Sixth class students from Corliss NS - Doireann McGibney, Aoibheann McCracken and Róisín Duignan - with their winning entry which was titled ‘Together we can conquer the world’.

‘Someone Like Me’ art winners

Three sixth class students from Corliss National School were named county winners in the senior section of this year’s ‘Someone Like Me’ art competition.

Doireann McGibney, Aoibheann McCracken and Róisín Duignan’s entry was titled ‘Together we can conquer the world’. It showed different people with varying degrees of abilities and disabilities, hand in hand, ready to conquer the world together.

The girls were presented with their award at a ceremony in Dublin’s City Hall last Wednesday, January 18.

The Cavan Junior category was won by Cassie Cosgrove from East Knockbride National School.

This fantastic competition aims to promote disability awareness among primary school children and give them a greater understanding of what unites children of differing abilities. ‘Someone Like Me’ enables children to learn about and discuss these topics and creatively express what they’ve learned through art.

Now in its seventh year, the competition, which is organised by the National Disability Authority, attracted more than 2,700 entries nationwide. The competition was created as part of the National Disability Authority’s work to nurture more positive attitudes towards persons with disabilities and, to date, it has seen more pupils from more than 1,000 schools take part in lesson plans and pupil activities designed to challenge our young people to appreciate and respect similarities and differences in people. The three-person judging panel comprising Caomhán Mac Con Ionmaire from the National Gallery of Ireland, Principal Ann Higgins from the Hospital School CHI at Temple Street and Niamh Fawl from the National Disability Authority. They were particularly impressed with the the standard of entries received this year.

In congratulating all county winners, Minister Anne Rabbitte said that the number of entries this year is a tribute to the commitment not just of the National Disability Authority, but also to Ireland’s primary school teachers, who continue to play an important part helping to create a more inclusive Ireland. “It shows a real commitment on the part of teachers and pupils to helping to develop a shared understanding of how we should treat others in a caring, sensitive and inclusive way, promoting a sense of belonging and connectedness,” she said.