Ella Guinane on drums.
Coláiste na Trócaire, Rathkeale, is celebrating an extraordinary online achievement after videos from its annual Leaving Certificate Graduation Ceremony captured the attention of audiences far beyond Limerick, reaching almost 900,000 views across social media platforms.
What began as an evening event to mark the end of school life for Coláiste na Trócaire’s Leaving Certificate Class of 2025 has turned into a global celebration of student talent.
Every May, the school’s graduation brings together students, parents, and the entire school community to look back on six years of hard work and growth. It’s always an emotional and uplifting evening, filled with pride, laughter, and, most memorably, music. Under the guidance of music teacher Jean O’Brien, students wow their audience with polished, heartfelt performances that show just how much they have blossomed since first year.
Paddy O’Brien’s Hornpipe performed by Niamh Sexton on Banjo, accompanied by Ian Gaffney on Guitar.
This year, however, those performances didn’t just stay within the walls of the school hall. Thanks to the dedication of teacher Tracey Boylan, who manages the school’s social media and captured the night on camera, the music of Coláiste na Trócaire found a new audience, one that stretched across the country and beyond.
One video alone, featuring Conor O’Shaughnessey and Ian Gaffney, has been viewed more than half a million times. Other performances, including solos by Aoife Burke (201,000 views) and Niamh Sexton with Ian Gaffney (67,000 views), added to the staggering total. Even the traditional Class of 2025 procession was watched nearly 12,000 times. For a school where posts typically gather 1,000–3,000 views, the response was nothing short of extraordinary.
“Moon River” performed by Amy Guinane
“It was incredible to see,” said Tracey. “I was just recording our students as I always do, but this time the world seemed to stop and listen. The messages of encouragement and pride that poured in from near and far meant so much to our students and their families.”
“This year alone, our graduation ceremony had almost 850,000 views, which is absolutely phenomenal. Not only were the posts viewed locally but also nationally and internationally. Many of those viewers also took the time to post messages of praise, appreciation or good luck to the Class of 2025!
The eight musicians who performed on the night have now moved on to the next stage of their journeys, studying everything from Music at the University of Limerick to Primary Teaching at Mary Immaculate College, as well as Nursing, Sciences, Politics, and Physics at universities in Ireland and beyond. But their legacy at Coláiste na Trócaire is secure: their music not only filled a hall in Rathkeale, it touched the hearts of hundreds of thousands across the globe.
Ar Éirinn Ni Neosfainn Ce Hí with Dirty Old Town, performed by Conor O’Shaughnessy and Ian Gaffney.
Music has always been a proud part of school life in Coláiste na Trócaire and this group of students are no strangers to performing on behalf of the school, in concert with many prestigious artists, including: Brian Kennedy; The Celtic Tenors; Frank McNamara (RTE) and Anne Phelan [past pupil] (RTE Concert Orchestra) ‘Christmas Candlelight Concert with Stars of Celtic Women and Riverdance’, Derek Hickey [past pupil] winner of Gradam Ceoil TG4 2024, Mairtín O’Connor and Band in the Belltable in collaboration with Music Generation, as well as lending their voices to important causes such Big Busk for Focus Ireland, Adapt House, Rathkeale Together International Women’s Day, RSTA Conference for Retired Principals.
As one parent commented online after the videos went viral: “Our children’s talent was always there, now the world gets to see it too.”
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