10,700,000 tons. By 1932, in the depths of the Great Depression, coal exports had fallen to below 5 million tons. It was an era of depression from which Cardiff never really recovered, and despite intense activity at the port during the Second World War, coal exports continued to decline, finally ceasing in 1964.
Cardiff has a maritime climate. Summers tend to be warm and sunny, with average maximum temperatures between 19 °C and 22 °C. Winters tend to be fairly wet, but rainfall is rarely excessive and the temperature usually stays above freezing.
The centre of Cardiff is relatively flat, but is bounded by hills on the east, north and west.

Bobby Charlton

Bobby Charlton was born on the 11th october 1937 in Ashington, Northumberland. He is reknowned for his attacking instincts from midfield, and his ferocius long range shot. Former Irish player Johnny Giles described Charlton as: " the greatest player I ever played with or against". All over the world there were children who could speak only two words of English.
In february 1953, he was spotted playing for his school by United scout Joe Armstrong. He subsequently signed for United. He signed with them on the 1st January 1954. Charlton became one of the famed Busby Babes, the collection of talented footballers who emerged as Matt Busby set about a plan of rebuilding the club after the Second World War. He scored regularly for the youth and reserve sides.
He made his professional debut in october 1956, against Charlton athletic (who else??!) He scored twice on his debut. United won the league, but were denied the 1957 FA cup by Aston Villa. Charlton had a great season, including a hat trick against Charlton athletic in the february. He scored a total of 12 goals in all competitions.
Charlton was an established player by the the next season was underway, which saw United, as current League champions, become the first English team to compete in the European Cup the semi-finals where they lost to holders Real Madrid. Their reputation was further enhanced the next season as they reached the quarter finals to play Red Star Belgrade. The score on aggregate was 6-3 , and the players were in a jubilant mood on the flight home from Yugoslavia.The Munich Air disaster of february 1958 is an event that will be in the heart of fans forever.
The plane in which they were flying home, a British European Airways Elizabethan, had stopped at Munich to refuel. There was slush on the runway as it took off. The Elizabethan never made it off the ground. Just 54 seconds after the pilot opened the throttle, the plane hit the airport's perimeter fence, slithered 200 yards across a frozen field and burst into flames. A wing had been torn off and the tail section had broken away, scattering bodies into the snow. Twenty-one people died, including 7 of the Busby Babes. Charlton, just 20, had been thrown 40 yards clear of the wreckage and escaped with a cut head. Busby came home and with his assistant Jimmy Murphy, who had not been on the flight, and set about rebuilding his shattered team. Charlton was to be the player central to his plans.
The team managed to complete the season. Busby's assistant stepped in as manager. A team largely made up of reserve and youth team players beat Sheffield Wednesday 3–0 in the first match after the disaster. The programme for that match showed simply a blank space where each United player's name should have been.
United only won one league game after the crash, causing their title challenge to collapse and they fell to ninth place in the league. They did manage to reach the final of the FA Cup, however, losing 2–0 to Bolton Wanderers,and even managed to beat Milan at Old Trafford in the semi-finals of the European Cup, only to lose 4–0 at the San Siro.
Busby resumed his managerial post the next season. Man Utd's next sucess was in the FA cup of 1963, in which Charlton was a key player. He went on to win a world cup winners medal with England in 1966, England's only success in this competition.
He gained 106 caps for England, and remains to this day, their top goal scorer with 49 goals.
In 1967, he was one of the key players that won the league title, enabling to play in the following season's european cup. He enjoyed a huge success with united in 1968, when they became the first english team to win the european cup. United beat Benfica 4-1 in the final, played at Wembley. Charlton was one of the goalscorers on the night.
Charlton was one of the best footballers in europe at this time, and won numerous awards. While united's fortunes took a turn for the worst after the european cup win, Charlton was a top performer.
He retired in 1973, having appeared 758 times in the red shirt and scored 249 goals. He recieved a knoghthood in 1994 for his services to football, and remains involved with Man Utd today as a director of the club.
Charlton is seen as one of the finest role models to ever play the game. He had exquisite skill, but never argued with referees and showed honesty and respect. He truly is a Man Utd legend.

Ashington

Ashington is located in the northeast of England, in Northumberland. It grew from a few farms in the early 19th century to a large coal mining village when the coal mine opened in 1867
The first evidence of mining is from bell-shaped pits and monastic mine workings discovered in the 20th century during tunnelling. Ashington developed from a small village in the 1840s, as the Duke of Portland built housing to encourage people escaping the Irish potato famine to come and work at his nearby collieries. As in many other parts of Britain, "deep pit" coal mining in the area declined during the 1980s and 1990s In 2006 plans for an opencast mine on the outskirts of the town were put forward, although many people objected to it. During the heyday of coal-mining, Ashington was considered to be the "world's largest coal-mining village". There is now a debate about whether Ashington should be referred to as a town or a village; if considered as a village it would be one of the largest villages in England. Growth of the towns coal mining expanded, more people left the countryside and settled in Ashington.
The mines closed in 1988, but Ashington is proud of its history which is remembered at the nearby Woodhorn Museum.
The physical geography of Northumberland is diverse. It is low and flat near the North Sea coast and increasingly mountainous toward the northwest. Lying off the coast of Northumberland are the Farne Islands, another dolerite outcrop, famous for their bird life. Being in the far north of England, and having many areas of high land, Northumberland is one of the coldest areas of the country. It has an average annual temperature of 7.1 to 9.3 °C, with the coldest temperatures inland. However, the county lies on the east coast, and has relatively low rainfall.

