As part of their Victorian topic, P7 had the opportunity to visit the MAC theatre on Thursday to see a production of 'Under the Hawthorn Tree'. The book was written by Marita Conlon-McKenna and is set during the 1847 famine in Ireland, hence the Victorian connection.
The children were able to appreciate the desperate plight of the families and found it both very sad, yet funny in parts. They were also struck by the music, which they enjoyed. They mentioned both the flute and a set of pipes, called the uilleann pipes, which are played using the elbow to pump air into them.
The children, Eily, Michael and Peggy, lose their parents during the famine, but, thankfully, manage to make it to their aunt in Castletaggart in the end, after a lot of hardship.
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