Northern Ireland National Schools Singing Programme Pilot Scheme Completes with Celebration at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh

Children from selected schools in the Archdiocese of Armagh and Diocese of Dromore singing at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh [NSSP]

A special children’s liturgy and service of celebration took place last week at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, marking the completion of the National Schools Singing Programme’s (NSSP) pilot programme in Northern Ireland.

Children from selected schools in the Archdiocese of Armagh and Diocese of Dromore came together in the cathedral as a culmination event to celebrate their participation in an eight-week singing pilot delivered by Orla Nugent and Sara-Jane Kelly. The ‘Sing A New Song’ event was a resounding success and reflected the input of Archbishop Eamon Martin, a schools singing steering group, priests of Armagh Parish plus workers and volunteers all belonging to the parish community.

Nearly 600 pupils, their staff, relatives, friends and invited guests packed into the beautiful cathedral to collectively worship God in song.

Archbishop Eamon Martin at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh

This event was made possible by the Hamish Ogston Foundation, which founded the National Schools Singing Programme in 2021 and pledged £4.135million in funding to the initiative. The programme, which engages over 20,000 children in over 200 state schools across the UK, is an ambitious music education initiative, which aims to give as many children as possible, regardless of their background, access to the personal, social and educational benefits of deep and continuous engagement with music. 

The music performed by the children was ambitious and prayerful, ranging in diverse genres and moods including Parish Anthem by Bernard Sexton, the more folk orientated Thy Word Is A Lamp Unto My Feet by Amy Grant/M W Smith and Taize favourites such as Jubilate Deo Servite and Veni Sancte Spiritus. The latter was taught and performed by the Archbishop himself creating a most atmospheric soundscape and proved to be one of the highlights of the celebration.

Children singing at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh

The singing pilot carried out within the Archdiocese of Armagh and Diocese of Dromore was driven by Archbishop Eamon Martin himself. The next step is to maintain and grow this provision further, enabling even more children to participate in high-quality singing tuition around Northern Ireland and beyond.

Ben Saunders, Consultant for the NSSP commented: ‘Please believe me now when I say that the Schools Singing Celebration in Armagh Cathedral was simply wonderful, inspiring, joyful, substantial and spectacular. What you have achieved in a couple of months is quite remarkable and the high level of ambition shown for the children in your primary schools is exactly where it should be. I was genuinely moved by the music, the hundreds of young voices and the skill with which Archbishop Eamon weaved everything together into something that was at times quite transcendent.’

To listen to the performances from the celebration at St Patrick’s Cathedral, visit: https://www.armaghprays.com/sing-a-new-song-1

To learn more about our music initiatives, please visit: http://bit.ly/3In5akW