The World Cup of the Accordion was held in the beautiful seaside resort of Portimao, Portugal from 26th Sept to 2nd October, 2016. It was an amazing event and experience for the Irish Representatives.

Ireland collected 2nd and 3rd place in the Under 13 Category with Molly McKenna and Sam Fitzpatrick collecting the coveted world prizes. The competition was won by France.

Molly & Sam…….Up Ireland!!!

In the Under 16 competition, Ireland competitors were  placed 4th (Rachel Fitzpatrick and 8th Madison Doherty. Both performers, who are only 13 years old, played with passion and represented their country with pride. This was a very competitive section and the standard was very high.

The Under 18 years category gave Ciara Masterson her first taste of International performance and she was placed 5th in her competition.

This is a wonderful experience for these young Irish Accordionists and it has placed Irish competitors on the world map and will encourage future participation in the years ahead. However, it must be acknowledged that there is a considerable amount of hard work and diligent practice associated with reaching the required qualification standards for the Trophee and these young people really had to work hard to achieve this gold standard. Well done all!

The organising committee from Portugal organised a boat trip for Saturday afternoon and it was enjoyed by all; great communication between people from 26 countries, fab scenery and beautiful weather…

A big thank you to the CMA Committee and the organisers from Portugal. It was a very enjoyable event. Please go to our Gallery page for more photos of the event.

The CMA Committee select the Director of Music from RMAO to adjudicate at the Championships and he was involved in three adjudication panels for Junior Classical, Junior Variety and World Music. This is his second time to be involved in adjudication at the World Championships and he will be involved in other international panels in 2017.