JANUARY - IRELAND

Ireland

Ce mois ci, les élèves de la 4eme7 vous emmènent en Irlande. Ils vous font découvrir la magnifique Chaussée des Géants, le grand Oscar Wilde, le cinéma avec l'acteur Cillian Murphy, le joueur de football Robbie Keane, le lévrier Greyhound, les recettes à base de la célèbre Guinness et sans oublier les impréssionnantes fresques murales de Belfast.

Bonne lecture.

Miss Kahel

IRELAND - FAMOUS PLACES

Giant's Causeway

    According to a legend, two giant enemies lived on either side of the sea, one in Scotland, called Benandonner and one in Ireland, named Finn McCool. The Scottish giant spoke of his Irish rival as a coward person until the day when Finn, strongly irritated, told the Scotsman to come and fight to prove that he was the strongest! But how to cross the sea? The Irishman threw stones into the water to build a path, a "floor" between Scotland and Ireland. But when he saw his opponent approaching, the Irishman was panicked because he was much smaller than his opponent! He ran to seek advice from his wife, Oonagh, who had just time to disguise him into a baby before the arrival of the Scottish giant. She presented her"son", who was no other than her husband in disguise. The Scottish giant, saw the size of this "baby" and became frightened. Distraught at the idea of the size of the father and therefore his power, he ran away and returned to Scotland, to his land, taking care to remove the floor so that the Irish giant should not risk to join his island. And from that day, the “floor” remained forever engraved in one of the many Irish legends.

According to scientists, the Giant's Causeway
was formed by an ancient lava flow, about 40 million years ago and during that time, the lava cooled and formed several piled plates and built huge mountains. The hexagonal shape shows that the lava was cooling very fast and if the columns are perpendicular, it is when the lava under mounted and cooled simultaneously, pushing the superior layer even higher.

Moreover, this place was classified UNESCO heritage in 1986 and became a national nature reserve in 1987. Four superb trails start from the Giant's Causeway. Built recently, they are identified by different
colors. They all offer breathtaking views of the cliffs battered by wind and waves, and on the whole bay.
Each trail is suitable for one type of walker, from the
small ones in their stroller to the great hiker.

Marcelino Loick & Luce Guillaume

IRELAND - FAMOUS PEOPLE

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde's real name was Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills. He was a British writer of Irish origins.

He was born on October 16^th, 1854 in Dublin, and died on the 30^th of November 1900 in Paris at the age of 46 years old.
He was born in the Protestant bourgeoisie of Dublin, his father was a renowned ophthalmologist and his mother was a poet. He was the second of three children of Jane Francesca Elgee Wilde and two years younger than his brother William Elder.
His father was a doctor, he treated famous persons including Queen Victoria, Napoleon III and the Swedish King Oscar II.

His mother would have prefered a girl and she raised Oscar as such until the age of 7 years old. His mother often transformed him into a small Hindu idol until the age of nine. He was educated at home under the care of a French and a German governess.

Oscar Wilde had a brilliant school career.

He integrated the Magdalene College, Oxford University, where he built an esthete and dandy character under the influence of the Preraphaelites and he was influenced by theories of art by Walter Pater and John Ruskin Wistler .

Oscar Wilde was arrested in his room of the Cadogan Hotel London palace because he had a homosexual love life, and after two trials, he was sentenced, under a law dating back to 1885 prohibiting homosexuality, to a maximum penalty of two years of hard labor in 1895 in the Reading prison. His wife and son took refuge in Switzerland where she underwent humiliation in Neufchatel on June 1895 as a hotel owner refused to accept her because of her outrageous name.

He wrote several masterpieces such as:

A Woman of No Importance (1894)

It deals with the English upper class, and has been played many times in the theaters in Europe and North America since the death of Wilde.The story is set in an English country house with a woman named Lady Hunstanton. She invited some friends to her place, she then meets again Lord lllingworth, her former lover, who is the father of her son Gérald. This relationship was 20 years ago and gerald doesn't know his real father. Gerald is also in love with a young girl but he discovers lllingworth kissing his girlfriend and this will creates tension between father and son.

