As the festive season approaches, it’s time to shine a spotlight on the talents of children across rural Ireland who have excelled over the past 12 months. From dazzling stage performances, entrepreneurial success, musical magnificence and environmental excellence, these young stars have made 2024 a year to remember.
With achievements that inspire and dreams that soar, Irish Country Living caught up with some of these young trail blazers who are looking forward to celebrating the festive season with their families as they reflect on their successes.
Shine Bright Theatre
In Wexford, an exceptionally talented young actress is already gaining experience of the competitive open audition process, despite being a mere 11-years-old.
Aoife Lawless is a student of Shine Bright Theatre in Gorey and her teacher Lisa Goold believes the fifth-class pupil of Riverchapel National School has a very bright future ahead.
Aoife says her love of speech and drama comes from the fact that her goal in life is to become a speech and language therapist. She also revels in the fact that the classes allow her to be accepted as she is, without drawing any attention to the fact she is visually impaired.
“I joined Shine Bright a year ago and I love acting because it allows me to be myself,” she says.
Aoife Lawless (11) has not let her disability stop her from becoming a star student at Shine Bright Theatre in Gorey, she’s pictured with her drama teacher and theatre founder Lisa Goold. \ Maura Hickey.
“When I was three years old, the doctor found a tumour on my optic nerve and I had to have 84 weeks of chemotherapy in Crumlin Hospital so we had to go up to Dublin every week. It means I only have light and shadow in my right eye and not a lot of vision in my left eye either.
“There aren’t a lot of activities I can do but when I came to Shine Bright, I was
able to leave my cane in the corner. Nobody looks at my blindness, they just see me.”
Aoife’s most recent performance was in front of a crowd of 150 people at Barretstown Camp in Co Kildare where she and her family – mum Cat, dad Colin and older brother Tom – enjoyed a stay during her treatment. Barretstown offers free, specially designed camps and programmes for children and their families living with a serious illness – supported behind the scenes by 24-hour, on-site medical and nursing care.
“I was invited to go back to Barretstown, which is this amazing place for children and their families and I spoke in front of this huge crowd, but Lisa encouraged me that I could do it.
“I wanted to do everything I could to say thank you to the amazing people there and I made a speech where I got to share my story in a room full of people. It took me four years to grow my hair back after chemo but I cut it all off and donated it to the Little Princess Trust. The charity makes wigs for children going through cancer treatment and I was able to give Barretstown a cheque for €4,500 which was pretty special.”
Corballa National School
Heading to the opposite corner of the country and the children of Corballa National School in Co Sligo are lighting up the world of business, having scooped a prestigious national award this year.
Pupils in fifth and sixth class developed and created a Know When to Sow calendar, featuring seasonal seeds and practical information on what to plant and when, which was awarded a Junior Entrepreneur Programme (JEP) Go Green award.
Aoibheann Durkan, Katie Reape and Callum Foody told Irish Country Living the JEP experience had encouraged them and their classmates to consider their next steps in business.
The three children, who were all in fifth class when they won the award, say the seed calendar had been a success because of all the hard work they and their classmates across both classes had put in. The experience has already inspired the next wave of entrepreneurs with Callum stealing a march on his classmates.
“I’ve already invested in four chickens and a coop and I’m selling the eggs they lay at the market for a profit,” he says.
Aoibheann said Callum’s feathered friends aren’t the only fledgling business to come out of the JEP experience.
“We have one pupil who is interested in setting up a wedding planner business and another is looking at developing an Irish version of Amazon so there’s plenty of ambition among us,” she says.
Galway Comhaltas Tuam
Cousins Meabh Wynne and Ryan Donnellan are making musical magic as members of Galway Comhaltas Tuam branch.
Inspired by their granny, Eilish Donnellan (née Tuttle) the two 10-year-olds play seven instruments between them, with Meabh perfecting her talents on the concertina, fiddle, piano and tin whistle. Ryan made it to this year’s All Ireland Fleadh under-12 finals playing banjo while he also plays the mandolin, fiddle and bodhrán.
Cousins Meabh Wynne (10) and Ryan Donnellan (10) are rising stars on the trad scene, having won several competitions with the different instruments they play.
Meabh and Ryan said they love performing and every time they visit their granny’s house, which is next door to Meabh, they end up having a session.
“Granny’s best advice is to practise, practise, practise but I don’t mind because I really enjoy playing music,” says Ryan.
