Thomond Primary School is a DEIS Band 1 school in Ballynanty, Limerick City. They are an amalgamated school who opened in Sept 2015 as the combination of 3 schools in this area.
The TPS choir entered the Limerick Choral Festival for the third year running last Friday, the 9th of March. Under the direction of Kate Hurley and accompanist Aiden Boland, the choir placed third in the Primary School’s competition which took place in the Redemptorists Church. The school choir has tripled in size since first competing in the festival 3 years ago, going from only 19 singers to 60+ children this year! Rehearsing once weekly, they have gone from strength to strength, singing their hearts out at a number of events, including a performance for the children in the Limerick Regional Hospital, patients at St. Camillus Hospital and at a Christmas fundraiser for Limerick’s Lourdes Pilgrimage. When they thought it couldn’t get any better, Kate received a call on Saturday evening, following the closing ceremony of the choral festival to be told that their second piece ‘The Raitlin Bog’ had, in fact, won the overall title of ‘Special Adjudicators Award’, chosen from the entire weekend of competitions, which included Post-primary school choirs and adult choirs also. The whole school is ecstatic with the news and are overjoyed to accept their award. The choir are the most amazing, talented bunch of children and we are bursting with pride. The pupils and entire school community will remember this weekend forever.
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The choir mistress, Kate Hurley is currently teaching 2nd class in the school. Last year she completed a masters in Music Education at Mary Immaculate College of Education. She received 1st class honours for her thesis which explored the impact of this school choir on the social, emotional and behavioral competence of pupils involved in the choir. She works with many children with diagnosed emotional and behavioral difficulties including ADHD, ASD, and ODD. The choir has had such a positive effect on these, and all of the school’s pupils, it really is remarkable.
Watch their award winnig song being sung, here;
For more stories on choirs, go here.
For more information on the Limerick Choral Festival, go here.
