Glengormley School of Traditional Music awarded National Lottery funding

For 18 years the school has provided training in all areas of Irish traditional music skills and musicianship.

The funding will go towards providing high quality and affordable music tuition with skilled tutors in a range of instruments including fiddle, tin whistle, flute, uileann pipes, button accordion, concertina, banjo, mandolin, bodhran, guitar, harp, and ballad singing, with classes moving online during the pandemic.

The award is one of five made this month to arts organisations through the Arts Council’s Small Grants Programme, with a total investment of £35,000 going to local arts organisations.

The programme is designed to support the development of creative community-based projects across Northern Ireland.

Grants are awarded by the Arts Council on a monthly basis and organisations can apply for up to £10,000 to support projects in any art form, including music, drama, dance, literature, visual, and participatory arts.

Noirin McKinney, Head of Arts Development at the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, said: “The Small Grants Programme is supporting arts projects across Northern Ireland, proving that sometimes a small investment can have a tremendous impact.

“We are pleased this month to be able to support five fantastic projects to the value of £35,000. This money will support new publications from No Alibis Press; a virtual edition of the annual Royal Ulster Academy visual arts exhibition; music tuition for young people through Glengormley School of Traditional Music and Murley Concert Band in Fivemiletown, and a brilliant socially engaged series of arts projects in Belfast’s Sailortown district.

“These projects are made possible thanks to the money raised for good causes through the Arts Council’s National Lottery funds.”