Meabh is hoping to take up the harp in the new year and says she can’t choose between all the instruments for a favourite. She is also an accomplished singer, winning first place in the Galway county fleadh this year in the singing as Gaeilge competition. Not to be outdone, Ryan achieved the same success in the singing as Bearla event.
The children meet their fellow Comhaltas members every fortnight for sessions but also take weekly lessons in piano, fiddle and banjo and have performed at several functions throughout Galway this year.
They’re looking forward to Christmas where a family session will be a highlight.
“We’re playing at the Ceol an Gheimhridh competition in Clifden next month and then we’ll have the Feis Shligigh in May as well as the county fleadh, so we can’t wait,” says Meabh.
Loughmore National School
In Tipperary, the children of Loughmore National School are taking sustainability to a whole new level, growing their own vegetables which they supply to their local community café.
Sixth class pupils Emily O’Meara, Orlaith Maher and Rose Fyler, along with fifth class pupil Katie Dunne, shared the experience of the school having its very own polytunnel in which to grow fresh, seasonal produce all year round.
“We started the tunnel project last December so we’ve a full year done now and it’s gone from strength to strength,” explains Emily.
Emily O’Meara, Orlaith Maher, Rose Fyler and Katie Dunne from Loughmore NS, Templemore, Co Tipperary with SNAs Bridget Cashin and Kathleen Corrigan at the polytunnel where they have been growing their own food.
“All the pupils were involved at the beginning, putting the top soil in so that we could get the ground ready for planting and now the senior classes are responsible for planting and harvesting. We’ve grown everything from courgettes to lemons, parsley and carrots and many flowers.”
Orlaith explains that the older children have made a rota so that work is done every day in the tunnel, with 15 minutes of ‘big break’ allocated to gardening tasks.
“Three pupils are on the rota every day and then the younger pupils will help us with weeding and taking the stones out of the garden,” she says.
“We take charge of the watering schedule and it’s lovely being in the tunnel, there’s a really earthy smell and the different colours of all the plants and flowers are brilliant,” adds Katie.
Nearby, The Cottage café in Loughmore is a huge beneficiary of the produce from the tunnel, with the community eatery turning raw materials into nutritious soups and meals for everyone to enjoy.
“We’ve recently planted wildflower seeds alongside the tunnel to help attract the bees and the butterflies and to help with the biodiversity of our school,” says Rose.
As the festive season approaches, it’s time to shine a spotlight on the talents of children across rural Ireland who have excelled over the past 12 months. From dazzling stage performances, entrepreneurial success, musical magnificence and environmental excellence, these young stars have made 2024 a year to remember.
With achievements that inspire and dreams that soar, Irish Country Living caught up with some of these young trail blazers who are looking forward to celebrating the festive season with their families as they reflect on their successes.
Shine Bright Theatre
In Wexford, an exceptionally talented young actress is already gaining experience of the competitive open audition process, despite being a mere 11-years-old.
Aoife Lawless is a student of Shine Bright Theatre in Gorey and her teacher Lisa Goold believes the fifth-class pupil of Riverchapel National School has a very bright future ahead.
Aoife says her love of speech and drama comes from the fact that her goal in life is to become a speech and language therapist. She also revels in the fact that the classes allow her to be accepted as she is, without drawing any attention to the fact she is visually impaired.
“I joined Shine Bright a year ago and I love acting because it allows me to be myself,” she says.
Aoife Lawless (11) has not let her disability stop her from becoming a star student at Shine Bright Theatre in Gorey, she’s pictured with her drama teacher and theatre founder Lisa Goold. \ Maura Hickey.
“When I was three years old, the doctor found a tumour on my optic nerve and I had to have 84 weeks of chemotherapy in Crumlin Hospital so we had to go up to Dublin every week. It means I only have light and shadow in my right eye and not a lot of vision in my left eye either.
“There aren’t a lot of activities I can do but when I came to Shine Bright, I was
able to leave my cane in the corner. Nobody looks at my blindness, they just see me.”
Aoife’s most recent performance was in front of a crowd of 150 people at Barretstown Camp in Co Kildare where she and her family – mum Cat, dad Colin and older brother Tom – enjoyed a stay during her treatment. Barretstown offers free, specially designed camps and programmes for children and their families living with a serious illness – supported behind the scenes by 24-hour, on-site medical and nursing care.
“I was invited to go back to Barretstown, which is this amazing place for children and their families and I spoke in front of this huge crowd, but Lisa encouraged me that I could do it.