Peter Schmeichel

Peter Schmeichel was born on the 18th November 1963. He is nicknamed the "Great Dane" by fans. This is partly due to his intimidating physique - he is 6 foot 4" and weighs 16 stone. His size XXXL jerseys had to be specially made for him! But he was also given this nickname because of his amazing goalkeeping skills, making him the best goalkeeper ever for United. He was voted the World's Best Goalkeeper in 1992 and 1993.
He was relatively unknown before he came to United, playing with small Danish clubs. He moved to United in 1991, following his impressive displays for Denmark. He was bought for £530,000, which Alex Ferguson described as "the bargain of the century". Life in the premiership is tough for goalkeepers, because they have to be very physical, but this suited Schmeichel down to a tee.
He made his debut for United on the 17th August 1991 against Notts County. United secured a 2-0 win. In his first season at united, they came runners up in the league and won the Football League Cup for the first time in their history. In this season, he also helped Denmark to win the European Championship.
In the 92/93 season, Schmeichel kept 22 clean sheets, which earned him the name "Mr Clean Sheet". He played in every single game, and helped United to their first Premier League title in 26 years. He was named world's best goalie in 92 and 93. In January 1994, he had a row with Ferguson after their 3-3 draw with Liverpool. Apparently Schmeichel said some nasty things, and Ferguson subsequently sacked him. Schmeichel made a sincere apology and Ferguson decided to let him stay, he wouldn't want to lose the amazing skill of Schmeichel. Ironically, Man Utd went on to win the 93/94 Premier League title and the FA cup.
During the 1995-96 season - in which United claimed on historic double-double (being the first club to win two doubles, after beating Liverpool 1-0 in the F.A. Cup final and pipping Newcastle United to the League title) - Peter Schmeichel scored his first and only goal for United when he headed the equaliser in a UEFA Cup first round draw against Russian's Rotar Volgograd on 26 September 1996. Despite being a goalkeeper, he would run into the attack if his team was behind.
The 1998/1999 season was by far the best season Schmeichel had at United. Man Utd won the FA cup against Arsenal. Schmeichel saved a penalty kick from Bergkamp in the last minutes of the game to send it into extra time. In the absence of the suspended Roy Keane, Schmeichel captained the team into the Champions League final in May 1999. Their opponents, Bayern Munich were leading 1-0 until the very last minutes of the game. With the game heading into second-half injury time and Manchester United facing defeat, The Reds won a corner. As was usual when United needed to score Peter Schmeichel went up for the corner. As the ball was swung in by David Beckham, Schmeichel's presence seemed to distract the Bayern defence and a poor clearance fell to the feet of Ryan Giggs whose shot was turned in by Teddy Sheringham. Their opponents were deflated and United could sense victory. In the last seconds of the game, Man Utd won a corner. Beckham's corner kick was flicked in by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. This 2–1 victory for United ensured that Schmeichel's United career ended on the highest possible note. In an unforgettable celebratory moment, Schmeichel was shown cartwheeling gleefully in his area after Solskjaer's winning goal. In his final season at United, they won the treble - the premier league, FA cup and the champions league.
He managed to win everything he could, including 5 Premier League titles, three FA Cups and the UEFA Champions League. He appeared 292 times for United, and in his whole career scored 12 goals, an amazing feat for a goalkeeper.

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city in Denmark. Copenhagen has repeatedly been recognized as one of the cities with the best quality of life. It is also considered one of the world's most environmentally friendly cities. The water in the inner harbour is so clean that you can swim in it, and 36% of all citizens commute to work by bicycle. Every day they cycle a combined 1.2 million km.

Copenhagen is in the oceanic climate zone, which means that it experiences changing weather patterns in all 4 seasons of the year. It experiences moderate precipitation throughout the year. The hottest month of the year is July with an average temperature of 20.4 degrees celcius.

Copenhagen has always been associated with beer. Carlsberg has been brewed in Copenhagen since 1847. Carlsberg is the fourth largest brewery group in the world. The old brewery in Copenhagen is open to visitors and some of the famous visitors included Winston Churchill and Queen Elizbeth II.

Many tourists flock here to see the famous statue of Hans Christian Andersen or the Little Mermaid.

The little mermaid statue sits on a rock in the harbour, and attracts many tourists.

More tourist attractions are:
Tivoli- the old amusement park from 1843

Amalienborg Palace - the home of the Danish Royal Family.

