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18 Feb 2026

PICTURES: Student choir from Offaly school impress during special performance in Rome

Students from Tullamore Sacred Heart School performed in the Vatican basilica

Students from Tullamore Sacred Heart School had the honour of singing in Rome, including at a special Mass in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in the Italian capital.

The Tullamore girls lined up in a side chapel in the huge church, commonly known as Mary Major's Basilica, just a few metres from the tomb of Pope Francis.

Use the arrows above to go through the gallery

They were accompanied by their music teachers James Murphy (on the organ) and Clare Faherty along with other teachers and guests on this memorable occasion.

A video of their magnificent performance can be viewed here: WATCH: Offaly student choir sings Ag Criost an Siol in Rome

The students sang in the Vatican's St Peter's Basilica with the Gentlemen of the Papal Choir at a High Sung Mass, a formal, musical celebration of the liturgy.

Along with hymns in Latin and English, the Tullamore choir sang in Irish with Ag Criost an Siol forming part of their impressive repertoire.

Photos courtesy of Tribune Sports Editor Kevin Corrigan.

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