Irish Youth Music Awards

The Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs) is an all island youth sector wide music educational programme supporting teenagers aged twelve to nineteen (Over two thirds of those engaged in the programme are from within CSO/ POBAL deprivation scoring areas) in youth clubs and projects across the entire island of Ireland.

We provide teenagers engaged in the programme with personal development, employability skills, career and educational support via creative hands-on Music-based Education which includes industry workshops, creative collaborative activity based tasks, performance opportunities and a college support bursary. Each year the IYMAs hosts a national event for those interested in learning more about the creative and music industries with workshops, performance and lots more. This event is all ages and open to anyone to get tickets and attend. 

If you are a youth club or project and want to get involved in the IYMAs or find out more please email us on iymas@youthworkireland.ie

IYMAs BIMM Bursary Awardees 2023

We are excited to announce our IYMAs BIMM bursary awardees for 2023. These young creatives are progressing from our programme to study BA’s in BIMM Institute Dublin and we are delighted to support their progression. This years awardees where involved in the programme via our hubs in Youth Work Ireland Galway and Carlow Regional Youth Service. 

IYMAs FREE Live Album Released

Youth Work Ireland’s Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs) is very excited to announce the release of our IYMAs live album 2023 recorded at our National Day last May.

The IYMAs is an all island youth sector wide music educational programme supporting teenagers aged twelve to nineteen (Over 50% of those engaged in the programme are from within CSO/ POBAL deprivation scoring areas) in youth clubs and projects with at least one hub per province.

This release is a snapshot of the creativity that the IYMAs supports develop and features fifteen original tracks from IYMAs acts who engaged in our programme.

Thanks to the brilliant work of our hub network in supporting young people’s creativity locally and to all our partners and supporters!

Please follow us on the socials as linked below to support the IYMAs and in the meantime hit play and enjoy the album.

Album Track listing and hubs involved;

  1. The Thing Is – The Door Is Red – Youth Action Northern Ireland Belfast
  2. Attack In Defense Of The Earth – When I’m With You – Youth Work Ireland Galway
  3. Layla and the Legends – Forget About Me – Swan Regional Youth Service
  4. Emmie Whelan – Leanne – Swicn Clubhouse
  5. Killian Keating – Anywhere With You – Finglas Youth Resource Centre
  6. Blondeless –  Lonely World – Cobh Youth Service
  7. Tyler Moran and Ben Bheag – Dreaming Again – Youth Work Ireland Midlands
  8. Sophie Foley – That Road – Carlow Regional Youth Services
  9. Amy Flanagan – Let The Smoke Clear – Limerick Youth Service
  10. Galactic – Ultra Violet – KDYS (Kerry)
  11. Spectacle Squared – Running Late – Youth Action Northern Ireland Newry
  12. Sadhbh Keane – Second Gear – Crosscare Dublin West
  13. Violet Lamps – Wasting Time – Youth Work Ireland Louth
  14. Housewives – Serein – Clare Youth Service
  15. Recoil – I Wanna Start A Riot – FDYS Youth Work Ireland

 
IYMAs partners and supporters include The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, RTÉ 2FM, BIMM Institute Dublin, IMRO, RAAP, Music Maker, Youth Action Northern Ireland, Gaisce – The President’s Award and the National Lottery Ireland.

IYMAs National Event 2023 - Look Back

We are excited to take a look back at our IYMAs National Day which took place in May at the RDS Dublin .This event saw hundreds of young people from across Ireland perform, learn in our interactive marketplace and take part in industry workshops. 

If you are a youth club or project and want to get involved in the IYMAs then contact us on iymas@youthworkireland.ie

IYMAs National Event 2023

Youth Work Ireland’s Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs) is excited to announce the return of its acclaimed all ages national event to the RDS on Saturday May 20th. This event will offer young creatives and musicians from across the country access to some of Ireland’s best industry professionals for exclusive workshops and performances as well as inviting attendees to learn in the interactive market place. 

This year’s event will feature leading creative industry professionals including critically acclaimed artist David Keenan, No 1 TikTok artist Brad HeidiDJ workshop with DJ and RTÉ 2FM presenter January Winters, a song writing workshop with BIMM Institute Dublin and the Rio Ferdinand Foundation and Warner Music Ireland will host a workshop on the Journey Of A Song for all aspiring creatives. 