Eric Cantona

Eric Cantona was born on 24 May 1966. He is one of the most flamboyant players ever to play the game. He has an iconic status at man Utd and is nicknamed "King Eric" by fans.
He began his career at the small french side, Auxerre. He appeared 82 times and scored 23 goals. After Auxerre, he transferred to another French team, Marseille. He scored 13 goals in 40 appearances. Cantona was then advised to transfer to England, and he did that, signing for Leeds United in 1992. Although he only scored three goals, he was instrumental in their title success, primarily with assists for the leading goalscorer. His hat-trick in the Charity Shield places him among the small elite of players to have scored three or more goals in games at Wembley Stadium.
Cantona left Leeds for Manchester United for £1.2 million on 26 November 1992. The next four seasons with Manchester United would see him stamping his name on the history books to go down as one of the greatest legends to play for United. His debut was against Man City on the 12th December. United won 2-1 put Cantona failed to make an impact. The season up until Cantona's signing had not been going very well, and United were becoming out of the running for the league title. However, Cantona settled into the team quickly, and he found home on the turf where George Best ahd played 2 decades earlier. His first goal came in a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. In Cantona's first season at Old Trafford, United won the Premier League by 10 points – winning the title for the first time since 1967. In doing so, he became the first player to win back-to-back English top division titles with different clubs.
In his second season, Man Utd retained the premier league trophy once again. His two penalties in the FA cup final against Chelsea helped them to win. He won PFA player of the year for this season also. The 93/94 season was the first season of squad numbers in the premier league. He was issued the historic number 7 shirt, which he kept for the rest of his career with Man Utd.
The next season was indeed a very memorable one for Cantona, but not in a very good way. On the 25th January 1995, he was involved in an incident with a Crystal Palace fan. Cantona was sent off by the referee for a kick on Palace defender Richard Shaw after Shaw had pulled his shirt. As he was walking towards the tunnel, Cantona launched a 'kung-fu' style kick into the crowd, directed at Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons, followed by a series of punches. Cantona was arrested and convicted for assault, resulting in a two week prison sentence. This was overturned in the appeal court and instead he was sentenced to 120 hours of community service. He was banned until October 1995, which meant that he missed the end of the season, and Man Utd ironically lost the title. Cantona was frustrated with the terms of the agreement, and wanted to leave England, but Alex Ferguson persuaded him to stay.
His comeback game was against Liverpool on 1 October 1995. He set up a goal for Nicky Butt two minutes into the game, and then scored a penalty after Ryan Giggs was fouled. However, eight months without competitive football had taken its toll and Cantona struggled to get back to his original form. It was a very tight battle against Newcastle for the premier league title, but in the second half of the season, United overtook them and won the title. They reached the 1996 FA cup final against Liverpool. The regular captain, Steve Bruce was missing through injury, and Cantona was given the captain's band. He then scored the only goal of the game, and became the first non British player to lift the FA cup as captain. That season was the pinnacle of his time at Old Trafford.
He was confirmed captain for the next season, which saw Man Utd retain the title again. He had won 4 league titles in 5 years - a remarkable achievment. At the end of this season, age 30, he announced that he was retiring from football. He scored a total of 80 goals in all competitions for United, and his certainly put his stamps on the club's history books.
With his no 7 shirt collar stiffly upright, as if it had been starched, the theatrical swagger and poise, Cantona was born to play for Man Utd. It wasn't just his technical abilities that made him stand out from the rest, he led by example and never gave up. He orchestrated the talents of the young Giggs, Beckham and Keane. His legacy will stay with United forever.

Marseille

Marseille is the second largest city in France, after Paris. It is situated on the southeast coast of France, beside the Mediterranean sea. It enjoys a beautiful Mediterranean climate, with 6 summer months from from May to October. The mean summer temperature is 24 degrees celcius. Because of the beautiful weather and spectacular scenery, it has become a popular tourist destination in the summertime. It has a deep history, sun drenched beaches and is one of the most popular cities in France.

The Marseille tourist industry is one of the principal economic forces, actively contributing to the city's economy. It is France's leading seaport and a third of France's ocean borne foreign trade passes through the modern port. Petrol and agricultural products account for most of the tonnage handled. Oil refining, shipbuilding, food processing, and chemical manufacturing are the city's largest industries. Others produce electrical and electronics equipment, pottery, clothing, shoes, and tobacco products. Marseille is served by major railways and airlines and is linked with the Rhône River by a canal.
Although it dates back more than 200 years, it is a modern city, but still has links to the rich past. Tourists can visit the prison of Chateau d'If, which was made famous by Alexandre Dumas in the Count of Monte Cristo. From colourful markets that make you feel like you are in Africa, to the Calanques (a natural area of big cliffs falling into the sea), from the Panier area (the oldest place of the city) to the Vieux-Port (old harbor) and the Corniche (a road along the sea) Marseille has definitely a lot to offer.
There are many cathedrals, fortresses and historical building like the old city hall from the 17th century. The old port has many cafes and places to eat in. There are beautiful mountains and beaches, which make Marseille's tourism thrive.