An Ideal Husband (1895)

A play written in 1895. This is the story of a man called Sir Robert. He is rich but he wants to have a political future, he is supported by his wife Lady Chiltern who saw in him an ideal husband. But Sir Robert meets a woman called Mrs. Cheveley, a woman who will blackmail Sir Robert Chiltern and will expose one of his big secret.

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)

This novel was published in 1890. Dorian is a young man and a friend of Lord Henry, he meets Harry Basil Hallword a really famous painter who becomes fascinated by Dorian and offers to make his portrait. But this portrait is magical and as the years go by, the portrait ages whereas Dorian remains forever young and beautiful. Yet, Dorian develops a violent temper. Magics always come with a price.

Laura and Paule

IRELAND - CINEMA

Cillian Murphy

Cillian Murphy is an Irish actor and musician, he was born on May 25^th 1976 in Douglas, Cork County.
He studied at the University of Cork, he loved music and he was in a band called Sons of Mr Greengenes

He appeared in several films like:

28 Days Later

Released in 2002, it's a zombie movie. This is the story of a commando of animal advocates who goes to a laboratory in order to deliver monkeys subjected to strange experiments on violence. Despite the warnings of a scientist on the spread of the virus being injected within the monkeys, the commando frees them, but this makes them furious and they immediately jump on them and bite them. Twenty-eight days later, Jim, a man who was in a coma, wakes up in the hospital of Saint Thomas in the city of London, where residents have all disappeared or turned into zombies.

Batman Begins

He played the role of the Scarecrow in 2005 The young Bruce Wayne Deeply traumatized by the murder of his parents, grows up with a desire for revenge and travels around the world to study crimology and martial arts. The League of Shadows, a sect of ninja warriors led by Ra's al Ghul, will take charge of his physical training. Back in Gotham City, the young man is responsible for the management of Wayne enterprises he has inherited. Operating from the basement under the family mansion with the help of his butler Alfred, Bruce Wayne embarks on the fight against crime as the Batman.

Cillian Murphy also played in Batman The Dark Knight in 2008 and Batman The Dark Knight Rises 2012 in the role of the Scarecrow

Peaky Blinders

This series recounts the saga of a family of gangsters in Birmingham. It is based on the history of the Peaky Blinders gang who actually existed just after the First World War. Their name comes from the fact that they were used to hide razor blades in the front part of their cap (“peak” in slang). This group, led by the ambitious and very dangerous Tommy Shelby, draws the attention of the Chief Inspector Chester Campbell, a detective of the Royal Irish Constabulary, which was sent from Belfast to clean the city of all the criminals. Cillian Murphy plays the villain (Tommy Shelby)

Morgan & Gregoire

IRELAND - SPORT

Robbie Keane

Robbie Keane was born on July 8th, 1980 in Dublin and his nationality is Irish. He began his career in the team of Wolverhampton (English team). Three years later he became famous in Tottenham. On June 7th, 2008, he got married with the Irish model Claudine Palmer, with whom he had a son named Robert Ronan, on May, 10^th 2010. Then, as the years passed he was selected in the big teams. In Sunderland, in 2009, Keane was replaced by Peter Crouch but remains unbeatable and he managed a quadruple facing Burnley in a 5-0 victory. At the beginning of February a rumor on his return to Tottenham materialized and Robbie Keane signed a 4-year contract with the London club. The transfer was estimated to 13.3 million pounds. 

Matthieu, Morgan D & Samuel

IRELAND - ANIMALS

The Irish Greyhound

 The Irish Wolfhound or Greyhound, is the most rustic, the largest haired Greyhound.

It is, with the Great Dane, the largest breed of dogs. The Irish Wolfhound has an elongated body and it is imposing, with massive muscles and a broad back. The legs are long and straight.

The Irish Wolfhound is not quite as heavy or massive as the Great Dane, but it is more than the Scottish Greyhound. It has a large and imposing appearance, it is very muscular, powerfully built, but with elegance. Its movements are quick and active. Its head and neck are high. The tail presents a slight curve towards the end.

