A PRIEST at Holy Cross College, Clonliffe, Dublin, took first place in the RTE Radio 1 sponsored national competition for congregational church music.
Father John McCann received £3,000 after the results of the competition, which attracted 1,000 entries, were announced last night. Second place and £2,000 went to Mr Ephrem Feeley, from Ashbourne, Co Meath. Mr Sean P. McKiernan, from Cork, who teaches in the Cork School of Music, won the third prize of £1,000. Four special commendations with prizes of £350 went to Mr Cyril Murphy, Summerhill, Co Wexford, Mr Raymond O'Donnell, Knocknabarra, Co Galway, Ms Sue Furlong, Newtown Road, Co Wexford and Mr William McBride, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh.
The finals were broadcast live from All Hallows Church, Drumcondra, Dublin. Selected pieces of work from 20 finalists were performed by a variety of Dublin Community choirs in the special 1 1/2 hour programme.
The competition for liturgical music suitable for Mass/sung Eucharist was intended to provide a platform for Irish composers and was designed to encourage the development of religious music in Ireland.
Presenting the prizes, Mr Joe Barry, director general of RTE, said: "RTE takes its role as a public service broadcasting organisation very seriously indeed, and we feel that it is our responsibility to reflect the many aspects of Irish life, including its arts and its culture. It is because of our unique position as the national broadcasting service that we were able to take the initiative in holding this church music competition."