Geography - George Best

George Best was the first child of Dickie and Anne Best, and grew up in Cregagh, Belfast. He was born on the 22nd May 1946. At the age of 15, Best was discovered by the Manchester United scout, Bob Bishop in Belfast. Bishop famously said to manager Matt Busby: "I think I've found you a genius." He was given a trial for Man Utd and was subsequently signed. This was the beginning of what was to be an amazing career.
He made his Man Utd debut at the age of 17, against West Bromwich Albion. United won 1-0. His first goal was against Burnley in a 5-1 win. By the end of his first season, he had appeared 26 times and scored 6 goals. Unfortunately Man Utd did not win the league this season, but finished 2nd, 4 points behind Liverpool.
Best hit the headlines at the age of twenty when he scored two goals in a European Cup quarter-final match against Benfica in 1966. He was an immediate crowd and media pleaser because of his good looks and footballing skills. The 1966–67 season was again successful, as Manchester United claimed the league title by four points. The following season, Best became a European Cup winner after scoring in the final against Benfica. United won 4–1 and Best was later crowned European Footballer of the Year.
In 1974, aged 27, Best quit United for good. His last competitive game for the club was on 1 January 1974 against Queens Park Rangers. In total Best made 470 appearances for Manchester United in all competitions from 1963 to 1974, and scored 179 goals (including six in one game against fourth division Northampton Town — an extraordinary feat that in 2002 the British public voted #26 in the list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments). He was the club's top scorer for six consecutive seasons, and was the First Division's top scorer in the 1967–68 season.
After leaving United, Best played with various other clubs around the world. He played in places including Ireland, America, Australia and Scotland.
There is no wonder that he is considered one of the best footballers the world had ever seen. He could beat opponents with skill and dazzling tricks, swerving through defenders, or go past them with a burst of devastating speed. He could shoot brilliantly with either foot and out-jump much taller opponents to win the ball in the air. George Best had the confidence and arrogance to try absolutely anything - he knew he was a genius and was not afraid to show it.

Best was strong enough to take the knocks and abuse from the less talented players who would try to hack him out of the game. Best took it all on the chin and triumphed regardless. When he tried one trick too many and lost the ball he would fight twice as hard to get it back. He would inspire his team and bring a crowd, home or away, to its feet.


BELFAST

It is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland.
Belfast has been very famous in the last 100 years for its ship building. Ship building was one of Belfast's biggest industries, employing thousands of people in the days of its height. Actual ship building in Belfast began in 1791. The Harland and Wolff shipyard was founded in 1862 by Edward J. Harland and G.W. Wolff. At its height, Belfast had one of the biggest shipyards in the world, employing over 30,000 people. The most famous ship to be built in Belfast is also the most famous ship in the world, “The Titanic”. During World War II shipbuilding and engineering boomed. These essential industries made Belfast a target for German bombing and the city suffered severely during the blitz. Belfast has been the scene for many sectarian conflicts between Protestants and Catholics. Belfast has seen some of the worst of “The Troubles”. It has seen assassinations, bombings and street violence. In total, 1500 people were killed in political violence in Belfast.
Some famous landmarks in Belfast are:
Stormont Castle, Belfast Castle, Queens University, Albert Memorial Clock, Belfast City Hall and Queens University.
Belfast is situated in a northern latitude location, which gives it long summer evenings and short winter days. The city has some lovely scenery, like Belfast lough, the river Lagan, and many hills including Divis Mountain, Black Mountain and Cavehill. Belfast has a temperate climate, which is very similar to the climate down here in Kildare.

Geography Project- Manchester United Legends

We are doing our geography project on our favourite past times. We must mark out 5 different locations on google maps, and write about our past time in that place.
One of my biggest passions in life in football, especially Man Utd. I am a huge fan, so I decided to do my project on this, as I knew it was a project I would enjoy doing. I have narrowed it down to 5 manchester united legends. I have chosen to write about:
George Best- Belfast, Northern Ireland
Ryan Giggs - Cardiff, Wales
Eric Cantona - Marseille, France
Bobby Charlton - Northumberland, U.K
Peter Schmeichel - Copenhagen, Denmark
These players are 5 of the greatest Manchester United footballers ever. On google maps, I just have an introduction to the player, whereas my blog post will be much more detailed. :)

Star Wars :D

A few weeks ago, I blogged about bag packing for Autism Ireland. All the people that bag packed were put into a draw to win tickets to a star wars convention, and I ended up going. I was really excited to go to it, even though I knew nothing about star wars. The only character I knew was Darth Vader ;) My aim was to meet him, and if I didnt I knew I would be very sad :( So on friday the 22nd of April, myself and a few other girls took the bus into town, and then the dart out to the RDS. When we went in, we were in a big huge room, and there was a few of the characters walking around, like Obi Wan Kenobi and the clones, and some alien thing. We took pictures with all these characters. There was also an ice cream man there, and he was giving out free 99's so that was excellent :D Here are some of the pictures we took with the characters:

Then we went into the actual exhibition. There was replicas of all the props, and masks. There were huge big space ships and alien heads and things like that. There was a lot of the characters walking around as well. So what else was there to do except take more pictures!!

