VIDEO:Scoil Mhuire, Trim win RTÉ Lyric FM Waltons Music for Schools Competition 2024

Congratulations are in order for Scoil Mhuire in Trim who have won the RTÉ Lyric FM Waltons Music for Schools Competition 2024.

The performing group of 40 students, under the direction of music teacher Mr Mícheál Kerr, performed in the national final recently in the National Concert Hall in Dublin.

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”.

Six post primary schools are chosen from hundreds of audition entries to compete and perform live in the national final, with this year, 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.

A spokesperson for Scoil Mhuire said:

"The competition group from Scoil Mhuire is made up of students from First to Sixth Year, as music teacher Mr Kerr wanted to give all year groups the opportunity to participate. The group came together before Christmas and were asked to think about what ‘Music Moves’ meant to them over the weekend. 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."

The idea arose from the experience of student's family members and as the group developed the idea further, Sixth Year students who are in the school’s traditional music group Gluais started reminiscing about their trip to Chicago in 2019 where they represented Ireland at a music festival.

"They remembered the enthusiasm of their American audiences and experienced first-hand the power of music to move people.

"Chicago is home to many in the Irish diaspora, and the students also remembered that after one particular performance, a number of people in the audience were in tears as the group performed and told them afterwards that it felt like a ‘home from home’ for them. Finally, the group wanted their piece to end on a positive, optimistic note – the hope of anyone with a relative living abroad that he/she will one day return home, where the music is."

Esteemed adjudicators Zoe Conway, Liam O Maonlaí and Aideen Walton were blown away by Scoil Mhuire’s emotive performance, as were many audience members, who were moved to tears as the girls performed on stage, telling their story through music, song and dance. It is a fantastic achievement for Scoil Mhuire to win this competition a second time and is a testament to the talent, dedication, and commitment of the students.

"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 students and hear the winning performance in all its glory. Congratulations once again to Mr Kerr and all the students on their tremendous victory."