The Irish Youth Music Awards National event will also feature performances by young musicians aged 12-19 from IYMAs hubs across two stages throughout the day. Attendees will also be able to visit the IYMAs interactive marketplace which will feature hands on demonstrations with BIMM Institute Dublin, Pop Up Shop And Guitar Repair with Music Maker, Demo your Music and learn about Music Royalties with IMRO, Live Screen printing, RAAP Information Stand and RTÉ 2FM all in attendance with the latter broadcasting live from the event.

Tickets for the Irish Youth Music Awards National event are available now exclusively from the IYMAs priced at €20 per person here. The event is an all ages, alcohol /drugs free event.

IYMAs Director, Barry Lennon said: “We are very excited to be returning to the RDS this year for our all ages IYMAs National event. This event will provide a space to support young creatives to learn about the music and creative industries as well as amplifying their music and creativity on a national level. We now have at least one IYMAs hub per province with over fifteen hubs across the island of Ireland. This event is a celebration of the work of our IYMAs hubs and an opportunity for all young creatives to come together to learn, see performances and have fun. We look forward to welcoming everyone to the RDS on Saturday May 20th” 

Director of Music RTÉ 2FM, Adam Fogarty said “It’s extremely important to 2FM that we support the IYMAs programme and their national event on Saturday May 20th in the RDS. As the years roll by we are seeing more and more talent come through the IYMA’s which is really exciting for the future of Irish music. This partnership is very important for 2FM so we can provide young people with access to the music industry by working alongside the IYMAs to support them in developing their careers”

IYMAs partners and supporters include The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, RTÉ 2FM, BIMM Institute Dublin, IMRO, RAAP, Warner Music Ireland, Rio Ferdinand Foundation, Music Maker, Youth Action Northern Ireland, Gaisce – The President’s Award and the National Lottery.

 

IYMAs Impact Report Launched

We have launched an Independent Impact Report on the Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs). This report uses quantitative and qualitative data captured over the last few years to look at the impact of the IYMAs programme with data collected from an evaluation framework, case studies and input from IYMAs industry partners, IYMAs hubs and young people engaged in the programme as well as contributions from the wider Youth Sector.

The core findings and recommendations of this report are; 

Finding 1 – The IYMAs promotes Social Inclusion;

Two thirds of programme participants involved in the IYMAs are from socially excluded and disadvantaged backgrounds (based on mapping and analysis of Pobal deprivation scores). The result of engagement in the IYMAs is that over 95% of those involved now feel part of a bigger community of creatives and musicians. The recommendation for this finding is to work together with key government agencies to better integrate the IYMAs into services and supports for socially excluded young people at the local and national level.

Finding 2 – The IYMAs promotes Progression Paths;

The IYMAs supports progression paths for young people to third level education via the IYMAs BIMM Bursary. This is supported by tracking participants. To support an increased number of young people progressing into creative careers the recommendation is to grow the National IYMAs Staff Team by working together with the industry, private, non-government and government agencies.

Finding 3 – The IYMAs supports Creativity Development;

Over 93% of young people reported developing creative ways to express themselves through self-assessed evaluations. This finding is reinforced by the themes emerging from case studies of young people’s voices and experiences in the IYMAs programme. The recommendation is to work with policy makers and service commissioners to increase recognition of the contribution of the IYMAs to the creative development of young people and as an important proximal outcome for them.

 

IYMAs National Day 2022

Youth Work Ireland’s Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs) is excited to announce the return of its all ages national event to an in person event on Saturday May 28th in the RDS. This acclaimed event will offer young creatives and musicians from across the country access to some of Ireland’s best industry professionals for exclusive workshops and performances. 

This year’s event will feature leading creative industry professionals including chart topping artists Hudson Taylor, RTÉ Choice Music Prize song nominees True Tides, TikTok sensation Lea Heart plus RTÉ 2FM’s Dave Treacy will deliver a DJ workshop for aspiring DJ’s and BIMM Institute Dublin will host a song writing workshop with much more to be announced.

