Piano Festival
National Piano Festival
Feast your ears, friends, on the sweet melodies of the Annual National Piano Festival & Limerick Writing Contest! It’s a grand gathering of the finest pianists in all of Ireland, who’ll be tickling the ivories and stirring the souls of music lovers everywhere. This shindig is a rare chance to revel in the beauty of the piano, and to hear the brilliant compositions of the greats brought to life by the talented performers. But this isn’t just about listening, it’s about getting involved and joining the community too, which is why we’re holding the festival at the lovely Rathgar Methodist Church in Dublin 6. Everyone from the age of 4 to 84 are invited to participate in the Festival, and we welcome all skill levels, from beginners to the advanced. As you tap your toes, we’ll be awarding €1000 in cash prizes, as well as certificates of commendation, feedback from esteemed pianists, and more. So come one, come all, and let’s raise the roof with some piano magic!
Categories
The various categories in which pianists can participate in our festival.
- Solo Under 6 years
- Solo Under 10 years
- Solo Under 12 years
- Solo Under 14 years
- Solo Under 18 years
- Solo Etude Open (no age limit)***
- Solo Adult Silver Jubilee Post-Grade 5 (over 18)
- Solo Under 8 years
- Sonatina Under 12 years*
- Solo Repertoire Under 12 years**
- Solo Under 16 years
- Piano Concerto Open (no age limit)****
- Solo Adult Bronze Jubilee Pre-Grade 5 (over 18)
- Duet Under 12 years
- Duet Under 16 years
*To perform the first OR last movement from any Sonatina.
**To present 5 – 7 minutes of contrasting repertoire, minimum of 2 pieces representing different styles/moods. Please note performers presenting a programme under the time limit will not be considered for a prize.
***To present one Piano Etude by one of the following composers: Hummel, Moscheles, Herz, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Alkan, Henselt, Smetana, Gottschalk, Saint-Saens, Moszkowski, Lyadov, MacDowell, Debussy, Busoni, Godowsky, Scriabin, Rachmaninov, Bartok, Stravinsky, Szymanowski, Prokofiev, Lutoslawski, Ligeti, Glass, or Bolcom.
****To present one movement from a piano concerto of own choice. Orchestral part to be provided by the competitor. A second piano will be provided.
prizes
THIS YEAR'S SPECIAL PRIZES – sponsored by various private donors & PAI
late Clive Gouldson
(€150)
will be presented to the most promising Junior Pianist.
late Clive Gouldson
(€300)
will be presented to the most promising Senior Pianist.
In addition, there will be three special prizes:
For Any Category
The Emerald Award + (€75)
will be presented to the best performance of a piece by an Irish Composer from any category.
the Solo EtudeOpen category
The Virtuoso Cup + (€125)
will be presented to the winner of the Solo Etude Open category
winner of the Concerto category
The Bob Smyth Cup + (€150)
will be awarded to the winner of the Concerto category
Past National Piano Festival Prize Winners
Introducing our National Piano Festival Prize Winners from 2010 to 2022! These talented musicians have graced our stage with their skillful performances and captured the hearts of audiences across the years. Each one of them has brought something unique and special to the festival, showcasing their individuality, personality, originality, and spontaneity that made their performances unforgettable. Through the years our prize winners have come from all over Ireland, and varied in age, but they all have one thing in common: they are passionate about piano and have put in years of hard work to develop their skills to the highest level.
