Belmont National School Selected as Ireland’s Entry for Young European Heritage Makers 2025
The Heritage Council, Ireland’s National Coordinator for the Young European Heritage Makers initiative, is delighted to announce that Belmont National School has been selected as Ireland’s entry for the 2026 competition, part of the wider European Heritage Days programme.
The Heritage Council, Ireland’s National Coordinator for the Young European Heritage Makers initiative, is delighted to announce that Belmont National School has been selected as Ireland’s entry for the 2026 competition, part of the wider European Heritage Days programme.
Commenting on the selection, Virginia Teehan, Chief Executive of the Heritage Council, said:
“We are delighted to see Belmont National School representing Ireland in the Young European Heritage Makers competition. The pupils’ thoughtful and creative response shows how young people can engage with their local heritage in meaningful ways. Their poem about the ash tree and the hill fort beautifully captures the connection between landscape, memory and community, reminding us that heritage lives not only in historic places but also in the stories we continue to tell about them.”
The winning entry by Belmont National School celebrates a local landmark: an ancient ash tree that stands atop a historic hill fort. Inspired by this natural and historic feature, a group of girls from the school wrote and performed a poem reflecting on the tree, its history, and its connection to the community.
In their poem, the pupils imagine the ash tree as a witness to generations of local life, linking the past and present. Their creative project combines the poem with images of the hill fort and the tree in a short video, which captures their pride in the local landscape and their engagement with heritage.
The video can be viewed on YouTube.
As Ireland’s selected entry, Belmont National School’s project will now progress to the European stage, where it will be assessed alongside entries from other participating countries. The competition encourages young people to explore, celebrate, and share heritage, showing how local stories and landmarks contribute to a shared European cultural identity.
Young European Heritage Makers is part of European Heritage Days, a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the European Commission. It invites children and young people across Europe to discover their heritage and express their findings through creative media, connecting local stories with Europe’s broader cultural landscape.