“I wanted to do everything I could to say thank you to the amazing people there and I made a speech where I got to share my story in a room full of people. It took me four years to grow my hair back after chemo but I cut it all off and donated it to the Little Princess Trust. The charity makes wigs for children going through cancer treatment and I was able to give Barretstown a cheque for €4,500 which was pretty special.”
Corballa National School
Heading to the opposite corner of the country and the children of Corballa National School in Co Sligo are lighting up the world of business, having scooped a prestigious national award this year.
Pupils in fifth and sixth class developed and created a Know When to Sow calendar, featuring seasonal seeds and practical information on what to plant and when, which was awarded a Junior Entrepreneur Programme (JEP) Go Green award.
Aoibheann Durkan, Katie Reape and Callum Foody told Irish Country Living the JEP experience had encouraged them and their classmates to consider their next steps in business.
The three children, who were all in fifth class when they won the award, say the seed calendar had been a success because of all the hard work they and their classmates across both classes had put in. The experience has already inspired the next wave of entrepreneurs with Callum stealing a march on his classmates.
“I’ve already invested in four chickens and a coop and I’m selling the eggs they lay at the market for a profit,” he says.
Aoibheann said Callum’s feathered friends aren’t the only fledgling business to come out of the JEP experience.
“We have one pupil who is interested in setting up a wedding planner business and another is looking at developing an Irish version of Amazon so there’s plenty of ambition among us,” she says.
Galway Comhaltas Tuam
Cousins Meabh Wynne and Ryan Donnellan are making musical magic as members of Galway Comhaltas Tuam branch.
Inspired by their granny, Eilish Donnellan (née Tuttle) the two 10-year-olds play seven instruments between them, with Meabh perfecting her talents on the concertina, fiddle, piano and tin whistle. Ryan made it to this year’s All Ireland Fleadh under-12 finals playing banjo while he also plays the mandolin, fiddle and bodhrán.
Cousins Meabh Wynne (10) and Ryan Donnellan (10) are rising stars on the trad scene, having won several competitions with the different instruments they play.
Meabh and Ryan said they love performing and every time they visit their granny’s house, which is next door to Meabh, they end up having a session.
“Granny’s best advice is to practise, practise, practise but I don’t mind because I really enjoy playing music,” says Ryan.
Meabh is hoping to take up the harp in the new year and says she can’t choose between all the instruments for a favourite. She is also an accomplished singer, winning first place in the Galway county fleadh this year in the singing as Gaeilge competition. Not to be outdone, Ryan achieved the same success in the singing as Bearla event.
The children meet their fellow Comhaltas members every fortnight for sessions but also take weekly lessons in piano, fiddle and banjo and have performed at several functions throughout Galway this year.
They’re looking forward to Christmas where a family session will be a highlight.
“We’re playing at the Ceol an Gheimhridh competition in Clifden next month and then we’ll have the Feis Shligigh in May as well as the county fleadh, so we can’t wait,” says Meabh.
Loughmore National School
In Tipperary, the children of Loughmore National School are taking sustainability to a whole new level, growing their own vegetables which they supply to their local community café.
Sixth class pupils Emily O’Meara, Orlaith Maher and Rose Fyler, along with fifth class pupil Katie Dunne, shared the experience of the school having its very own polytunnel in which to grow fresh, seasonal produce all year round.
“We started the tunnel project last December so we’ve a full year done now and it’s gone from strength to strength,” explains Emily.
Emily O’Meara, Orlaith Maher, Rose Fyler and Katie Dunne from Loughmore NS, Templemore, Co Tipperary with SNAs Bridget Cashin and Kathleen Corrigan at the polytunnel where they have been growing their own food.
“All the pupils were involved at the beginning, putting the top soil in so that we could get the ground ready for planting and now the senior classes are responsible for planting and harvesting. We’ve grown everything from courgettes to lemons, parsley and carrots and many flowers.”
Orlaith explains that the older children have made a rota so that work is done every day in the tunnel, with 15 minutes of ‘big break’ allocated to gardening tasks.
“Three pupils are on the rota every day and then the younger pupils will help us with weeding and taking the stones out of the garden,” she says.
“We take charge of the watering schedule and it’s lovely being in the tunnel, there’s a really earthy smell and the different colours of all the plants and flowers are brilliant,” adds Katie.
Nearby, The Cottage café in Loughmore is a huge beneficiary of the produce from the tunnel, with the community eatery turning raw materials into nutritious soups and meals for everyone to enjoy.
“We’ve recently planted wildflower seeds alongside the tunnel to help attract the bees and the butterflies and to help with the biodiversity of our school,” says Rose.
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