Picture perfect relationship through the generations

AN Ennis girl’s picture perfect relationship with her grandfather has been chosen as a winner in a nationwide photography competition.
Eleven-year-old Michaela Connolly from Clancy Park, a pupil at Scoil Chríost Rí in Cloughleigh, is one of 12 winners of a competition organised by the EU Commission in Ireland to coincide with the European Year for Active Aging 2012.
An image of Michaela spending time with her grandfather Michael and her mother Carmel while working in the garden of Scoil Chríost Rí is now set to be featured in a special calendar.
Michaela travelled to Dublin on Wednesday for the prize giving ceremony in the European Commission Representation in Ireland.
She said, “I was really shocked when I found out that our photograph had won. The picture is of myself, my granddad and my mam working in the garden together here in the school and it was taken by my teacher.”
Michaela is Michael’s only granddaughter, and she was named after him. Michael said, “We both get on really well and even though I was a bit reluctant about getting in the photograph to begin with, I did it because Michaela asked me. This whole project is about intergenerational co-operation and I was delighted to be involved. I am very proud of Michaela for doing so well in this competition.”
For the competition pupils from third, fourth, fifth and sixth class were asked to take a photograph to show what the year of active aging meant to them.
Twelve winning entries from around Ireland were picked for the calendar and these finalists, along with their teachers, attended the prize giving event. From the 12 winners of places in the calendar, the top three photographers also received a digital camera and the overall winner received a camera for his or her school.
Copies of the calendar will be available on Wednesday and can be ordered for free by contacting the EU House in Dublin.
For the competition, Irish primary school children were asked to think about active ageing and life as an older person. They learned about the important ways in which older people contribute towards society; helping families and grandchildren, working and volunteering in the community and sharing their experience with younger generations.
This competition is part of the European Year for Active Ageing 2012 which seeks to give older people the chance to participate fully in society, promote job opportunities and volunteer work for older people and to enable them to live independently while taking an active part in their communities and contributing to community life.