The average size is of 32 inches (81 cm) to 34 inches (86 cm) tall for a male with an obvious power, activity, courage and harmony in the forms.

Description of the animal:

Head: The head is long and flat, with a not too broad skull, a
long and slightly pointed muzzle.Eyes: the eyes are small, dark, with soft eyes.Ears: The ears are pink and small-doors shaped.Tail: The tail is long, very low, down almost to the ground.
Temper: This dog has a good temper but responds only if provoked. Before attacking, it warns with barking. It is very gentle with children, it loves and defends them. Its temper is very balanced, it is quiet but also able to recall his fighter past and become really terrible if it has to defend its master.

Mohamed and Jimmy

IRELAND - STREET ART

Mural paintings in Belfast

The first Belfast mural ever done is loyalist (those loyal to England) and it was painted in Belfast in 1908.

Loyalist murals were part of the tribute festivals of the Battle of the Boyne, July 12, 1690 for Protestants to show that they are loyal to the crown of England.

After 70 years, we see the emergence of new murals to honor the Republicans (who want to be independent) and they use them as a means to express themselves at the time of the terrorist conflicts. The IRA prisoners wanted to be recognized as political prisoners, Republicans began to draw slogans on the walls to support and influence the Irish so that prisoners can be released. But the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher always refused to talk to the prisoners. The Irish independentists hated her, to the point of wanting to hurt her.

Some of the prisoners went on a hunger strike and died. They became martyrs and new murals have put them in the spotlight, just like Bobby Sands for example.

On the walls in the city, depending wether you are in the Catholic district or the Protestant one, you can see paintings of the fight against "Home Rule," the “Battle of the Somme”, the “Drumcree parade” or in favour of the British royal family for the Loyalists

Today, Northern Ireland, which always strives towards independence, feels close to other countries that also have jailed war heroes or people oppressed by an invading neighboring country. They feel particularly close to Palestine. They too have a partition wall and are oppressed.

Dany & Arthur

IRELAND - FOOD

GUINNESS

Founded in 1759, the historic Guinness brewery in Dublin was founded by Arthur Guinness. He was the son of an Irish brewer. The brewery has become a global company with the acquisition in 1986 of Distillers Company, a Scottish group with particular brands of whiskeys: Chivas Regal and Ballantine's for example. Guinness is a stout, that is to say, a black beer with a white thick foam. Guinness is strongly linked to the history of Ireland, is one of its symbols at an international level.

It is sold in Ireland nearly 1 million pints of Guinness every day, and 5 million worldwide roughly 2,500 hectoliters.

Recipes with Guinness beer:

Chocolate truffles and Guinness:

Ingredients for 25 truffles:    -1 kg of dark chocolate into small pieces    - 400 ml of liquid cream    - 100 ml of GUINNESS    - zest of an orange    - cacao or powdered coconut

Pour the cream and the Guinness into a bowl and in another bowl the coarsely chopped chocolate.
Heat the cream and gently melt the chocolate. Add the orange zest and cream.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, cover and leave it like that for three minutes.
Mix well and refrigerate until the mixture is cold but not completely hard.
Take the equivalent of a small tablespoon of dough, roll it between the palms of the hands, quickly because it melts!
When you have finished all the truffles, roll them into coconut and let them cool for two hours.

Irish salmon salted GUINNESS:

Ingredients   For 4 people :   -1 kg of fresh salmon without skin   - zest and juice of 2 lemons   - zest and juice of one lime   - 25 g of coriander seeds   - 100 g of salt   - 50 g of sugar   - 50 g of chopped dill   -1 bottle of GUINNESS

Mix the lemon zest, lime, dill, coriander seeds, salt, sugar and GUINNESS. Pour the mixture over the salmon and refrigerate for at least 48 hours without forgetting to turn the salmon every 12 hours. Once salted, cut the salmon into thin slices diagonally.

Anna & Chloé