Marshalstown NS pupils go wild for leading filmmaker
THERE was great excitement in Marshalstown National School when wildlife filmmaker, Ken O’Sullivan, stopped off to give a talk.
Mr O’Sullivan is the producer, presenter and cameraman of Ireland’s ‘Deep Atlantic’ programme which aired on RTE last year.
The programme will also feature on the Junior Certificate curriculum over the coming years so Mr O’Sullivan’s visit to the school was very much welcomed by everyone.
He showed clips from his amazing documentary and spoke about his work.
He talked to the children about the sharks and whales that inhabit the seas surrounding Ireland but he also focused attention on the problem of plastics in the ocean and the impact it has on fish, whales, birds and other sea creatures.
He showed the students a video of plastics he filmed 2,000 metres below the surface of the Atlantic - off Ireland’s coast.
A spokesperson for the school said the children were saddened by the footage and after a discussion about it agreed that everyone should try to use less ‘single-use’ plastics such as plastic bottles, coffee cups that aren’t recyclable, and other single-use consumer plastics.
The visit wasn’t the first time the pupils in Marshalstown school had interaction with Mr O’Sullivan.
‘They had previously adopted a seal, from the Seal Sanctuary in Courtown, that Ken had saved from a beach in west Clare,’ said the school spokesperson.
The seal, named Snowbird, was treated and cared for in the Seal Sanctuary until she was returned to the sea in Salthill, Galway.
The spokesperson said the pupils really enjoyed Mr O’Sullivan’s visit and it will be something they will always remember: ‘ It was a great honour to have Ken come to Marshalstown National School and hopefully the students will remember this visit for years to come.’