Traditional Music Performance at 2 Royal Ave
for Primary Schools

​​The event will take place on Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th December 2025 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

We have reviewed how previous events were facilitated and have listened carefully to feedback from teachers and pupils. Below is the revised format, designed to provide a clear and concise running order.

 

Event Format

Each day will consist of two sessions of one and a half hours, with four schools taking part in each session.

• Session 1: 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

• Session 2: 11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

We ask that all schools arrive promptly for the start of their session and remain for the full duration. This format ensures that every school has the opportunity to perform both in front of and alongside other young musicians, while maintaining an audience throughout.

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Additional Details

• Tea and coffee reception for teachers and staff on arrival

• Children’s raffle at each session

Each group will have a maximum of 10 minutes to perform from their own repertoire. After their performance, each group will have the opportunity to play one tune together with the other three schools.

Schools will be asked to select this tune from a list of core tunes that GSOTM will provide.

Please start with the first tunes on the list and work your way along. The tunes below are also available in a downloadable pdf for teaching purposes, a mixture of music transcript and/or note names. 

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Core Tunes:

• Dawning of the Day

• Star of the County Down

• Kerry Polka

• Ryan’s Polka

• Óró, Sé do Bheatha Bhaile

• South Wind

• Inisheer

• Britches Full of Stitches

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As the event takes place at Christmas, we would also welcome an Irish Christmas carol, or festive tunes such as Jingle Bells, etc.

Standard versions of the tunes will be provided via email attachments once a school has registered for the event.

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Our Aim

Our goal remains simple: to promote and encourage the teaching of traditional Irish music in primary schools and to provide a valuable opportunity for young traditional musicians to perform in front of an audience.

We would remind schools that the performance opportunity is for traditional music groups. Singing is welcome, either as part of a group or as a separate ballad group, provided that songs are of an Irish genre.

There is no minimum or maximum number of participants per group — even one or two pupils are welcome. We want the event to be as inclusive as possible. While we encourage schools to play traditional tunes or Irish songs, pieces such as I’ll Tell Me Ma are also very welcome.

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Registration

Registration is via our Klubfunder page - purchase a free ticket for the slot that suits your school best.

Please book your preferred session and ensure you arrive promptly on the day. To guarantee your chosen slot, we recommend registering as soon as possible.

A member of GSOTM staff will contact you two weeks before the event to confirm participant numbers.
Please note that some sessions may overlap with lunchtime, so children may need to bring a packed lunch.

We will provide:

• Tea and coffee for teachers and staff

• A small treat for the children as they leave

• A raffle at the end of each session for a GSOTM teddy bear

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If you require any further information, please feel free to contact me:

Ray Morgan
Chairperson, Glengormley School of Traditional Music
raymorgan1959@gmail.com
07811 281763

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