The Irish Youth Music Awards National Day will also feature performances by young musicians aged 12-19, performing across two stages throughout the day and attendees will also be able to visit the IYMAs marketplace which will feature hands on demonstrations and will give attendees the opportunity to learn new skills around the creative and music industry with BIMM Institute Dublin, Girls Rock Dublin , Music Maker and RTÉ 2FM all in attendance with the latter broadcasting live from the event.

The Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs) is an all island youth music educational programme targeting teenagers aged twelve to nineteen in youth clubs and projects across the island of Ireland.

We provide teenagers engaged in the programme with personal development, employability skills, career and educational support via creative hands-on Music-based Education which includes industry workshops, creative collaborative activity based tasks, performance opportunities and college bursaries. We have a network of IYMAs hubs located in youth services across the island to suppport young people’s engagement on a local level.

75 % cent of those engaged in the programme in 2020 where from within CSO/ POBAL deprivation scoring areas.

The IYMAs programme has strategic partnerships which include RTÉ 2FM, and industry partnerships with IMRO and BIMM Institute Dublin who we have developed a bursary with to support the progression of young people from the IYMAs programme to third level education opportunities.

If you are a young person or youth group interested in getting involved please contact us here 

For updates join our mailing list here 

Follow us on FacebookInstagram and Twitter 

The Irish Youth Music Awards announces 2021 National Online Event

Youth Work Ireland’s Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs) is excited to announce the return of its online all ages national event on Saturday September 18th. This event will offer young creatives and musicians from across the country access to some of Ireland’s best industry professionals for exclusive workshops and performances. 

The IYMAs works with youth projects and young people (aged 12-19) from across the island of Ireland, providing personal development and hands-on music-based education as well as providing access to the creative and music industries.

This year’s online event will feature leading creative industry professionals including award winning dance pop trio Chasing Abbey who will give advice on how to use social media effectively as an artist; Nialler9 will speak with Soda Blonde about their critically acclaimed debut album; RTE Choice Prize Song Of The Year nominee Gemma Dunleavy will chat to RTÉ 2FM DJ Tara Stewart, providing advice for up and coming musicians; hit podcasters Laura Fox and Emma Power from RTÉ 2FM’s chart topping show My First Ride will teach participants how to start a podcast and BIMM Institute Dublin will host a song writing workshop plus more to be announced. 

The event will also feature a showcase of up and coming young creatives and musicians from across the Irish Youth Music Awards hubs with the premiere of exclusive music and performance videos produced by them. 

Tickets for the Irish Youth Music Awards National Online event are available from Eventbrite priced €10 per person excluding booking fee here.

IYMAs Director Barry Lennon said: “We are delighted to be announcing the line-up for our all ages online IYMAs National event for 2021. It’s vital that we support  young people learn, collaborate and to realize their own potential and confidence as they are the future creative entrepreneurs of this island. This year we saw a larger engagement by young females across our hubs as well having over two thirds of participants in the programme from CSO/ POBAL deprivation scoring areas showing the impact and importance of this work. We look forward to welcoming everyone to our event on September 18th with tickets now on sale. ” 

Director of Music RTÉ 2FM, Adam Fogarty said “We are very excited to be supporting the IYMAs programme again this year and we are looking forward to the IYMAs online National event on September 18th. It’s great to see the continued growth and evolution of the IYMAs on a yearly basis. This partnership is extremely important for 2FM so we can provide young people access to the music industry and support them in developing their careers”

IYMAs partners and supporters include The Department of Children and Youth Affairs, RTÉ 2FM, BIMM Institute Dublin, IMRO, Music Maker, Gaisce – The President’s Award, National Lottery and Youth Action Northern Ireland.

‘THE POWER OF YOUTH’ - INSPIRING VIDEO FILMED AND PERFORMED BY YOUNG MUSICIANS ACROSS IRELAND DURING LOCKDOWN

Youth Work Ireland’s Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs) is excited to release a passionate spoken word piece produced remotely throughout lockdown featuring young musicians from across the island of Ireland.

This video was produced through a series of online workshops with the young creatives featured in the video filming their own content for the piece. The aim of the video is to capture a snapshot of the magic and creativity that exists within young people across Ireland, and to provide a crucial creative outlet to IYMAs participants during this challenging year. The IYMAs programme works with youth projects and young people (aged 12 – 19) providing hands-on music-based education, personal development and key links and access to the creative and music industries.

