The Downs and Dysart National Schools win in Someone Like Me art competition

The Downs National School and Dysart National School are the Junior and Senior County Winners respectively of the national art competition, Someone Like Me. They will join 46 other schools to compete for the national title at the national awards ceremony, at Dublin City Hall on Wednesday January 17, 2024.

Now in its eighth year, the Someone Like Me art competition, which is organised by the National Disability Authority, attracted more than 2,200 entries from national schools.

The competition was created as part of the National Disability Authority’s work to nurture more positive attitudes towards persons with disabilities and, to date, more than 17,500 children have taken part in lesson plans and pupil activities designed to challenge them to appreciate and respect similarities and differences in people.

The three-person judging panel – Ann Higgins, principal of Hospital School Children’s Health Ireland; Dr Carly Cheevers, senior research officer at the National Disability Authority; and Laura McGrath, an autism class teacher – were was impressed with the entries from The Downs NS and Dysart NS.

Congratulating The Downs and Dysart on being named county winners, Minister of State with responsibility for disability, Anne Rabbitte, TD, said the number of entries this year is a tribute to the commitment of the National Disability Authority, and to Ireland’s primary school teachers, who continue to play an important part helping to create an ever-more inclusive Ireland.

“Every year more and more of our young people take part in the Someone Like Me Art Competition, working their way through cross-curricular lesson plans and learning resources designed to challenge and inspire. The number and standard of entries show a real commitment on the part of teachers and pupils to helping to develop a shared understanding of how we should treat others in a caring, sensitive and inclusive way, promoting a sense of belonging and connectedness,” she said.

“This year we placed emphasis on nurturing a greater understanding of non-visible and intellectual disabilities. Many people with a non-visible disability face the everyday prospect of having to explain to others that they have a disability; something they may not always want to do.

“Selecting the county winners was not an easy task for the judges and choosing an overall winner will be an even harder job. And, while I know it will be an anxious wait for the pupils and teachers to hear which of the 48 county winners will be awarded the national title, every pupil should be congratulated for helping to enable every single person in Ireland to feel a valued member of society.”

The competition, which offers a range of prizes up to the value of €1,250, was open to all primary school pupils from junior infants to sixth class and more than 2,200 entries were received from individual pupils, class groups and whole schools across Ireland. Entries ranged from posters and collages to large sculptural installations and multi-media pieces.