We are honored to have had such a diverse group of pianists grace our stage, and we look forward to discovering the next generation of piano prodigies at our future festivals!
| Category | Winner’s Name |
|---|---|
| U6 | Daniel Zhu |
| U8 | Pei Xi Saoirse Pu |
| U10 | Ryan Keogh |
| U12 | Anita Han |
| Sonatina U12 | Pei Lin Oisin Pu |
| Repertoire U12 | Pei Lin Oisin Pu |
| U14 | Anna Hrymak Quinn |
| U16 | Jinlong John Situ |
| U18 | Stan O' Beirne |
| Concerto Open | Leo Mac Nally |
| Adult Silver Jubilee Post Grade 5 | Myn Fitzpatrick |
| Duet U16 | Anita Han & Ryan Keogh |
| Emerald Award | Yichen Yao |
| Clive Gouldson Junior Award | Pei Lin Oisin Pu |
| Clive Gouldson Senior Award | Myn Fitzpatrick |
| Category | Winner’s Name |
|---|---|
| U6 | Ella Siyu Liu |
| U8 | Emily McCarthy |
| U10 | Grace Bai |
| Duet Under 10 | Lucas & Jody Wang |
| Sonatina U12 | Pei Lin Oisin Pu |
| Duet Under 16 | Not Awarded |
| U12 | Pei Lin Oisin Pu |
| Sonatina U12 | LuoXi Xu |
| Repertoire U12 | Ethan Bai |
| U14 | Pei Lin Oisin Pu |
| U16 | Pei Lin Oisin Pu |
| U18 | Dylan Hanly |
| Bob Smyth Concerto Open | Stan O' Beirne |
| Pre Grade 5 | Bronze Jubilee Pearse Crowley |
| Adult Silver Jubilee Post Grade 5 | Laura Finn |
| Clive Gouldson Junior Award | Pei Lin Oisin Pu |
|
Clive Gouldson Senior Award |
Stan O' Beirne |
2021 ☘️LIMERICK Contest âœï¸AWARDS:
Very Highly Commended:
Bob Turvey – Bristol, UK
Bonnie Neubauer – Havertown, Pennsylvania, USA
Joint 3rd:
Emily Mc Carthy – Dublin
Mac Chen – Kirkland, Washington, USA
Joint 2nd:
Ciara Cassoni – Kells, Co Meath
Dick Warwick – Oakesdale, Washington, USA
1st:
Dave O’ Sullivan – Co Kildare
| Category | Winner’s Name |
|---|---|
| Solo Under 6 | Not awarded |
| Solo Under 8 | Daniel Zhu |
| Solo Under 10 | Rebecca Yu |
| Duet Under 10 | Marco Li & Leo Wang |
| Duet Under 16 | Kexin Zhang & Zoe Yu |
| Solo Under 12 | Ethan Bai |
| Sonatina Under 12 | Lan Chen Liu |
| Repertoire Under 12 | Coco Luoxi Xu |
| Solo Under 14 | John Ding |
| Solo Under 16 | Zongwen Wu |
| Solo Under 18 | Not Awarded |
| Adult Silver Jubilee Post Grade 5" | Maeve O' Regan |
| Virtuoso Cup | Dylan Hanly |
| Emerald Award | Molly Devaney |
| Clive Gouldson Junior Award | John Ding |
|
Clive Gouldson Senior Award |
Zongwen Wu |
2022 ☘️LIMERICK Contest âœï¸AWARDS:
ADULTS
1. Dick Warwick – Oakesdale, WA, USA
2. Rachel McCabe – Co. Monaghan
3. Teresa Mahon – Do. Dublin
Children
1. Leah Elwood – Co Galway
2. Sheba Chen – Spokane, WA, USA
3. Ava Marie Mc Cabe – Co. Monaghan
| Category | Winner’s Name |
|---|---|
| Solo Under 6 | Athenais Dominique Selve |
| Solo Under 8 | Sheba Chen |
| Solo Under 10 | Solomon Chen |
| Duet Under 10 | Aristide Claude Illya Selve & Georgina Yu Her Ter |
| U12 | Conor Dixon |
| Sonatina U12 | James Guerrero |
| Repertoire U12 | Gerry Yang |
| U14 | Stan O'Beirne |
| U16 | Dida Condria |
| U18 | Aidan Chan |
| Pre-5 Jubilee (Bronze) | Not Awarded |
| Adult Silver Jubilee Post Grade 5 | Not Awarded |
| Emerald Award | Tiago Dennehy |
2017
| Category | Winner’s Name |
|---|---|
| Under 6 | Lucas Lin |
