Larkin Community College Celebrates Winning Prestigious Irish Times Arts Award

Larkin Community College is proud to share that some of our students and staff were part of the “Who I Am and How I Am” project, organised by the Fishamble Theatre Company. This fantastic project was recognised at the Business to Arts awards by winning the prestigious Irish Times Arts Award last night in the National Concert Hall.

This initiative highlights and amplifies the voices of young people in Ireland who are ethnically diverse and often marginalised. It represents a creative partnership between Fishamble: The New Play Company and Larkin Community College, a school with students representing 34 different national and cultural backgrounds.

Fishamble: The New Play Company to devise a new project to help our students to consider Who I Am How I Am. The students we worked with were from a wide variety of heritages and a melting pot of cultures.  These students embarked on a unique exploration of their own identities and place in our local and national communities by being inspired by artists who have emigrated to and now settled in Ireland. Through fireside chats and the use of restorative practice, a variety of themes, worries and fears emerged but the most important realisation was that we are all connected by emotion and the search for truth and purpose in life. Led by Mr Cusack, we were treated to the original music soundscapes that were created in response to the work and the recorded words of the students involved. We also got to see art produced by the fifth years in response to the themes and heard testimonials from the students on how the project had impacted how they thought. And this year, led by Ms Shiggins,  the students involved are devising their own piece of theatre in response to the work.  They have seen that by speaking their truth that they can find a community of support and will know that they are not alone. They know now that they do belong wherever they find themselves and that creativity is a means for growth and community. 

A huge well done to everyone involved in making this project such a success, especially the wonderful playwrights working with Fishamble, Ms. O’Higgins, Ms. Shiggins, Mr. Cusack and Jean whose support and guidance were invaluable throughout.

We are so proud of our students and the recognition they have received, this award is a testament to their hard work and creativity.