As you can see, I got to meet Darth Vader, which was my aim for the whole day :D I was very excited to meet him, but he was absolutely HUGE!! I have never met some one sooo tall!! He was quite intimidating, especially with his scary voice.At 2 o clock the exhibition was over, so we went home. It was such a good day, I didn't expect it to be that good! It was not what I thought it would be, it was so much better. I am so glad I went! :)

Irish National Youth Ballet

On wednesday the 13th April, we all went to the Irish National Youth Ballet's performance in Belvedere College. I was really excited to go because I had never seen a live ballet performance. One of the girls from the other class was performing in it. We went into the auditorium and took our seats. The performance began with the younger children doing a ballet dressed up a chickens and things like that. It was set on a farm. Then the older ones came on a did ballet to the musical "South Pacific"....I think that was it anyway!! :P The performance was so good, and Hayley was absolutely amazing :) Then there was an interval for 15 mins. After this, both the young and old ballerinas came on stage to do "The Snow Queen". It was spectacular. They were all sooo good and graceful! Overall it was such a good day, and I would love to go and see ballet again :D

Would you like some help with your bags??!

On friday and saturday some ty volunteers bagpacked in tesco celbridge for Autism Ireland. On friday I packed from 6-8 pm. We got lovely blue bibs to wear :D A lot of people were very generous and nice, some not so much!! On saturday, I bag packed again from 2- 5.30. It was really good. I don't mind giving up my weekend to do some charity work. It is a really good cause, and I hope we raised a lot of money for them :)

English Boook

For english, we were given the prescribed texts for the leaving cert 2013. We have been told to read at least one novel off this list before easter and to blog about it. This will help us greatly when we go to study these books next year. I have chosen to read "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I chose this book because I have heard people saying that it is an excellent read. It is set in america in 1922, after the first world war. It is all about life in the "Roaring Twenties" (a.k.a the Jazz Age). The main character is Jay Gatsby, a young man who loves a married woman. There is only 9 chapters in the book, so it is quite short ! I think it is a good book, I am enjoying it so far. I will keep you updated on how I get on :)

GREEN HERO

Yesterday the Green Hero team went to the Osprey Hotel in Naas f0r the mini company national final. We had so much stuff to bring with us. Mrs L came with us. When we got there, we set up our stand and got changed into our Green Hero tshirts. The minster of education was there, and there was a speech made by him. He pretty much said that we were the best 27 mini companies in Ireland and we should be very proud to be there.
Me and Louise were on stand duty for the first hour, and we were judged by two judges. Then we were given task cards and we had to look at all the other mini companies. There were some really good companies there. Then we had to circle time with people from the other schools to talk about the mini company experience. After a FREE lunch, the awards ceromony took place. I was delighted that we won 3rd prize for quality :D we were very proud because we've worked so hard all year.

Holy Faith Competition in Santry

On tuesday 5th april a team of athletes from the school travelled to santry for a holy faith athletics competition. myself and Siobhan were the only ty's going. All the rest of our class was on retreat. We headed off at 10.40 and the race started at 12. Our school won so many medals, and every team won all the relays! It was a very good day. Next week we have the west leinsters, so this race was a training session for us. Well done to all involved and hopefully we will do well next week!

Gaisce Hike :D

On friday 1st april, we had the gaisce hike. There were only 16 of us going, so it was a nice intimate affair ;) We left the school at 2 o clock. It only took us less than an hour to get down to knockree in Wicklow.

When we got there, we were given our room keys. I was in a room with Ailbhe, Leah, Ciara and Saidhbh. The room was sooo cool! It had an upstairs :O me and leah slept in the 2 beds upstairs. We unpacked all our stuff and got ready to go on the hike. We went at about 4. The weather was lovely, but really windy. After about half an hour my legs started to really hurt, but then after a while I just git used to it. A lot of the hike was really steep.

The hike was really enjoyable. I tried to challenge myself for a lot of it, and when i got tired i kept telling myself to keep going. We took well deserved breaks along the way. We stopped at a point that was overlooking the powerscourt waterfall, which was very nice :) We ended up doing 20 km on friday night!

When we got back to the hostel, we all got to make our own dinner which was fun. I made some lovely pasta :) After dinner we got to watch '50 first dates' in the tv room. Lights out was at 11pm, and we finished the movie at 10.59, which was great timing! :P We then went up to our rooms. Everyone was so tired, so we all went asleep quickly.

Next morning we were woken at 8am for our breakfast. We ate our breakfast and then got ready once again to go on the rest of the hike. Because we only had 5km left to do, we did activities to use up the rest of the day. We started off with orienteering. We were divided into two groups. We were given a map with a key and we were told to go and find these 12 different pieces of paper on 12 different trees. We were against the clock so we tried running a lot of it. We were very competitive, and we were annoyed because the other team seemed to follow everything we did ;) in the end my team lost :( After the orienteerteering we did some archery and low ropes. Atfter we had a quick break, we did some team games.

On the way home, we got to stop off and get some ice cream :D Overall it was such a good weekend, like Carlingford in some ways :) It was soooo much fun, I'd love to hike again sometime!

Jabba Jabba Jembe!!

