National Children's Choir

The National Children’s Choir is a school-based choral experience for primary school children.  Affiliated pupils from either 4th, 5th or 6th class in our school learn a common repertoire of songs that more than satisfies many objectives of the music programme at the senior end of primary school. 

The programme is selected and prepared by its three Musical Directors, Órla Gillan, Anne Purcell and Mairéad Déiseach, who then train teachers at a summer course to deliver the programme to their pupils during the following school year.

The children learn the repertoire in our school, taught by their own teachers. Throughout the year, they join with other local schools on three occasions to rehearse the songs. These rehearsals are led by Mrs Máirín O'Keeffe, former Principal of Drumshanbo N.S., Co Leitrim and an Assistant Musical Director. Some local rehearsals are hosted by our school and take place in St  Mary's Community Centre with a regional rehearsal taking place in Scoil Eimear, Longford Town.

Every child will participate in a concert held in May in St Mel's Cathedral. The practice for this concert is gratefully facilitated by St Joseph's N.S., Longford Town. A percentage of the children will then be selected to perform in the National Concert Hall, Dublin under the baton of the musical directors.

​The National Children's Choir runs every second year. In the 2022 - 2023 school year, 9,301 children from 139 Primary Schools nationwide, performed in 28 concerts singing 15 songs from classical to pop, folk to musical theatre, traditional to newly composed, unison to 4 part harmony, and in many languages.

​Quality choral singing is alive and well in our school thanks to our talented, hard working, enthusiastic and dedicated teachers, who teach the National Children's Choir repertoire alongside the rest of the curriculum.

We look forward to participating again during the 2024 - 2025 school year.