| Under 8 | Maria Motsonelidze |
| Under 10 | Melodie Nekrasova |
| Duet Under 10 | Solomon Clive Chen & Sheba Hisa Chen |
| U12 | Maria Nasypanaya |
| Sonatina Under 12 | Solomon Clive Chen |
| Repertoire Under 12 | David Walega |
| U14 | Eoin Maher |
| Solo Under 16 | Stan O'Beirne |
| Duet U16 | Ekaterina Dementyeva & Georgy Dementyeva |
| Solo Under 18 | Bethany Edgar |
| Pre-5 Jubilee (Bronze) | No awarded |
| Adult Silver Jubilee Post Grade 5" | Brendan Kennedy |
| Etude Under 25 | Dida Condria |
| Emerald Award | Emma Wang |
| Clive Gouldson Junior Award | Pei Lin Oisin Pu |
|
Clive Gouldson Senior Award |
Dida Condria |
2018
| Category | Winner’s Name |
|---|---|
| Solo Under 6 | Pei Xi Saoirse Pu |
| Solo Under 8 | Pei Lin Oisin Pu |
| Solo Under 10 | Rana O' Sullivan |
| Duet Under 10 | Jada Smith & Reuben Avery |
| U12 | Solomon Clive Chen |
| Sonatina U12 | Maria Nasypanaya |
| Repertoire U12 | U12 Charlie Mc Hugh |
| U14 | Leo MacNally |
| U16 | Eoin Maher |
| Duet U16 | James & Jeannine Guerrero |
| U18 | Michael Carey |
| Robert Smyth Junior Concerto | Dida Condria |
| Pre-5 Jubilee (Bronze) | N |
| Adult Silver Jubilee Post Grade 5 | Bethany Edgar |
| Etude Under 25 | Brendan Kennedy |
| Emerald Award | Solomon Clive Chen |
|
Clive Gouldson Junior Award |
Solomon Clive Chen |
2016
| Category | Winner’s Name |
|---|---|
| U6 | Athenais Dominique Selve |
| U8 | Sheba Chen |
| U10 | Solomon Chen |
| Duet U10 | Aristide Claude Illya Selve & Georgina Yu Her Ter |
| U12 | Conor Dixon |
| Sonatina U12 | James Guerrero |
| Repertoire U12 | Gerry Yang |
| U14 | Stan O'Beirne |
| U16 | Dida Condria |
| U18 | Aidan Chan |
| Pre-5 | Jubilee (Bronze) not awarded |
| Adult Silver Jubilee Post Grade 5 | not awarded |
| Emerald Award | Tiago Dennehy |
2017
| Category | Winner’s Name |
|---|---|
| U6 | Lucas Lin |
| U8 | Maria Motsonelidze |
| U10 | Melodie Nekrasova |
| Duet U10 | Solomon Clive Chen & Sheba Hisa Chen |
| U12 | Maria Nasypanaya |
| Sonatina U12 | Solomon Clive Chen |
| Repertoire U12 | David Walega |
| U14 | Eoin Maher |
| U16 | Stan O'Beirne |
| Duet U16 | Ekaterina Dementyeva & Georgy Dementyeva |
| U18 | Bethany Edgar |
| Pre-5 | Jubilee (Bronze) not awarded |
| Adult Silver Jubilee Post Grade 5 | Brendan Kennedy |
| Etude Under 25 | Dida Condria |
| Emerald Award | Emma Wang |
| Clive Gouldson Junior Award | Pei Lin Oisin Pu |
| Clive Gouldson Senior Award | Dida Condria |
2018
| Category | Winner’s Name |
|---|---|
| U6 | Pei Xi Saoirse Pu |
| U8 | Pei Lin Oisin Pu |
| U10 | Rana O' Sullivan |
| Duet U10 | Jada Smith & Reuben Avery |
| U12 | Solomon Clive Chen |
| Repertoire U12 | Charlie Mc Hugh |
| Sonatina U12 | Maria Nasypanaya |
| U14 | Leo MacNally |
| U16 | Eoin Maher |
| Duet U16 | James & Jeannine Guerrero |
| U18 | Michael Carey |
| Robert Smyth Junior Concerto | Dida Condria |
| Pre-5 Jubilee (Bronze) | Jo Parada |
| Adult Silver Jubilee Post Grade 5 | Bethany Edgar |
| Etude Under 25 | Brendan Kennedy |
| Emerald Award | Solomon Clive Chen |
| Clive Gouldson Junior Award | Solomon Clive Chen |
