Congratulations to Gráinne Ahern on being a recipient of the UCC Quercus Award for Creative & Performing Arts.
Gráinne Ahern (Youghal) – Gráinne is a Quercus Creative & Performing Arts Scholar in final year Arts Music. Gráinne is from Youghal and she plays concertina. Gráinne has won the Doc Gleason Award, the Comhaltas Award and has had multiple Fleadh Cheoil successes. Gráinne teaches in the Midleton Comhaltas branch, teaching 6 concertina classes ranging from beginners to advanced. She is also preparing students in the Midleton branch for the SCT exams run by Comhaltas. She teaches tin-whistle in Gaelscoil Choráin in her hometown of Youghal each Friday, teaching traditional music to children from first class up to sixth class. Gráinne also teaches the teenage group in her own Comhaltas branch in Youghal, focusing on arrangements and group performance with a blend of instruments. The Youghal Comhaltas branch has recently received funding for a youth trad orchestra, where the branch will be joining with the Midleton branch. As Gráinne teaches in both branches, she will be involved in leading and working with the orchestra. She also has her own students who come for private one to one lessons in her home. Gráinne consider her teaching opportunities as her greatest achievements and successes as it is so enjoyable and an honour to be able to pass on what she have learnt to the younger kids coming through her own Comhaltas branch. Being contacted by the local school to come and teach was also a huge opportunity for Gráinne.