Music

U2 rank music education scheme as one of their proudest achievements

Band was an original funder of Music Generation which now provides lessons for 85,000 children every year

Minister for Education Norma Foley with Jacob O'Garro and David Antonio, pupils from St Vincent's BNS, North William Street, Dublin at the Music Generation national conference in Dublin Castle. Photograph: Brian Farrell

Ronan McGreevy
Tue Mar 5 2024 - 19:23

U2 guitarist The Edge has said the band “couldn’t be prouder” of the success of the Music Generation education programme which they helped to set up.

The Edge and Adam Clayton addressed the Music Generation annual conference by video link from Las Vegas where they finished up their residency at the Sphere on Saturday night.

U2 were one of the original funders of Music Generation when it was first mooted back in 2009 during the recession when the Government said it could not afford to roll out a pilot music education project nationwide.

[ Peeking behind the financial curtain at the Las Vegas Sphere as U2′s residency draws to a close ]

They stepped in with an initial donation of €5 million and then provided a further €2 million in 2015. Music Generation started in three counties in 2011 and is now in 29 local authority areas.

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U2's The Edge and Adam Clayton addressing the Music Generation annual conference by videolink from Las Vegas. Photograph: Ronan McGreevy

The Government has since stepped in and now provides €7 million in funding for Music Generation. In 2022, the last year for which figures are available, some 85,000 children or 7 per cent of the school-going population availed of Music Generation tuition. A similar number will avail of it this year. Music Generation employs 505 people either part-time or full-time at present.

The Edge said the band were proud that Music Generation had “transformed so many lives in just over a decade”.

Adam Clayton added: “That’s why we are all here. We all believe in the transformative power of music education.

“We know there is a lot more to be done to achieve equality of access but, as we look ahead to Music Generation’s future, we are filled with excitement and ambition for what is to come.

“To all our partners, we want to say thank you for helping us to give young people the choice and chance to access music.”

The conference was opened by Minister for Education Norma Foley who said the Government would continue to provide the financial commitment to ensure that Irish children receive a “high quality performance music education”.

[ U2 live in Las Vegas: An unforgettable gig unlike any other ]

Music Generation national director Rosaleen Molloy said the next step will be to make the project an all-island affair.

She said the “power of partnership” between central Government, philanthropy and local authorities had created “the architecture of a national system of local music education services.

“Let us not underestimate the achievement of that - the lengths it has taken and the commitment of everybody involved. It is truly remarkable.”

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy is a news reporter with The Irish Times

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