Our 1st Year and Transition Year students were treated to a truly memorable morning this week, as acclaimed Irish storyteller Niall de Búrca visited the school to share his talents as a seanchaí — a traditional Irish storyteller.
Known for performing across six continents, from the European Parliament in Brussels to Áras an Uachtaráin, Niall brought his skill for oral storytelling to bear on one of history's most difficult and important subjects: the Holocaust and the rise of Nazi Germany. Through the careful use of voice, pause, and presence, he held our students' complete attention, transforming a period of history often encountered only through textbooks into something felt, remembered, and deeply understood.
Beyond the historical content, Niall's visit carried a wider message for our students — about the importance of finding and using your own voice, and about the unique power storytelling holds to connect people across generations, cultures, and even across the distance of history itself. In an age of screens and soundbites, it was a powerful reminder of just how much can be communicated through the oldest form of human connection: a person, a voice, and a story.
Feedback from both year groups was overwhelmingly positive, with many students remarking on how the performance brought a new depth of understanding and empathy to their study of this period of history.
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Niall de Búrca for sharing his time, his talent, and these vital stories with our students.