PICTURES: Local Tipperary primary school wins national art competition

Burgess National School, and Four Masters National School in Co. Leitrim, were today named Junior and Senior National Winners respectively of the National Disability Authority Someone Like Me Art Competition.

The announcement was made at an awards ceremony held at Dublin City Hall which saw teachers and pupils from 52 primary schools across Ireland gather to celebrate achieving County Winner status and hear which of the schools would be named overall winners.

This year’s three-person judging panel, comprising Ann Higgins, principal of Hospital School Children’s Health Ireland; Anne Roche, Special Educational Needs Teacher; and Jacinta Byrne, staff member at the National Disability Authority, was particularly impressed with the entries from both schools, selecting them as Junior and Senior Winners based on their insightful and inspirational pieces.

The entry from the Junior Winner, Burgess National School, was a large pair of glasses created by Junior Infants to 2nd Class pupils to highlight how we encounter both visible and invisible disabilities.

Pupils also created a poster of their school to highlight its accessibility and the actions they take to be supportive to all.

Now in its ninth year, the competition, which is organised and funded by the National Disability Authority, allows Ireland’s young people to learn about inclusivity and diversity through the medium of art.

This year is the first year that the National Disability Authority has awarded the national title to two schools, by awarding both a Junior and Senior overall winner.

Congratulating Burgess NS and Four Masters Primary Schools on their success, Director of the National Disability Authority, Dr Aideen Hartney, said that she was impressed by the number and high quality of this year’s entries.

“I would like to congratulate the pupils and teachers at Burgess National School and Four Masters National School on their success today. Both entries were exceptionally creative, both in terms of their artwork, but also in their messages of accessibility and inclusivity for all and especially those with both visible and invisible disabilities.

“Someone Like Me is an important part of the National Disability Authority’s work to help develop positive mindsets, a culture of inclusivity and a sense of belonging and connectedness, allowing each and every person in Ireland to feel a valued member of society.”

To date, more than 25,000 children have taken part in the Someone Like Me Art Competition.

Schools are provided with special curriculum-linked lesson plans and activities designed to help pupils develop an awareness and understanding of visible and non-visible disabilities, drawing on their own personal experiences of disability in a bid to help create a more inclusive society.

This year 2,708 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.

Photos: Gareth Chaney.