On last Tuesday, October 3rd the Clongowes Trad Group returned to Connolly’s of Ballagh for the annual ‘Trad for Trócaire’ Session. We were joined on the night by representatives from Trócaire, as well as by staff and parents. As always, the familiar homely feel of Connolly’s gave rise to some excellent music and song and it was a delight to see the musicians of all ages seamlessly blend together. Much fun and many sausages were had and a handsome sum was raised for a very worthy cause.
The previous week the group had travelled to the head offices of Trócaire in Maynooth to help launch the annual ‘Trad for Trócaire’ campaign. The group was introduced by Trócaire’s Community fundraising officer, Katie Bolger who gave a presentation and spoke on the importance of the campaign as a major fundraiser.
Katie told of the work that that the charity does around the world and how this particular event – in conjunction with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann – has grown over the last few years. She praised the musicians and thanked Catherine Heslin and the group for playing their part.
The group then played a great selection of jigs, reels and songs to the very appreciative Trócaire staff and was treated to tea and snacks before returning to school. It was a great honour for the trad group to provide the entertainment at this event and they are delighted to be forging such strong links with this great organisation.
Under the leadership of Ms Catherine Heslin, the Clongowes Trad Group is a collaboration between staff and students across all years. ‘Trad for Trócaire’ is a national event promoting the use of Irish music sessions as a means of raising money for Trócaire, the official overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland. The Clongowes group has participated in this event for the past three years and has raised well over €1,000 to date for this great charity.
Mr Declan O’Keeffe, Head of Communications