| Clive Gouldson Senior Award | Stan O' Beirne |
2016
| Category | Winner’s Name |
|---|---|
| U6 | Athenais Dominique Selve |
| U8 | Sheba Chen |
| U10 | Solomon Chen |
| Duet U10 | Aristide Claude Illya Selve & Georgina Yu Her Ter |
| U12 | Conor Dixon |
| Sonatina U12 | James Guerrero |
| Repertoire U12 | Gerry Yang |
| U14 | Stan O'Beirne |
| U16 | Dida Condria |
| U18 | Aidan Chan |
| Pre-5 | Jubilee (Bronze) not awarded |
| Adult Silver Jubilee Post Grade 5 | not awarded |
| Emerald Award | Tiago Dennehy |
2017
| Category | Winner’s Name |
|---|---|
| U6 | Lucas Lin |
| U8 | Maria Motsonelidze |
| U10 | Melodie Nekrasova |
| Duet U10 | Solomon Clive Chen & Sheba Hisa Chen |
| U12 | Maria Nasypanaya |
| Sonatina U12 | Solomon Clive Chen |
| Repertoire U12 | David Walega |
| U14 | Eoin Maher |
| U16 | Stan O'Beirne |
| Duet U16 | Ekaterina Dementyeva & Georgy Dementyeva |
| U18 | Bethany Edgar |
| Pre-5 | Jubilee (Bronze) not awarded |
| Adult Silver Jubilee Post Grade 5 | Brendan Kennedy |
| Etude Under 25 | Dida Condria |
| Emerald Award | Emma Wang |
| Clive Gouldson Junior Award | Pei Lin Oisin Pu |
| Clive Gouldson Senior Award | Dida Condria |
2018
| Category | Winner’s Name |
|---|---|
| U6 | Pei Xi Saoirse Pu |
| U8 | Pei Lin Oisin Pu |
| U10 | Rana O' Sullivan |
| Duet U10 | Jada Smith & Reuben Avery |
| U12 | Solomon Clive Chen |
| Repertoire U12 | Charlie Mc Hugh |
| Sonatina U12 | Maria Nasypanaya |
| U14 | Leo MacNally |
| U16 | Eoin Maher |
| Duet U16 | James & Jeannine Guerrero |
| U18 | Michael Carey |
| Robert Smyth Junior Concerto | Dida Condria |
| Pre-5 Jubilee (Bronze) | Jo Parada |
| Adult Silver Jubilee Post Grade 5 | Bethany Edgar |
| Etude Under 25 | Brendan Kennedy |
| Emerald Award | Solomon Clive Chen |
| Clive Gouldson Junior Award | Solomon Clive Chen |
| Clive Gouldson Senior Award | Stan O' Beirne |
2010
| Category | Winner’s Name |
|---|---|
| Solo U6 | Not Awarded |
| Solo U8 | Rachel Low |
| Solo U10 | Conor Johnston |
| Solo U12 | Adam Shaw |
| Solo U14 | Lauren Fehily |
| Solo U16 | Francesca Keane |
| Solo U18 | Thea Koutsoukis |
| Solo U25 | Penelope Maguire |
| Solo U40 | Not Awarded |
| Solo P40 | Marco Di Marzio & Mark Duffy |
2011
| Category | Winner’s Name |
|---|---|
| Solo U6 | Joe O' Grady |
| Solo U8 | Stan O' Beirne |
| Solo U10 | Rachel Low |
| Solo U12 | Conor Johnston |
| Solo U14 | Adam Shaw |
| Solo U16 | Not Awarded |
| Solo U18 | Ellen Duffy |
| Solo U25 | Conor O' Shea |
| Solo Bronze Jubilee | Michael Bevan |
| Solo Silver Jubilee | Jane Brownlee |
2012
| Category | Winner’s Name |
|---|---|
| Solo U6 | James Guerrero |
| Solo U8 | Joe O' Grady |
| Solo U10 | Milena Cuk |
| Duet U10 | Niall Connolly & Christine Wang |
| Solo U12 | Jiou Wu |
| Solo U14 | Ryan Joseph McGrath |
| Solo U16 | Carmel Comiskey |
| Solo U18 | Peter Regan |
| Solo Silver Jubilee | Killian Grumley Traynor |
| Solo Golden Jubilee | Helen Redwood |
| Emerald Cup | John Prendergast |
Past Adjudicators
