Mayo winners in Someone Like Me art competition announced

GLENCASTLE and Brackloon national schools have been named junior and senior county winners respectively of the prestigious national art competition, Someone Like Me.

The achievement secures them a place at the national awards ceremony to be held at Dublin City Hall on January 28, where they will join 50 other schools to compete for the much sought-after national senior and junior titles.

In the junior category, Glencastle NS pupil Úna Keegan produced an award-winning colourful poster.

At senior level, 1st class pupils Maisie McDonagh and Alice O’Regan from Brackloon NS also saw their colourful poster catching the eye of the adjudicators.

Now in its ninth year, the Someone Like Me art competition, which is organised by the National Disability Authority, attracted 2,783 entries from national schools across the country.

The competition was created as part of the National Disability Authority’s work to nurture more positive attitudes towards persons with disabilities.

To date, it has seen more than 25,000 children take part in lesson plans and pupil activities designed to help them develop an awareness and understanding of visible and non-visible disabilities, drawing on their own personal experiences of disability in a bid to help create a more inclusive society.

Director of the National Disability Authority, Dr. Aideen Hartney said that the number of entries this year is a tribute to the commitment of Ireland’s primary school teachers, who continue to play an important part helping to create an ever-more inclusive Ireland.

“This year’s competition is set against the backdrop of a new Autism Innovation Strategy and work ongoing to develop a new National Disability Strategy. These provide the building blocks for a more inclusive society, where disabled people have equality of opportunity when it comes to participating in cultural, social and economic life and where positive attitudes prevail.

“The Someone Like Me art competition is an important way of building an acceptance and understanding of all disabilities amongst the primary school community, and developing an autism affirming society.”