Galway students singing from same hymn sheet with new school anthem
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ALMOST 800 pupils at Scoil Íosa in Oranmore have found a shared voice through a new anthem, music video and documentary project, marking a fresh chapter for the amalgamated primary school.
The project was developed through the Creative Schools programme and involved children from every class.
“They wanted to do something to bring the school together,” explains arts facilitator Maisie Lee, who developed the project with teacher Pauline Cahill and composer Colm Ó Foghlú.
“The school is very big and multi-cultural. It was really important to the children to do something together. That was the genesis.”
Every class contributed to the project. Sixth-class pupils created the music video, while fifth-class students wrote the anthem's lyrics, drawing on ideas gathered from across the school community.
Fourth-class pupils documented the process, making a film that follows the project throughout the school year, while third-class pupils devised choreography incorporating Lámh signs.
Second-class students worked with Drumadore to create drum beats, while children from every class feature in the finished music video.
Scoil Íosa was created in 2024 through the amalgamation of the former boys' school, Scoil Iósaif Naofa, and the girls' school, Scoil Mhuire, in Oranmore.
“They are such a 'yes' school,” says Maisie.
“They are really proud of their inclusivity, proud of their amalgamated school, and keen to celebrate that. When we went to them with our mad, ambitious ideas, they were really supportive.”
She says that while the project was ambitious, it tapped into many forms of child-led creativity and ensured that pupils took centre stage.
“It was ambitious I won't lie!” says Maisie.
“ I was lucky with the structure of Creative Schools I was assigned a buddy - composer Colm Ó Foghlú. We worked in child-led way.
“Everything was children first, everything came from them, we were facilitating their ideas. It involved all different aspects of creativity.”
The finished anthem entitled 'We Are One', documentary and music video were launched at the school recently, bringing together the work of hundreds of pupils from across the school community.
Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton was among those in attendance.
“We Are One was the result of our involvement with Creative Schools - a two-year, child-led programme to enhance the creative potential of pupils by stimulating curiosity, communication and collaboration,” said Assistant Principal Emer Bourke.
“We were honoured to have the Minister attend the launch and it was a very special event celebrating how far we've come in two short years since our amalgamation in September 2024.”
School Principal Maeve Meeneghan said that the Creative Schools project has been invaluable for Scoil Íosa.
“As a newly amalgamated school, it brought creativity, inclusion, collaboration and joy to our community, helping us build connections and a strong shared identity,” she said.