New song performed by students of Scoil Naomh Mhuire, Staplestown, Co. Kildare, to commemorates the children killed in the Easter Rising: 'Angels of Sixteen'

A Co. Kildare school has paid special tribute to the forty children who died during the Easter Rising. The fifth and sixth class pupils of Scoil Naomh Mhuire, Staplestown, Co. Kildare, visited Glasnevin Cemetery where they were given special permission to sing ‘Angels of Sixteen’, a song composed in their school in in collaboration with Kildare singer/songwriter, Mick Dunne. The pupils and their teachers, Mary McDowell and Paula Radford were then taken to lay flowers on the graves of Sean Francis Foster (2 years) and Margaret Veale (13 years). Their tour guide Paddy Gleeson, recounted the stories of these children and other victims of the Rising. The pupils of Staplestown were surprised to hear that they were the first tour group to request a visit to the graves of the children.  Joe Duffy of RTÉ and author of ‘Children of the Rising’, the best-selling book which was the inspiration for the song, wrote to the pupils and thanked them for remembering the children and praised the school for the “wonderfully moving project”.

The video can be viewed here: