Pictures: Talented first-year musician returns to former school to perform

Thu, 29 Sep, 2022 - 07:00

John Bohane

A Cork first-year secondary school student, a talented musician, has returned to his former primary school to perform the winning song he wrote for a competition held there in the summer.

Scoil Mhuire Naofa NS, in Carrigtwohill, held the competition in June, which culminated in the launch of a CD featuring the winning song. The winning songwriter, Conor Nolan, returned to perform ‘On My Holiday’.

Conor Nolan at the launch of his debut single, On my holiday, at Scoil Mhuire Naofa, Carrigtwohill, which won the school's song writing competition 2022 when he was in sixth class, pictured with Anne Marie Moylan, principal. Picture Denis Minihane.

Eilish O Neill, who teaches in Scoil Mhuire Naofa, said, “Every year, we have a Scoil Mhuire Naofa’s Got Talent competition. We also have a couple of teachers who love music and play in bands. They decided to run an internal competition for songwriting for an original song.”

The primary school teacher said every student voted. “We recorded the children singing in the school and we played it then for the whole school,” Ms O’Neill said.

Pupils enjoying the launch of Conor Nolan's debut single, On my holiday, at Scoil Mhuire Naofa, Carrigtwohill, which won the school's song writing competition 2022 when he was in sixth class. Picture Denis Minihane.

“Every class voted for the winning song. Conor Nolan, who was in sixth class at the time, won the competition. His song is very catchy. We recorded Conor singing. One of the teachers brought it to a studio over the summer holidays and it turned out very well.

“Conor came back to the school on Friday, September 23 and we presented him with the CD. We played the recorded version for everyone, and Conor performed it as well. It was fantastic. His parents were thrilled. It was lovely for him to come back and perform. It was also lovely for our students to see the finished article. We had a lovely morning. Second-class pupils sang ‘All You Need Is Love’, while the sixth-class pupils did the sign language for it. The teachers sang for the children as well,” Ms O’Neill said.

Conor Nolan singing at the launch of his debut single, On my holidays, at Scoil Mhuire Naofa, Carrigtwohill, which won the school's song writing competition 2022 when he was in sixth class. Picture Denis Minihane.

Ms O’Neill said it is “important” to nurture students’ creativity. “It is a very creative school. It is important to nurture the creativity levels of our students. There is plenty of talent in the school. It is a very progressive school and there is a lovely spirit in the school.”

The co-educational national school is holding an anti-bullying fortnight. “Our anti-bullying friendship fortnight started on Monday, September 26. It is all about sharing and being kind to one another. We do a lot of restorative practice, and we do a lot of circle time.”

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