Today class Amina had a percussion workshop from 10.40 - 3.20. When we went down to the music room, we were greeted by a man called Dave :) We all had to go out to the van (which was cool) to get all the drums and stuff. Dave's dog also came along for the craic. It is the cutest dog ever!! His name was Charlie, and I really wanted to sneak him home with me, but I think Dave would have noticed if his dog was missing.... When we had brought all the drums in, we each took one. He showed us basic things, like how to hit the drum properly with your hands, and also he taught us some basic rhythms. Then we learned a bit about the history of the jembe. It originated in western africa, in Mali. Dave said that he lived in Ghana, so I thought that was quite a cool place to live. Then we played some more songs. Some girls had the big bass drums, and some had little small bongos. Even some of the teachers played with us :D We watched a video about the jembe in africa, and how rhythm comes into their everyday lives. It was amazing to see the local people beating out rhythms when they were like working in the fields or something...I guess it really does flow in the blood! Then we got to do some freestyling and salsa. At times it was hard to keep the rhythm because other people were doing different things, but I eventually got the hang of it. Most people's hands were sore at the end, but that just means that your "hands are laughing" !! It was such a good day, definitely one of the best days in ty so far. It was SOOO much fun. everyone enjoyed themselves. It was also really different, it's not everyday to get to play the jembe!!! (haha that rhymes) the website is www.jabbajabbajembe.com

Music Night :D

Yesterday, the annual music night was held in the school. I am in the choir, and we were opening the show, singing the song we sang for a competition called "To a Wild Rose". Personally I think it went very well, and our harmonies were sounding goooood :) Then the ty's were also performing "mama said". To be honest, at the start I really didn't like the song, but I grew to really like it :-) It is a really upbeat and happy song. Everyone on stage got into the mood, and no one held back :L I think were really good and made the audience smile :D Overall twas a very enjoyable evening, and hopefully we raised money for the music department. Well done to all involved :)

Can you die from walking?!!! :P

So I'm doing Gaisce and as part of the award you have to do a hike..which is on friday. We are leaving school at 2 o clock on friday and will return at 6 on saturday. I've been working on gaisce for like the whole year, and when I do the hike I will get my award :D So what I didn't know is that the hike is 25km, yes I said 25!!!! :O seriously, I don't know if that is physically possible, but I will soon find out. I am going to bring the a LOT of food, to keep the energy levels up :P If I ever recover from the hike, and am able to type when I return, I'll let you know how I got on..........

Music night

Well tomorrow is the music night (!) and the tys are singing "mama said" by dionne bromfield. It had improved a lot since we started, and we have added in a few hip shakes and all ;) I am also in the choir, and we are singing as well...so tomorrow night I will be a busy woman! ;D

Trip to Dublin :)

Yesterday we went to town :) We firstly visited the W.B Yeats exhibition. We got to see memorabilia from his early life, all the way until the end of his life. It was very interesting to see his drafts of poems and his handwriting (which was very hard to read!!!) Then we went to the history museum, where we saw items from the stone age, bronze age and iron age. Then we went to go and see the bog bodies, which I think every one was looking forward to. It was amazing to see bodies that have been preserved for thousands of years in the bog. We got to see 4 bodies. Some were decapacitated, others had no legs. The most interesting one was a man who's hands were still intact! It was amazing, as you could see finger nails and where the veins would have been. It is astonishing that these bodies have been preserved for so long. After this, we were free to have lunch, so myself and a few other girls went to St Stephens Green and had a pic nic :) It was so nice, because the sun was shining and it felt like summer. :D Then we went to the Art Gallery, where we saw Jack Yeats' paintings. He started off as a realist painter, and then through his life he changed to an impressionist painter. The paintings were very interesting, and it was a great way to end a brilliant day :D

Lá Glas :D

On wednesday the 16th april, we had Lá Glas in the school. Ty's theme was aer lingus. We had people dressed up as pilots, passangers, air traffic controlers and air hostesses. We had a very creative performance planned (thanks to leah!!) It was a lot of fun, and we won 8 easter eggs between the year :)

Mini Company in the Red Cow

On Monday the 14th of March, the tys headed on yet another trip for mini company. This time it was a regional final. We were all judged by about 4 judges. There were 6 people in our group and we were split in two A's, B's and C'S. one group would be at the stand, then you would switch to go and look at the other stands, then we went into a different room to talk to the other students about our mini company experience. It was a good day and Green Hero won 1st prize for sustainability and 3rd prize for quality. We also qualified for the national final on the 7th april. We have a lot of hard work to do in the coming weeks!

