Music Generation, the national music education programme, has announced that it is now seeking applications for Phase 2 of its expansion and that €3m in funding is available.

Music Generation currently has partnerships in Sligo, Mayo, Clare, Limerick City, Westmeath, Offaly, Laois, Carlow, Louth, South Dublin, Wicklow, and Cork City.

Applications are invited from new ‘Music Education Partnerships’ – locally-based groups of people and organisations, led by an Education and Training Board or a Local Authority, that come together to establish sustainable music programmes in their communities. The Phase 2 expansion will take place between 2017 and 2021.

Local Music Education Partnerships are eligible to apply for 50% seed funding up to a maximum of €200,000 per year for an initial three year period. Partnerships selected for participation will need to raise the other 50% locally to establish the programme in their area.

In 2015, U2 announced that it would gift €2m from its November 2015 shows to Music Generation, and that The Ireland Funds would add a further €1m. On the latest announcement, Adam Clayton from U2 said,

We’re so proud of Music Generation’s great achievement – and the government’s commitment is so important – in bringing this programme to 38,000+ children across the country. The sky is the limit over the next five years.

From 2020, the Department of Education and Skills will replace philanthropic donations from U2 and The Ireland Funds to ensure programmes are sustained on a long-term basis, alongside ongoing local funding. The Department currently supports the Music Generation initiative with an investment of €2.5m per year. 

Welcoming the announcement, Minister for Education and Skills Richard Bruton TD said:

I am delighted that my Department currently invests €2.5 million to support this educational programme. This programme plays an enormous role in providing children with access to a music education. We are delighted to work in partnership with U2 and The Ireland Funds to enable the expansion of the Music Generation programme and to ensure the future of non-mainstream music education in Ireland. Our ongoing co-funding of Music Generation’s first phase and our commitment to the long-term future of Phase 2 mark a significant investment by Government in the musical futures of Ireland’s children and young people.

New Music Education Partnerships must register their interest by Friday 17 February. The closing date for completed applications is Wednesday 31 May 2017. 

Information sessions will take place on Tuesday 24 January at the National Concert Hall and on Thursday 26 January at the Athlone Springs Hotel.

For more, listen below to an interview on RTÉ Radio 1 with Rosaleen Molloy, National Director of Music Generation, or visit www.musicgeneration.ie.