This year’s IYMAs programme will be run primarily online to continue to support young people to learn, have fun and create with industry workshops, activities and an online national event scheduled for later in the year. Last year’s national event featured masterclasses and discussions with Ireland’s top industry professionals including RTÉ 2FM, Fontaines DC, Pillow Queens.

Barry Lennon, Irish Youth Music Awards Director said: “We produced this video for the Irish Youth Music Awards to capture the brilliant creativity that exists across the island of Ireland and to show how music is such an important force to understand, create and be part of a community, especially in these uncertain times. It was so exciting to develop this project during the lockdown and create a sense of togetherness among IYMAs participants. This year we will primarily run the IYMAs online and we are encouraging young people and youth groups interested in engaging in the programme to get in touch.”

If you are a young person or youth group interested in getting involved please contact us here 

The Irish Youth Music Awards announces 2020 National Online Event

Youth Work Ireland’s Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs) is excited to announce an online all ages national event on Saturday October 17th. This event will offer young creatives and musicians from across the country access to some of Ireland’s best industry professionals. This innovative event will enable young people to actively participate in a range of exciting activities, all from the comfort and safety of their own home. 

The IYMAs works with youth projects and young people (aged 12-19) across the country, providing personal development and hands-on music-based education as well as providing access to the creative and music industries.

This IYMAs online event will feature masterclasses and discussions with Ireland’s top industry professionals including: RTÉ 2FM’s Dan Hegarty and Mercury nominated Fontaines D.C who will provide an insight into their journey so far and what tips they can give aspiring musicians; Nialler9 will host a workshop with Dermot Kennedy’s Micheál Quinn exploring his experience of touring the world including playing two sold out gigs in the 3Arena; RTE 2FM’s Tara Stewart will chat with Pillow Queens who have just released their debut album In Waiting to critical praise after a series of top charting singles ; Sabrina Sheehan from Mission PR will give attendees tips on marketing and PR drawing on her own experience from working with MCD, Hozier plus others and BIMM Institute Dublin will give a home recording masterclass; plus lots more.

The event will also feature a showcase of up and coming young creatives and musicians from across the Irish Youth Music Award hubs.

Tickets for the Irish Youth Music Awards National Online event are available from Eventbrite priced €10 per person excluding booking fee here

“It’s great to be able to produce the IYMAs National Day online after having to reschedule and readapt our plans several times due to the current pandemic. While we’d of course rather be gathering in person, I’m confident that we’ve managed to transfer the buzz and excitement of the IYMAs across to this online event. It is vital to continue to provide opportunities for young creatives and musicians across Ireland to learn and create especially during these challenging times.  Now more than ever we need to celebrate and showcase the vibrant music and creative industry and community we have here in Ireland; and to nurture those who seek to be part of its important cultural and creative tapestry” said Irish Youth Music Awards Director, Barry Lennon.   

“We are delighted to support the IYMAs programme and this innovative national event they have put together. Over the course of our partnership we have seen the IYMAs programme go from strength to strength. It’s extremely important for us at 2FM to be part of the IYMAs and provide access for young people to the music industry”. said Director of Music RTÉ 2FM, Adam Fogarty.

IYMAs partners and supporters include The Department of Children and Youth Affairs, RTÉ 2FM, BIMM Institute Dublin, IMRO, Music Maker, Gaisce – The President’s Award, National Lottery and Youth Action Northern Ireland.

More information:

Be sure to follow us on Instagram here for more info and future opportunities.

IYMAs Announces Competition To Get Creative - Competition Now Closed

IYMAs_Promo_2

Guess what? We got a competition to get you to spread some creativity, gain some new followers on your instagram and be in with a chance to win a €50 voucher from our pals in Musicmaker. Sounds good dosent it? Well heres how it works….

Record an original song or cover on your phone we will take either but please make sure to record in landscape mode and check the audio and video quality before sending it.

This is only open to all young people aged between 12 and 19 years of age.

At the start of the video make sure to introduce yourself and the track in the video! We want to make sure your talent is clearly shown! No songs with bad language or racist or homophobic material will be accepted.