Choir Competition

Today is the Wesley Choir Competiton. We have been practicing for many weeks now, on a song called "To a Wild Rose". It is a really nice song, especially when we add in all the harmonies. The competition is on at 4 o clock today! :O Hopefully we will do alright :)

Mini Company

Yesterday all the tys went to Clane GAA for our mini company competition. This was the day that we had all been building up to for many weeks now. Our group had put so much work into the project. Every one had put in so much work into all their companies. We left at 9.30 and when we got their we set up our stands. Every one's looked so good. Green Hero was one of the last groups to be judged. The judge was realy nice and he didn't really have anything bad to say about our company. Then we heard that we were shortlisted for the final. But apparently we didn't get through...so that is kind of dissapointing. Also I didn't get through to Poland, so overall its been a good week :P
Good Luck to all the girls that got through to the final, I know they will do really well!! :)

Sometimes in April - Rwandan Genocide

So yesterday we spent 3 classes watching the movie "Sometimes in April". It is a film all about the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. This was the mass murder of 850,000 people in Rwanda. It was between 2 tribes- the Tutsi's and the Hutu's. These tribes had previously lived in peace for many years, but when the Belgians colonised Rwanda, they placed the minority Tutsi's over the Hutu's. The Hutus then rebelled and overthrew the Tutsi monarchy. The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) was made up of mostly Tutsi's, and they invaded to try and defeat the Hutus. This was the beginning of the Rwandan Genocide. The Hutus wanted to kill any Tutsis or moderate Hutus.
This is a very powerful and upsetting movie, as it gives us an insight into what life was like in Rwanda during this very difficult time. There are some disturbing scenes of people being killed, and streets filled with dead bodies. There are some very poignant scenes. It is quite a hard movie to understand at times, because the movie switches from the present to flashbacks from the past. This movie is from the Americans point of view, which is very good I think. You get to see that the Americans didn't really have an interest in the killings of the native people, they just wanted to get all their people out of Rwanda before they could get hurt.
We didn't get to finish the movie, but we will be finishing the movie after the midterm. I think this movie is a real eye opener about the Rwandan Genocide, which we wouldn't have heard much of before.
I can't wait to see the end of it, and see what happens. I'm sure everything will be revealed!
:)

Get away out of that ya mad eejit ya!!

Today, our class Amina had a talk with an author/illustrator called Oisín McGann. He was really interesting and funny. Firstly he talked to us about his ideas and where they come from. He told us that he carries around a notebook with him all the time, so he can write down ideas as soon as they pop into his head. He told us that you could think about a really good idea, and then in the next second, the idea could be lost forever. So it is best to write down all your ideas, so that you can expand on them later. He told us that stories can come from everyday items, like a shoe! He made up a story as he went along about an evil shoe that sucked your blood..:| It sounds weird but it was so cool the way he could just make up a story like that off the top of his head. He talked to us about language and how facinating it is, the way we all speak different forms of english. He told us saying like " giving it welly" and "sucking diesel". When he went to england and was using these sayings, no one understood what he was saying. It is actually really interesting how these sayings come about! He then talked abouth the phrase "Get away out of that ya mad eejit ya". When you think about it, that phrase makes no sense at all, but its a typical irish saying! :P To finish up, Oisín drew us a picture of one of the characters from his book. It was a really good illustration :)

Cooking no. 3

Yesterday me and Alison cooked our final dish from spain, which was paella!!! It was soooooo tasty and really easy to make :) We're done all our cooking classes now, so all thats left is to present our powerpoint...

Páirc an Chrócaigh!

Today the ty's paid a visit to Croke Park. We left school at about 12.10pm. When we got there first, we were brought into a little conference room. Here we watched a 20 minute film all about Croke Park. It didn't really focus on the actual gaa matches, instead it gave us an insight into the preparation that is involved in every match.  It was really good :) Then we started our tour. The tour guide was really good and informative. We saw the players changing rooms and the VIP area :O Apparently no one sees the vip room except the vips, so it was very exclusive and we were very lucky to see it :P It was really fancy inside!! We then saw the practice room where players can go and hit a few balls before the game. Then we walked down the tunnel where the players go and onto the pitch. It was really funny because they played fake crowd noises, so it sounded like people were cheering for us as we walked onto the pitch. It really made me think how nerve racking it must be to walk out onto the pitch in front of 82,500 people!!! We got to sit in the exclusive seats, like where the taoiseach and the president sit! We then sat up in the very highest seats (which were quite scary, it was so high up!) Then we went into the corporate boxes, which he told us were over €200,000 a year to rent. After this we went to the GAA museum, where we learned the history of the GAA and got to play a few games. We then had the opportunity to go to the cafe before we went home. It was a really good day overall, I'm definintely going to go to some gaa matches in the future!! :D

       

Poland????

Rightttt..................
Today we were told about a trip to Poland that will be happening next year, for the current ty's and 5th years. When I heard about it, I was super duper excited!! The itinerary includes a trip to auchwitz, Pope John Paul's birth place and a waterpark. It would be a great cultural experience, which I would love to be a part of. The bad thing is that only 40 people will be picked! I will put my name down and see what happens ;D you never know............

Clock is Finished!!!

Well, I just thought I should announce that my clock for technology is finished!! FINALLY :L I had been sawing and filing for ages, but today I finally completed it :D I added my own little touch, by putting writing on it. I wrote TY on it, so that when I'm 100, I can look back on my year in ty and my clock will be the perfect memory!!! ;) Mr W will be grading them :o , I'll probably get a real bad mark!! Ah well, technology isn't my forte, but it is growing on me! I kinda like sawing things...in a weird way.....I guess you could call it theraputic?????!
;D

Music :D

So for music we have to perform songs in groups. My group is doing italian music. We are singing two songs, Volare by the Gypsy Kings and That's Amore. We have to perform for class emnet next week :o That should be funny! :)

The Gypsy Kings

Schindler's List

On wednesday in history we werre watching schindlers list. It is a film about Oskar Schindler, a german business man who saved the lives of thousands of jewish people by employing them to work in his factory. It is set during the Holocaust.

