School Choir
Music has always been at the heart of life in St. Mary's Secondary School, and our school choir is one of the school's greatest strengths. Renowned throughout the local community for its exceptional standard of singing, the choir plays an integral role in school life and enriches many of our most important occasions.
The choir performs at school liturgies, Recognition Day, Graduation ceremonies, the annual Christmas Concert and many other special events throughout the year. They have had the honour of performing for distinguished visitors to St. Mary's, including former Taoiseach Enda Kenny, former Presidents Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese, and most recently for ministers and dignitaries attending the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union meeting hosted in St. Mary's in July 2026.
Beyond the school community, the choir makes a valued contribution to parish and community life, singing at weddings, funerals and fundraising concerts. They have also collaborated with St. Muredach's Cathedral Choir and other accomplished musicians on a variety of community performances.
The choir has achieved widespread recognition through a number of acclaimed video productions. Their recording of 'Mayo Abú', celebrating the Mayo Senior Ladies' Gaelic Football team, and their Christmas collaboration with Billow Wood attracted thousands of views across Ireland.
In 2018, the choir produced the award-winning recording of 'Orphan Girl' to coincide with the unveiling of the Mayo Famine Orphan Girls Memorial in Ballina. The video quickly gained international attention, receiving well over 100,000 views and messages of appreciation from around the world.
The choir has also enjoyed considerable success in competition. They won the Post-Primary Section of the Kiltimagh Choral Festival for two consecutive years and have qualified on several occasions for the regional finals of the RTÉ School Choir Competition, performing on national television.
More recently, the choir achieved Second Place at the Sligo International Choral Festival in 2023, First Place in 2024, and in 2025 travelled to the Derry International Choir Festival, where they were awarded a Gold Medal in recognition of their outstanding performance.
The choir rehearses voluntarily each week after school under the direction of Ms. Regina Deacy, providing students with opportunities to develop their musical talents, build confidence, forge lifelong friendships and proudly represent St. Mary's at local, national and international events.
Watch some of our performances: