We bid a fond farewell to our treasured staff member Chris Kelly with a special tribute concert, Trad in the Claddagh. All of us in the Claddagh School community will miss Chris's kindness, understanding, good humour and his generosity in sharing his unparalleled musical skills throughout the years. Best of luck in your retirement, Chris!
Slán le Rang a 6
A fond farewell to the sixth class of 2026. Farewell and best of luck to all our wonderful sixth class pupils who had their graduation ceremony today. We'll miss you all, and there will always be a warm welcome here in Claddagh School for each and every one of you.
A Little Bit About Lego
By Giorgi Jincharadze
Lego is really fun toy to play with, you can do things like creating planes, cars and trucks and you can also make buildings, toys and characters.
The Lego company began in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Billund, Denmark, who began making wooden toys in 1932. Lego means to “play well”. In 1936, they started using plastic and in 1958 they designed and patented the Lego brick that we now use.
Over the years, Lego added new moulds and colours, including black, green, blue, brown, grey, lilac, metallic, orange and new colours warm pink and blue violet.
There are also board games that have mini-characters and there are video games, films and theme parks. The theme parks are located in Billund (Denmark), California, Florida, New York, Windsor, Germany, Dubai, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea.
The most popular video games are Lego Star Wars and Lego Marvel Superhero.
I would love to visit Legoland sometime in the future. I hope you enjoyed reading my article.
Claddagh Communion 2026
Bike Week 2026: Le Grand Tour de Claddagh
About 50 enthusiastic Claddagh kids took part in our annual Grand Tour de Claddagh on Friday, 15th May, cycling through Claddagh and out the Causeway to Mutton Island before completing a gruelling circuit of South Park. A great end to Bike Week 2026 for Claddagh N.S!
Our Visit to Galway’s Living Bog
On Tuesday, 12th May 2026, both 4th classes from Claddagh National School went on a tour to visit Galway’s Living Bog at Ceathrú na gCapall outside Mountbellew in north Co. Galway.
First thing in the morning, we took a bus journey from the school, which took about one hour.
When we arrived in Mountbellew, we stopped at the mart where the information centre about the bog is located. We watched a short video about bogs. We learned how bogs are formed, some of the plants and animals that live on bogs, and about how humans’ relationships with bogs have changed over the years, especially since we started using machinery to cut turf. We also learned that less than 1% of Ireland’s raised bogs remain today. One of the bogs that is being preserved is the one at Ceathrú na gCapall.
We had a drink and a snack and then it was time for the short bus journey to the bog.
When we got there, we met our guide, Marie. We followed her down a small road into the bog, stopping along the way to learn interesting facts about the bog and its history. We learned that people used to use the bog as a rubbish dump, but nowadays it is being protected. We learned that local people had cut turf on the bog to use for cooking and heating for hundreds of years, but that they had all now agreed to stop so that the bog can be saved.
After walking for about 1.5 k.m., we reached the bog. We stopped to have some lunch and then we walked through a small forest and onto a boardwalk above the bog itself. We stopped on a platform and Marie told us the bog formed about 10,000 years ago, after the Ice Age.
She taught us about some of the plants that live on the bog, including spaghnum moss, bog cotton and sundew.
We learned that spaghnum moss can hold 25 times its own weight in water, and that it has been used for medicinal purposes for generations. It was even used as an antiseptic dressing during World War I!
Sundew is an amazing plant – it is carnivorous! It uses a sticky, honey-like substance to trap insects and then it closes slowly on them and dissolves them. A sundew eats approximately five or six flies per month!
Finally, after Marie showed us some sundew plants and how spaghnum moss can filter water, we walked the short distance back to the bus. It was a really enjoyable stroll, and we got to see plants that were growing along the road, for example ferns and hawthorn trees.
We learned a lot of things about the bog and really enjoyed our trip. We hope we can go there again some day!
Claddagh Confirmation 2026
Congratulations to all the 6th Class children who made their Confirmation in St. Mary’s Church, Claddagh, on 22nd April 2026.