The Mahon Song: Schoolkids and Seniors Unite to Celebrate Community
Schoolkids and older residents in Mahon have joined forces to create a community song, performed at City Hall for the Lord Mayor this week.
Pupils from three Cork schools have joined forces with older residents in Mahon to create a joyful community anthem that name-checks local heroes, including soccer stars Caoimhín Kelleher and Alan Browne.
The Mahon Song, supported by Cork City Council through RAPID funding, celebrates the Mahon area and showcases the power of intergenerational collaboration. The project brought together young people and community groups to highlight the pride and spirit that defines the neighbourhood.
The song was co-created by pupils from Nagle Community College, Holy Cross National School, and Gaelscoil Mhachan, alongside members of the Mahon Community Development Programme (CDP) Singing for Wellbeing group, whose members meet regularly to sing for health and wellbeing.
The idea emerged from a meeting of the Mahon Learning Neighbourhood, a representative network of schools, childcare providers, and youth and community organisations serving the area. Pupils were invited to put forward descriptive words that represented Mahon for them, with Mahon CDP's Singing for Wellbeing group, the Coffee Morning group of older people, and the Mahon Women's Group also contributing words and phrases.
Local music tutor Rory McGovern shaped the project, mapping out the steps needed to create the song, tying the various words together into lyrics, and composing the accompanying music.
The song opens and closes with a swooning contribution from 90-year-old local resident Michael Walsh, described as having a velvet voice, while the main body of the song is performed largely in rap style by pupils of Gaelscoil Mhachan. Tom Lynch, Ann Boyd, and Chris Fahy also individually contribute to the rap section.
The song was originally performed as part of the Mahon Learning Neighbourhood event in April 2026, as part of the Cork Lifelong Learning project. It made its way to City Hall on Thursday, 4 June, when the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Fergal Dennehy, who had heard it at the April event, invited the group to perform it for him in the Council Chambers.
Cllr Dennehy said:
"I am delighted to support the Mahon Song and the positive example of cooperation, talent, and support this project represents of the Mahon community.
The song reflects a keen sense of community pride and highlights the positive impact of intergenerational and collaborative work at a local level.
But it also shows to me that the voices of the next generation are talents, loud and proud and I am delighted to give them a stage here in City Hall to showcase their talent."
Viv Saad, project coordinator of Mahon CDP, reflected on the journey from concept to performance:
"As a group, we were trying to be as representative and inclusive of all age groups and corners of Mahon.
It is extremely satisfying watching the project unfold from hundreds of random words being pulled together in a lyrical song and hearing it for the first time musically and seeing it performed live was emotional and thrilling."
Tom Lynch, a member of the Mahon CDP Singing for Wellbeing Group and a long-time Mahon resident, added:
"I am hugely proud of Mahon and I have had a good life there with great neighbours and I am proud to hear all of the positive associations of Mahon compiled in a high quality recording which will last the test of time. It is definitely a song worthy of the airwaves."
