Pupils enjoy brush with success
Katherina Gannon, Anthony McGuinness, John Ahearne and Niamh Kavanagh with their winning paintings at Airfield House, in Dundrum, yesterday
Wednesday February 10 2010
BUDDING artists answered the call of the wild as they let their imaginations run free in a national painting competition.
The rolling African savannah was the inspiration for two winners. Katherina Gannon, from Naomh Brendan National School, Galway, won in the first- and second-class category for her painting, 'A Wild Lion', while Anthony McGuinness, from St Mary's National School, Co Cavan, won the third- and fourth-class category for his artwork, 'An African Elephant'.
Rounding out the winners were Robyn Leonard from St Ultan's National School, in Dublin, who looked closer to home for her painting 'My Dad's Mammy', which won in the junior and senior infants category, while Niamh Kavanagh, from Bennekerry National School, Co Carlow, scooped top honours in the fifth- and sixth-class category for 'Northern Lights'.
Over 2,400 primary school children submitted paintings to the Sightsavers Ireland Junior Painter of the Year Awards on the theme of 'The Sight I Would Most Like to See'. Out of these, 15 were short-listed before the eventual winners were named.
Presenting the awards yesterday, John Fleming, chief executive of Sightsavers Ireland, congratulated all the children who had taken part.
"We wanted to give Irish children an opportunity to express their creativity and learn, in an enjoyable way, how much we all rely on our sight to participate in everyday life," he said.
The short-listed paintings will be on display at Airfield House in Dublin. The exhibition runs for 10 days, starting from today.
- Breda Heffernan
Irish Independent
