Three primary schools in north Mayo – Behy, Boniconlon, and Cooneal National Schools – celebrated the conclusion of their two-year Creative Clusters traditional music project with a lively and heartfelt trad music session at the Great National Hotel, Ballina at the weekend.
The event marked the culmination of a powerful collaboration under the Department of Education’s Creative Clusters initiative, part of the Creative Youth Plan 2023–2027, which supports schools in exploring creative approaches to learning. Over the course of two years, the three schools worked together to promote and encourage traditional music, with a shared belief that music is for everyone. The project has also led to a huge expansion in both the number and variety of instruments being played, with pupils now confidently exploring everything from fiddles, flutes and harps to concertinas, accordions, and bodhráns and everything in between.
