Offaly winners in prestigious national art competition announced

The Offaly winners in a prestigious national art competition have been announced.

Ballycumber's St. Ciaran's Mixed National School is  celebrating being  named both Junior and Senior County winners of the prestigious national art competition,  Someone Like Me,  which will see them join  48  other schools to compete for the much sought-after national title at the national awards ceremony to be held at Dublin City Hall on Wednesday, January 18.

The announcement was made by  Minister of State with special responsibility for disability, Anne Rabbitte T.D. as Ireland joins the rest of the world in marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Now in its seventh year, the  Someone Like Me  art competition, which is organised by the National Disability Authority, attracted more than 2,700 entries from national schools across the length and breadth of the country. 

The competition was created as part of the National Disability Authority’s work to nurture more positive attitudes towards persons with disabilities and, to date, it has seen more than 12,500 children take part in lesson plans and pupil activities designed to challenge our young people to appreciate and respect similarities and differences in people.

The three-person judging panel comprising Caomhán Mac Con Ionmaire from the National Gallery of Ireland, Principal Ann Higgins from the Hospital School CHI at Temple Street and Niamh Fawl from the National Disability Authority was particularly impressed with the entries from St. Ciaran's Mixed National School, selecting them as County Winners based on their insightful and inspirational responses to the theme  of ‘Someone Like Me’. 

Congratulating St. Ciaran's Mixed National School on being named double County Winners, Minister  Rabbitte  said that the number of entries this year is a tribute to the commitment not just of the National Disability Authority, but also to Ireland’s primary school teachers, who continue to play an important part helping to create a more inclusive Ireland.

“I am hugely encouraged by the growing interest in the Someone Like Me  art competition.  It shows a real commitment on the part of teachers and pupils to helping to develop a shared  understanding of how we should treat others in a caring, sensitive and inclusive way, promoting a sense of belonging and connectedness.” she said. 

“The standard of entries has been extremely high this year, presenting the judging panel with a real challenge as they worked their way through each and every submission.  Selecting the county winners was not an easy task and choosing an overall winner will be an even harder job. 

“While I know it will be an anxious wait for the pupils and teachers to hear which of the 48 county winners will be awarded the national title, every pupil should be congratulated for helping to enable each and every single person in Ireland to feel a valued member of society.”

St. Ciaran's Mixed National School will now go on to compete with 48 other schools from around the country for the overall national  Someone Like Me  award which will be announced at the national awards ceremony to held at Dublin City Hall on Wednesday 18th  January 2023.

The competition, which offers a range of prizes up to the value of €1,250, was open to all primary school pupils from junior infants to sixth class and more than 2,700 entries were received from individual pupils, class groups and whole schools right across Ireland.  Entries ranged from posters and collages to large sculptural installations and multi-media pieces.