Louth musicians teach Bono a lesson on New York stage!
Some of County Louth’s finest ambassadors - spanning the generations - shared the stage last week with the likes of President Mary Robinson and Bono of U2 at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York. Kerrianne McCardle (Flute); Evelyn McCaul (Harp); Saoirse McGahern (Bodhrán); Iarla McMahon (Uilleann Pipes); and Kim Poole (Fiddle) represented Mus ic Generation as Mary Robinson (Chair of The Elders), António Guterres (UN Secretary General) and Bono (co-founder of the ONE Campaign) took part in the Irish Government’s
launch of ‘ The Drive For Five’, a global call to action for the education of adolescent girls. The five young musicians originally came together through their membership of ‘Nós Nua – Louth Youth Folk Orchestra’, a collaborative initiative between Music Generation Louth and Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann at The Oriel Centre, Dundalk. Drogheda-born Irish Ambassador to the UN, Geraldine Byrne Nason, introduced the young musicians before an audience of some 500 guests in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, where together with members of the UN Choir and the Pihcintu Multicultural Chorus – a choir of immigrant and refugee girls based in Portland,
Maine – their performance rounded out this high profile launch event, which was hosted by the Permanent Mission of Ireland.
“We had the most amazing experience yesterday at the United Nations,” said one of the local musicians.
“It was an honour for us to represent Ireland and the young people of the world in advocating for every child and young person to have access to education. We are very grateful to everyone who made this possible for us, we will never forget.’ Together with both choirs the Music Generation ‘Young Ambassadors’ performed a rendition of Seothín Seó, a traditional Irish lullaby arranged by Music Generation National Director Rosaleen Molloy, followed by the well-known ballad You Raise Me Up, the lyrics of which were written by Irish songwriter Brendan Graham. The event was also live-streamed on UN Web TV. Music Generation is Ireland’s national music education programme, initiated by Music Network and co-funded by U2, The Ireland Funds, the Department of Education and Skills and Local Music Education Partnerships. Currently the programme reaches 25 areas of Ireland, creating some 42,500 opportunities annually for children and young people to engage in high quality, subsidised vocal and instrumental tuition.