PCC Falcarragh's The Stands hit the right notes at national music competition

The Stands, a band representing their school Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola, has won the top prize in the senior bands' category at Scléip.

The contest, which is for schools to enter music acts who compete through Irish, is run by Gael Linn. Its finals were held in the Helix, Dublin, on February 5, following regional finals before Christmas. 

Singing the Irish version of Maple Syrup by The Backseat Lovers, The Stands, who are composed of five members - Ella Fitzgerald, Paddy Fitzgerald, Danny Jack McGee, Oisín McLaurin and Joseph Terry wowed the judges with their performance.  

The band have been active since 2023 and describe their style of music as ‘Indie Rock’. 

“The win has opened a lot of doors for us and even getting the opportunity afterwards to perform on local radio stations such as Highland Radio and Raidió na Gaeltachta was great,” guitarist Paddy told DonegalLive. 

“We sent the video of our performance at Scléip to some members of The Backseat Lovers, and the guitarist and bassist of the band got back to us. They thought it was cool to see the song being sung in the Irish language, it was something they had not seen before.”

The band - made up of fifth and sixth-year students - have garnered attraction in the county, having done their thing for RTÉ at The Social in Gaoth Dobhair and are regularly seen on stage at Open Mic gigs at the Cottage Bar in Letterkenny.

Performing mostly covers of artists such as Radiohead, Arctic Monkeys and Oasis, the group spoke about what is next for them, with the nearby Sult Festival, which takes place over two days at Maghergallon in Gaoth Dobhair every July, one of the hopes.

“Our own original music is in the works,” lead singer Ella added.  “We would also love to perform at the Sult Festival, that is a definite goal of ours.”

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The school is proud of its students' accomplishments and would love to see their success continue. 

Ms Siún Lyng McDermott, the music teacher at PCC, gave the band guidance throughout their Scléip journey. 

“Ella’s voice sets them apart from other bands,” she said. “Over the last two years, they have grown as a band and have become well-established musicians in their own right.”