 

Cooking no. 2!

So on tuesday, me and Alison were cooking our 2nd dish from spain. We cooked a traditional spanish dessert, which was churros :) They are mini doughnuts, which we served with melted chocolate. They didn't look very appetising (!) but they tasted great. Next week we hope to make paella, and then we will have to present our project to the class.

Subject Choices!

Next week we are going to have to fill in our subject choice forms :\ I'm a little bit apprehensive because these are the subjects that we are going to be doing for our leaving cert :o On wednesday i will be having my meeting with mr C to talk about subject choice. I really like science, so I am going to do biology, chemistry, physics and music. Hopefully I will get my subjects!!!

Another day at the office!

So friday was a good day :) in science we were looking at "strands of protein" (a.k.a hair) under the microscope :) it was good to see what hair looks like up close. It sounds kinda weird, but it was interesting :D
in maths, we had a maths quiz. it was on algebra. When we heard that the prize for the winners was chocolate, i really wanted to win! but we didn't :( ah well, there's always next time! :P
the at lunch, myself and a few other girls were helping mr L giving out the mile challenge wristbands. Everyone who participated in the mile challenge got a wristband. There were different colours for different times. I was working with chloe and we were giving out wristbands to 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th years. I must say, we made a good team :)
then in irish we were doing irish dancing. It was great craic! :P We learned the seed of ennis. It was really fun, and quite exhausting ;) I had never irish dancing before so it was an experience :L

Projects

So, in ty we have had to do many projects. This term we have been given our history project which will be our summer test result. For this we have to research any topic. You can do it on whatever you want, and write a 5 page essay or so on it. Because it is so broad and you can choose anything, I was a bit undecisive about what to do. I think  have finally chosen to do it on Edwin Hubble. He was an american astronomer who is the founder of modern day astronomy. I have an interest in this field, so it should be an interesting topic to do :)
In geography we have to do a tri fold brochure on a disease found in a third world country. I think I am going to do tetanus, which is found in Brazil. This disease is also known as "lockjaw", so I think it will be a very interesting one to do.
In home ec, we have to do a project on a country. Myself and Alison have chosen to do spain. On tuesday we cooked penne en salsa de tomate con chorizo. It was YUMMY!! We have to cook two more dishes and then present our project to the class.
:D

Drama Workshop

Today for two classes, we had a drama workshop. We were in the hall with a man called Ian. We did various excercises to warm up. Then we went into pairs. In our pairs there was person A and person B. Person A had to create a pose and then person b had to fill in the spaces with their body. It is hard to explain, but it was really good fun. It was all about movement and how this can be used in productions. This will be really good help for our dramas. :)

Water Treatment Plant

Yesterday my mini company, Green Hero went to the water treatment plant in Leixlip. We decided to go here, because for the 2nd issue of our magazine the theme is water. We got a tour of the whole plant (which is very big!) We got to see all the stages of how the water is treated so that it is safe to drink. We took a lot of pictures which will go into the next issue. I think it is important that children are educated about the process of how their water is cleaned before it gets to the taps. Overall twas a very interesting day (:

Cross Country

On thursday we had a cross country race in the phoenix park. From ty it was myself, rebekah, lauren, davina and sarah came to watch ;) It was un-naturally cold and I was dreading running, but I finshed it without passing out, so that was an achievement! :-) The race went ok, but our team was the only team from our school that didnt get a medal and qualify for the leinsters :( but we still get to go and support the other girls at the race in 2 weeks :D

Mile Challenge and Rugby

So on wednesday the ty's and 5th years had the mile challenge. I decided that I would do it, just for a laugh! There was a lot of people there, which was quite surprising. I was really tired because it was so early, but it went ok,so now i'm waiting to get my free wristband! :L
Later on we had double pe, and we were doing tag rugby again :DD I didn't realise that we would be doing it again, but we have it for the next few weeks :) (yay!!) we have another blitz on in a few weeks again, but it will be bigger than the last time. It should be even better than the last one. I love tag rugby so much, its like one of the the best things we've done in ty :D  <3

Drama Competition in Mullingar

yesterday all the tys headed off to mullingar for a drama competition :) we had four dramas entered. My groups play was based on the poem " but you didnt". I was a waitress, and a very cool one at that :P it was a really fun day..the three other plays were fantastic as well, TEARJERKERS!! we also got to watch 2 plays from a school in donegal, they were so good. Overall it was a really good day, so hopefully we will get through to the next round!

Rugby Tournament

Last thursday, the two rugby teams headed off to tallaght for a bit of a rugby blitz :L I was on team one, and i must say we were very good ;) we won every game. Team 2 were excellent as well and we made sure to cheer them on, when we weren't playing :) It was such a good day, so much fun! I really really like rugby and we've got another rugby blitz at easter, so hopefully that will be good :D to make the day even better, we got free t shirts and bags...so that was awesome haha (: