08/07/2026
☘️ While the world wasn't looking, a group of Irish teenagers quietly went out and conquered Europe with nothing but their voices. And the story of what they just achieved will make every Irish heart swell with pride.
Cór Linn (kore lin), the youth choir based at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, has just been crowned the overall grand prize winner at a major international choral festival in Bratislava, Slovakia. This mixed voice choir, made up of singers aged just 14 to 18, travelled to the Summer Youth Music Festival at the very end of June and stunned the judges, scoring an extraordinary 97 out of 100 to take the top honour. They also received a special award in recognition of the choir's remarkable spirit and professionalism.
The name Cór Linn is beautifully fitting. In Irish, cór means choir, and the name carries the warm sense of our choir, or a choir of ours. Founded in 2018 and now based at the heart of Ireland's National Concert Hall under the direction of Derry man Ciarán Kelly, these young singers have been building something special for years. They had already been named Overall National Choir of the Festival at the City of Derry International Choir Festival, and this triumph in Bratislava was their international debut. They didn't just show up. They walked onto a European stage for the first time and won the whole thing.
And their reward for this victory is a glimpse of an even brighter future. As a result of their success, Cór Linn has now been invited to compete at two more prestigious international competitions in Barcelona in 2027. These young people from Dublin are being welcomed onto some of the most celebrated choral stages in Europe, carrying the voice of Ireland with them.
There is something deeply moving about this. In a world that so often celebrates noise and spectacle, here is a group of Irish teenagers who dedicated themselves to one of the oldest and purest art forms there is, the human voice raised in harmony, and became the best in the field through sheer hard work, discipline, and heart. They embody a truth that runs through the whole of Irish culture, that music is not just entertainment but a form of identity, something the Irish carry in their very bones and share with the world wherever they go.
So today, we lift our hats to the young singers of Cór Linn. You have done your families, your city, and the whole island of Ireland proud. Comhghairdeas (koh-GAR-jus), congratulations, to every single one of you. The future of Irish music could not be in safer hands. Follow The Irish Remembered for more. ☘️