Email your video to iymas@youthworkireland.ie using WeTransfer (http://wetransfer.com/) – The deadline for submissions is Wednesday April 1st so get recording! If you’re on Instagram include a link to your profile in the mail so we can tag you when sharing.

These videos will be posted to the IYMAs Instagram official_iymas on Thursday the 2nd of April and you have until Sunday the 5th of April to get people liking and commenting on the post with your performance.

We will announce the winner on our Instagram on Monday the 6th of April and they will be selected based on the post with the most likes and comments and by entering you will get your music out there, maybe get some new followers, and might even brighten someone’s day! Sounds great to us!

Be sure to follow us on instagram here and Music Maker here for more info and future opportunities.

IYMAs Live Album

Youth Work Irelands Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs) programme is currently developing new ways to run the programme online to support young people remotely via our IYMAs hubs throughout Ireland. Our aim is to continue empowering future young musicians and creatives across the island of Ireland by providing them with the opportunity to learn new skills and develop creatively.

To celebrate this and to break the doom and gloom we have released an IYMAs live album. This album is a showcase of the brilliant creativity and talent of young people from across the island of Ireland that we have the pleasure of working with through the programme.

The other good news is that this is a pay what you want release! So that can even be free   Any money received will go towards supporting and developing the IYMAs programme and National Day so dig deep if you can and please give the album a share and let’s spread creativity.

Youth Work Ireland’s Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs) is excited to return to Croke Park for its all-ages National Day on Saturday May 9th, 2020. Tickets are now on sale and after last year’s event nearly selling out, we advise getting your tickets quickly here!

RTÉ 2FM marked this announcement live on air this morning and to celebrate this we are premiering a video featuring RTÉ Choice Music Prize Nominees Wyvern Lingo and The Academic as well as The Riptide Movement plus many more. This was shot at last years National Day in Croke Park and it will give you a snapshot of what’s on offer to those attending the all-ages event this year.


The IYMAs National Day will feature a large education hub with masterclasses and workshops from some of Ireland’s top industry professionals offering young people an opportunity to learn more about the creative industries and a chance to catch some exclusive performances. The IYMAs marketplace at the event will feature information for attendees on the creative and music industries, with BIMM Institute Dublin, IMRO and RTÉ 2FM all in attendance with the latter broadcasting live from the event. The marketplace will also have hands on demonstrations and much more.

The event also will feature performances by young musicians from across the entire island of Ireland aged 12-19, performing across two stages throughout the day, and offers ticket holders and performers access to Ireland’s top music industry personnel. The event also marks the start of Youth Work Ireland week with other events happening across the country

Tickets for the IYMAs National Day are available from Eventbrite here priced €20 excluding booking fee here. The event is an all ages, alcohol free event.

Group tickets are also available for youth clubs, projects or schools priced €120 (including booking fee) allowing admission for five young people and two youth leaders or adults on the day. Group tickets must be booked by April 22nd and are available here.

“The IYMAs National Day provides a space for young people to gain access to the music and creative industries in Ireland. It also provides an opportunity to see some great bands that would otherwise not be accessible to young people as our event is all ages. This event ultimately provides a space to have fun, learn and gain access to the creative and music industries and is open to everyone whether you are a performer or not. Over the forthcoming weeks we shall be making more announcements about some of the special guests who will appear at the event and other things we have planned for Croke Park. We recommend following the Irish Youth Music Awards social media channels to keep up to date with this news and to get a ticket quick” said Irish Youth Music Awards Director, Barry Lennon  

“We are delighted to be involved with the Irish Youth Music Awards again this year and to have RTÉ 2FM doing an exclusive broadcast live from the event on the day. The IYMAs programme provides an opportunity to nurture young musicians and to offer them access to the creative and music industries and it’s great to see some of those acts now going on to be featured on our schedule through the RTÉ 2FM Rising project that we run. We are very excited to be involved as a media partner with the IYMAs programme” said Director of Music RTÉ 2FM, Alan Swan.

The overall winning region of the Irish Youth Music Awards will win recording time in a professional recording studio, a recording session in RTÉ 2FM’s legendary Studio 8 and a full backline provided by Music Maker Dublin. They will also produce an album of their own original tracks released on physical CD with a professional design. Last year’s IYMAs album stormed the Irish compilation charts entering at number five. The album will be digitally distributed worldwide through all major outlets including iTunes and Spotify.