Introducing our esteemed panel of past adjudicators for our National Piano Festival! These renowned musicians have brought their wealth of experience and knowledge to our festival, providing valuable feedback and critiques for our participants. Each one of them has made a significant contribution to the festival with their expertise and insights.
Through the years, our adjudicators have come from diverse backgrounds, with different teaching styles, and performance experience, but they all shared a deep love for the piano and a commitment to helping young pianists to reach their full potential. They have provided constructive feedback, and valuable guidance to our participants, helping them to grow and develop as musicians.

We are grateful to have had such a distinguished group of adjudicators, and we are excited to have future adjudicators join us in our future festivals.
| Year | Adjudicators’ Name |
|---|---|
| 2022 Adjudicato | Dr. Roger McVey |
| 2021 Adjudicator | Dr. Peter Mack |
| 2020 Adjudicator | Dr. Yonit Kosovske |
| 2018 Adjudicators | Veronica McSwiney & Roy Holmes |
| 2017 Adjudicators | Colma Brioscu & Dr. Orla Mc Donagh |
| 2016 Adjudicators | Una Hunt & Mairead Hurley |
| 2015 Adjudicators | Anthony Byrne & Conor Linehan |
| 2014 Adjudicators | Dr. David Mooney & Dr. Mary Lennon |
| 2013 Adjudicators | Dr. Mary Lennon & Prof Pádhraic Ó Cuinneagáin |
| 2012 Adjudicator | Prof Pádhraic Ó Cuinneagáin |
| 2011 Adjudicator | Prof Ray Keary RIAM |
| 2010 Adjudicator | Prof Lance Coburn RIAM |
Rules & Regulations
I. Online Registration
- All online registration forms must be completed and payment made to be processed.
- Entries must be submitted by Friday 17th February 2023. Late entries will be accepted until Tuesday 21st February, but with an additional fee of €10 per entry.
II. Age Requirements
- Ages will be determined based on the performer’s age on January 1st of the competition year.
- Example: For the Solo Under 10 category, the performer must be 9 years old or younger on January 1st 2023.
III. Schedule and Performance Requirements
- The Festival schedule will be available online prior to the event.
- Performers will present one piece of their choice, except for those in the Under 12 Repertoire category.
- Participants cannot perform the same piece in multiple categories.
- Previous first-prize winners are not eligible to enter the same category again.
- The time limit for each category is 9 minutes, except for the Concerto category.
IV. Adjudication and Prizes
- Performers must score a minimum of 86% to win first prize and 81% to win second prize.
- The Adjudicator’s decision is final.
- The Prizewinners Concert will take place at the Rathgar Methodist Church.
V. Festival Administration
- The Piano Academy of Ireland reserves the right to refuse entry to any performer.
- The Academy also reserves the right to change the time, venue, or order of performances as necessary.
- If a large number of entries are received for a category, it may be divided into two groups.
- The performer’s piece may be heard in its entirety or in part at the discretion of the adjudicator.
- Performers must provide a clean copy of their music to the adjudicator.