College choirs make sweet music thanks to belclare native

By Fiona McGarry

FROM student activist to educational theorist, and PhD researcher to choirmaster, Belclare native Peter Mannion is a man of many parts. Throughout his busy life, music has been a constant passion, taking him from the practice room in St Jarlath’s College to an ambitious project to connect past and present students of NUI Galway in a ground-breaking 'Virtual Choir’.
Currently researching a doctoral thesis, Peter is the son of retired Belclare National School principal Cyril Mannion, and Mary Mannion (née Hanley).
The eldest of a talented family (his brother and sister are Siobhan and Enda), Peter got his musical grounding from talented teachers like the late Noel Kirrane.
While secondary school instilled the basics of a musical education, it wasn’t until Peter was taking his Bachelor of Science at NUIG that his flair for choral direction became apparent.

Read the full feature in this week's edition