IYMAs partners and supporters include The Department of Children and Youth Affairs, RTÉ 2FM, BIMM Institute Dublin, IMRO, Music Maker, Gaisce – The President’s Award, National Lottery and Youth Action Northern Ireland.

Irish Youth Music Awards – Volume 12 Album Launch

Featuring Live performances by all of Team Louth.

Saturday October 19th, 2019
Doors 2pm and it starts shortly after
The Spirit Store
Dundalk
ALL AGES!!!!

  • Tickets available – here 
  • Pre-Save or Pre-Order the album – here
  • Entry to the gig is €3 and you can purchase a copy of the album for €10 on CD.
  • All CD sales on the day will count towards trying to get the album into the Irish album charts so come show your support!!!!
  • This album was produced in Sun Studios in Dublin where artists such as U2, The script, Morrissey, Bressie, The Coronas and Kanye West have recorded. The album was then mastered by Richard Dowling in Wav Mastering Limerick Ireland who has worked with David Bowie, The Foo Fighters and Choice Music Winners Soak.
  • We need your support to try get the album into the Irish charts and we will have copies available on CD on the day to help make this happen so please come along and pick up a copy at the gig and show your support for youth music!

Do You Want To Film And Record The Riptide Movements Next Music Video? Or Would You Or Your Band Like To Support The Riptide Movement At An All Ages Show This Summer?

We are very excited to be running a competition with The Riptide Movement as part of the IYMAs on Saturday May 11th in Croke Park and ahead of the release of their new single “I’ll be there” on the 17th of May. This competition is open to all young people who that have purchased a ticket to the IYMAs. You can get tickets at the link here or via Eventbrite to be eligible to enter.


The winners will have the opportunity to hang out with members of The Riptide Movement in a one on one music session aimed at providing feedback on the selected acts music. They will also provide advice on their songwriting process and  share their experience of the music industry in Ireland with the selected act.


In addition, the winner will have the opportunity on the day to record a video of a cover song or an original song with the band and the possibility to perform with The Riptide Movement in an upcoming all ages gig during the summer. This will take place after the IYMAs National Day on Saturday May 11th.

How to enter:

All you must do to enter is follow the TRM Instagram account here, pre-save the new single here and post a video on Instagram playing your favourite Riptide movement song using the hashtag #theriptidemovement and tagging @official_iymas 

 

More info on the IYMAs here : Instagram // Twitter // Facebook 

This competition is open till May 11th

Youth Work Ireland’s Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs) is excited to reveal the first guests for their education hub at their all ages National Day on Saturday May 11th, 2019. This event will also mark the launch of Youth Work Ireland week with other activities and events happening around Ireland.

The Education Hub will feature workshops and masterclasses throughout the day which attendees can sign up for on a first come first served basis. These will include: Gold selling number one artists The Riptide Movement and Number 1 chart topping artists The Academic, they will both also perform some exclusive tracks. Award winning Director Lochlainn McKenna will be teaming up with music producer Daithí to look at how to make a music video looking at the Inspiration, process & promotion involved. RTÉ 2FM’s Mo K and MathMan will host a scratch and DJ workshop. BIMM Institute Dublin will host workshops around performance and songwriting with members of Villagers, James Vincent McMorrow and Heathers plus much more to be announced! 

The Irish Youth Music Awards National Day will also feature performances by young musicians aged 12-19, performing across two stages throughout the day and attendees will also be able to visit the IYMAs marketplace which will feature hands on demonstrations and will give attendees the opportunity to learn new skills around the creative and music industry, with BIMM Institute Dublin, Girls Rock Dublin,  IMRO and RTÉ 2FM all in attendance with the latter broadcasting live from the event. The marketplace will also have hands on demonstrations and the opportunity for attendees to learn new skills.

