Schools bring best of drama to Mullingar

CLARE will be well represented in this year’s national Scoildrámaíochta finals, which begin in Mullingar this week.
Local schools Ballyea National School and Gaelscoil Mhicíl Ciosóig, along with Cree’s St Joseph National School, have all made it to the All-Ireland finals of the competition.
Third and fourth class pupils of Ballyea National School will perform the original drama Píobaire Breac Bhaile Áodha on Thursday in Mullingar. Teacher Helen McMahon said, “We’ve been taking part in the competition since I started in Ballyea and we’ve got through three times. Taking part in this competition is fantastic for the children’s spoken Irish but it’s not just good for developing their Irish, it’s also great for their confidence to be up there on stage.”
“This is particularly special for us to be involved because we are not a gaelscoil and we don’t get any extra marks for that. An awful lot of work has gone into taking part in this competition, with every single child having a part to play and of course, the parents have been fantastic helping out with the costumes and running lines. All of the children are really looking forward to the finals and there is great excitement in the school,” she added.
The second-class pupils of Gaelscoil Mhichíl Chíosóig will also be taking part in the finals where they will perform Labhraí Loinsigh. Teacher Aoife Ní Chonchúir told us that 34 pupils will be involved, with every child taking to the stage. “The gaelscoil has won the competition eight times previously so there is a bit of a tradition there. There is a great tradition of taking part in this competition in the school and all the children enjoy taking part. We are very proud of the kids to have gotten this far, we certainly have a few natural actors in the class,” she said.
St Joseph’s National School in Cree will also be performing in the national finals next week with their production of Cairde na Timpeallachta starring 20 youngsters from junior infants up to second class. This is the school’s third time reaching this stage of the competition, having won once previously.
Teacher Anne Marie Golden explained their production is an environmentally friendly take on traditional fairytales. “I wrote the story for the competition, putting the characters in that would suit individual children. We aren’t a gaelscoil and this competition is a fun way for children to learn Irish. All the children are looking forward to the final,” she said.