The Children’s Arts Exhibition brings stories to life over Easter
Carndonagh, Co. Donegal – 25th April 2025
The Carndonagh Library saw stories come to life in sculpture, animation, textile and music. The Make Inishowen Children’s Arts Festival was organised by Spraoi agus Spórt, in partnership with the Arts Council of Ireland and supported by Donegal County Council Library Service.
Pupils from Tiernasligo and Urblereagh National Schools were asked to collect stories from older people in their communities. Artists John D. Ruddy, Sinead Smyth, Bernie Murphy, Roisin Harrigan and Clodagh Warnock have guided the children, over the last two months, in turning these stories into artwork. Their work was exhibited in Carndonagh Library and the music and songs played for the public.
The festival takes inspiration from the Dúchas Schools Collection, preserved by the National Folklore Collection. This archive was compiled by schoolchildren across Ireland in the 1930s—including pupils from Tiernasligo and Urblereagh at the time. Make Inishowen gives today’s children a way to connect with their heritage through painting, textiles, music and animation.
The artworks on display celebrated community memory, heritage, and imagination, and included ‘Leave in Place’ the story from Manus Friel aged 11 from Urblereagh National School about the stones moved by his grandfather that mysteriously returned to their original place. The ‘Granda’s Cow’ by Danni McDonald aged 8 from Tiernasligo National School which told the story of a cow spooked by a dog and dragging a young boy behind him. The collection of stories that were animated are available online on Spraoi agus Spórt’s You Tube channel.
The exhibition was accompanied by music from the Inishowen Traditional Music Project and included two original songs written and composed by the school children about the big snow of ’47 and the Easter traditions of dying eggs with gorse flowers and rolling them down from the Urris Hills.
Event organiser Deirdre McGrory said of the project ‘It was an original and creative way to capture the stories passed down from one generation to the next and show children how they can bring the past to life in their own way.”