Dermot Earley Youth Leadership in Kilteevan by Laura Croghan

 The St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Kilteevan on March 16^th were a great success.  After months of planning it was good to finally see the finished product. Prior to the commencement of the event it was lovely to see the local children arriving, each with their own interpretation of St Patrick’s Day fancy dress.

 The day started at 3pm with a variety of songs from a small ballad group consisting of Emma Healy, Enya Reilly and myself.  Next to showcase their skills were the Sean Nós duo of Éabha Dolan and Róisín Coyle who really got the crowd going with their dancing skills. Finally to close the first section of the entertainment was Enya Reilly accompanied on keyboard by Rebecca Mooney, singing a medley of tunes.

The Grúpa Ceoil played out the rest of the afternoon with a variety of Jigs, Reels and Hornpipes. This group consisted of: Roberta Jeffreys, Aoife Garvey, Della McGuinness, Ciara Garvey, Aoife Feeley and Roddy McGuinness. The day was really a showcase of the wealth of talent from young people in our local area.

The imaginative art work from the children in Kilteevan Primary school was on display for all to see on the day. The colourful exhibition was a credit to the students and staff of the local school.

Cúchulainn

  I undertook this project as part of my Dermot Earley Youth Leadership Initiative. The initiative is organised by the National University of Ireland, Galway, Foróige and the GAA and aims at enabling young people to achieve their full potential. In order to meet the requirements of the course, I had to participate in 20 hours of community work. Until now I would never have thought I would be able to organise such an event such as we had in Kilteevan on March 16^th.

The skills I have learned with the Initiative are second to none and I will take them with me throughout the rest of my life. What I saw shine through this event is the community spirit and the willingness of the people of my community to help out and support. This is one of the great advantages of living in such a small and tight-knit village.

I sincerely want to thank everyone who helped out in any way, especially the local community who turned up on the day to support me.  Laura Croghan, 18 March 2014

Grúpa Ceoil 

Councillor Orla Leyden with Laura Croghan, Event Organiser, "Ceol Craic agus Caint"

Photos of Student Art work posted with the kind permission of Kilteevan National School.