SCOIL MHUIRE WIN ALL-IRELAND MUSIC COMPETITION
2024
Huge congratulations to our students & Mr Kerr who won 1st place in the Waltons RTÉ Lyric FM Music for Schools Competition in the National Concert Hall. Six second level schools were chosen from hundreds of audition entries to compete and perform live in the national final, with Scoil Mhuire coming out victorious. Indeed, this is not Scoil Mhuire’s first time to win this prestigious competition, previously getting 1st place back in 2017.
The Waltons Music for Schools Competition is presented by Waltons Music and Waltons New School of Music, in association with RTÉ Lyric FM and the National Concert Hall. All primary and post-primary schools recognised by the Department of Education and Skills in the Republic of Ireland are eligible to enter, and to date schools from every county have taken part. Open to a wide range of performing groups and music genres, the competition offers schools the opportunity to develop a creative and original musical project based on a given theme. This year’s theme was “Music Moves”.
Their piece, which tells the story of Irish emigration, was inspired by a number of factors. Initially, four students came back with the same idea – to tell the story of how the Irish had to emigrate and how they brought their music and culture with them.
There was a great atmosphere in school as the girls brought the winning trophy back to Trim. A special homecoming ceremony was organised where the entire school community gathered together to congratulate the members of Gluais and hear the winning performance in all its glory.
2017
Huge Congratulations to the Scoil Mhuire Performing Arts Group who have won the all-Ireland final of The Waltons Music for Schools Competition. The performing group, under the direction of music teacher Mr Mícheál Kerr, performed in the national final on Tuesday 2nd May in the National Concert Hall in Dublin, where they competed against 5 other secondary schools.
The Waltons Music for Schools Competition, now in its sixth year, is presented by Waltons Music and Waltons New School of Music, in association with RTÉ lyric fm and the National Concert Hall. All primary and post-primary schools recognised by the Department of Education and Skills in the Republic of Ireland are eligible to enter, and to date schools from every county have taken part. Open to a wide range of performing groups and music genres, the Competition offers schools the opportunity to develop a creative and original musical project. Last year, Scoil Mhuire secured 2nd place in the competition. This year however, they succeeded in winning the coveted 1st place.
The group’s entry stemmed from the Positive Mental Health week that was run in the school, during which music was played over the intercom every day. The students recognised the power and influence that music can have on someone’s mental health and well-being and felt that their entry was the perfect opportunity to highlight the fact that music can break down the borders and stigma associated with mental illness – and can often convey what words cannot. Together, they compiled a list of songs and tunes – from different music genres – that represent the journey that people with mental illness have to overcome, and they built their entry from these. Their performance ends with ‘Make Me Stronger’ from musical Memphis, which also inspired the title of their performance. The video of Scoil Mhuire performing can be viewed on YouTube by searching “Scoil Mhuire Trim Waltons Music”.
