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This year the children in Ms Mulligan’s second class took part in a project entitled “Our Artistic Response to and Retelling of Irish Legend: The Children of Lir.”

This great project combined music, drama, visual arts, literature and digital design to bring a cherished Irish legend to life in a unique and enchanting way.

At the heart of the project were three original songs, crafted by the children themselves, along with songwriter Sharon Ní Chuilibín, in response to the Lir saga: 

• Bí Sona -A haunting melody reminiscent of a mother's lullaby, echoing the love and longing shared between the children of Lir and their departed mother.

• Bean Dubh Gránna: Enveloped in melancholy, this song channels the anger and defiance of the transformed swans as they confront their malevolent stepmother, Aoife.

• 900 Years: A triumphant anthem heralding the end of a millennium-long curse, celebrating the children of Lir's eventual return to humanity.

These compositions were professionally recorded at Music West by Philip Cassidy from Music Generation. The recordings were added to behind the scenes videos to create three wonderful music videos.

The children then moved onto the dramatisation of the story. Firstly, the children let their creativity flow by constructing accessories for each character from the story. Paint, upcycled cardboard, old toys, duvets, glue, twigs. flowers and leaves were used to make cloaks, crowns, swan masks and wings.

Photographs were then taken of the children dramatising the main scenes of the legend through use of freeze frames. Next it was time to create a book retelling the story of The Children of Lir using their digital skills to edit the photos, add text, add illustrations and add lots of exciting digital special effects.

To celebrate this wonderful project, a book and song launch was held on the 20th of June 2024, with the children’s parents, Councillor Harry Barrett and artist Sharon Ní Chuilibín as special guests. Each child received a printed copy of their book that they will have as a special memory forever. A book will also be presented to each class of our school inviting our school community to immerse themselves in the emotional journey crafted by our young storytellers.

Well done to everyone involved in the project. 

 

Thank you to Mayo County Council and Creative Ireland for the Creative Communities grant funding that made this project possible.

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But mostly, congrats to Miss Mulligan and her creative crew........

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