Primary 7 ‘At a Potato Digging'.
26th September 2025
An extract from Seamus Heaney’s Famine Poem ‘At a Potato Digging’
"A mechanical digger wrecks the drill,
Spins up a dark shower of roots and mould.
Labourers swarm in behind, stoop to fill
Wicker creels. Fingers go dead in the cold."
Linking perfectly with our topic Hunger and The Great Irish Potato Famine, the Primary 7 pupils took a short autumn walk to Johnny O'Neill's farm to experience the tradition of 'potato gathering' in the 1800s before the machines made their appearance.
The children were both excited and keen to get stuck in and get their hands dirty. Through the chatting, laughter (and the occasional moan), the children managed to gather potatoes from ten of the drills which Johnny kindly opened for them.
The children were asked to use their senses to soak up the different sights, sounds, smells and textures that this experience evoked. Back in the classroom they created a ‘senses’ word bank that will help them when writing their Haiku poems.
It was a day the children will remember fondly.
Well done Team Primary 7!
Enjoy the videos.
