I spent an enjoyable afternoon in the National Gallery, Dublin yesterday with my Mom, my cousin Lynn and her friend Jane. It is one of my favourite things to do in Dublin. I have been there no less than 3 times in the last two months.

“Masterpiece: Ireland’s Favourite Painting” seems to be creating quite a stir because we were not alone in the exhibition wing. The Gallery was humming with visitors. We were even fortunate enough to join in on a fascinating tour covering the paintings in from the t.v series. Here is a link to some videos excerpts of the series. It’s worth following the link if you have a few minutes …

Here is a glimpse at the winner and wow what a piece! Hard to believe that it is a water colour. Click here to see Sharon Corr explain the tragic love story of Helellil and Hildebrand and why their meeting on the turret is her favourite painting.

After my tour I took some time to explore the gift shop. Wow, what a source of arts and crafts! I had no idea that they had so many bits and pieces for children.

I couldn’t resist the followings artist pads:

They cost €6.75 per pad from the National Gallery Gift Shop. Each pad contains 48 sheets and 12 different designs. The sheets are 14″ x 11″ x 0.3″ or almost A3 in size. I think that is pretty economical for classroom use. I am sure that my class are going to just love them! They would also make a lovely gift for a birthday or Christmas.

For those of you in the U.S you can purchase them for $4.99 from www.melissaanddoug.com

I am planning to laminate some of frames and use them as cute signage around my classroom next year. I can then either write on them with dry-erase pens or stick flashcards/signs to them. Can’t wait! I might even post some photos 😉

Miss Mernagh 🙂