Instagram

Tickets for the Irish Youth Music Awards National Day are available from Eventbrite priced €20 excluding booking fee here. The event is an all ages, alcohol /drugs free event. Group tickets are also available for youth clubs, projects or schools priced €120 (including booking fee) allowing admission for five young people and two youth leaders or adults on the day. Group tickets must be booked by April 29th and are available here

“We are super excited to announce our education hub line up for 2019 and to create a space for young people to get hands on advice, skills and knowledge about the creative and music industries by some of Ireland’s best acts. We believe it’s so important to support and develop the music and creative industries in Ireland and provide pathways for our future cultural entrepreneurs to develop. We are honoured to be a part of this through the work we do in our IYMAs hubs across the island of Ireland and at our National Day in Croke Park which is all ages and open to everyone to attend” said Irish Youth Music Awards Director, Barry Lennon.

“The Irish Youth Music Awards programme and National Day is a vital part of RTÉ 2FM’s mission to support young musicians, songwriters and producers by giving them an opportunity to develop their skills and meet industry professionals. We have started to see some acts that have been involved in the IYMAs programme to now be part of RTÉ 2FM’s content” said Director of Music RTÉ 2FM, Alan Swan.

The overall winner of the Irish Youth Music Awards will win recording time in a professional recording studio, a recording session in RTÉ 2FM’s legendary Studio 8 and a full backline provided by Music Maker Dublin. They will also produce an album of their own original tracks released on physical CD with a professional design. Last years IYMAs album stormed the Irish compilation charts entering at number three. The album will be digitally distributed worldwide through all major outlets including iTunes and Spotify.

Youth Work Ireland’s Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs) partners and supporters include The Department of Children and Youth Affairs, RTÉ 2FM, BIMM Institute Dublin, IMRO, Music Maker, Gaisce – The President’s Award, National Lottery and Youth Action Northern Ireland.

Ireland’s largest youth music festival – the Irish Youth Music Awards – took place on Saturday April 21st, in Croke Park. The event featured performances by young musicians aged 12-19, performing across two stages throughout the day.

The event marked the 11th year of this amazing event. Over the course of those years we have had the pleasure of working with so many brilliant, talented and creative young people through the IYMA Hubs located in clubs and projects across the entire island of Ireland. As part of the programme we strive to develop progression paths for young people and we reached a massive milestone this year by having our first young people progress from the IYMAs programme to our partner BIMM Institute Dublin where they are going on to study music degrees.

The event also created a space for young people to connect with Ireland’s top music industry personnel at the IYMAs Education Hub via workshops and masterclasses with. These include our newly added workshop with Ruth Medjber of Ruthless Imagery who is just back off tour with indie legends Arcade Fire her CV also includes MetallicaBeyoncé and Green Day. We also had a masterclass by critically acclaimed songwriters Little Green Cars who discussed the song writing process. Award winning director Bob Gallagher gave a masterclass on the do’s and don’ts of video making. His CV has included music videos for Girl BandJames Vincent McMorrow and Lisa Hannigan

Social media music star Orla Gartland whose YouTube channel has over 11.5 million views discussed how young musicians can effectively use social media to communicate their message online. RTÉ 2FM hosted a scratch workshop with DJ Mo-K and DJ Tando who have shared the stage with RihannaAkon and Snoop Dogg and BIMM Institute Dublin worked with attendees to create a band to perform together at the end of the workshop and Createsounds hosted a Ableton live workshop.

The IYMAs marketplace featureed information stands for attendees on the creative and music industries, with BIMM Institute DublinIMRO and RTÉ 2FM all in attendance, with DJ Louise McSharry broadcasting live from the event. The marketplace also had hands on demonstrations by Rotor Videos on how to make music videos on a very small budget. 

MASSIVE congratulations to Youth Work Ireland Galway band 60 Watt Girl, who were announced as the Irish Youth Music Awards recipient region for 2018. 60 Watt and their team from Galway will now head into a professional recording studio as part of the programme to record an album, as well as doing a recording session in RTÉ 2FM’s legendary Studio 8. PLUS their youth service Youth Work Ireland Galway will receive a full backline provided by Music Maker Dublin.

This year we re-named the song writers award as a tribute to pass recipient Sean Hughes (aka ‘Lil Red’) who sadly passed away this year. It was a pleasure for us to work with him through the IYMAs programme with his involvement in the IYMAs Hub in Finglas Youth Resource Centre. The ‘Lil Red’ Song writers award went to Rosie McHugh from YouthAction Northern Ireland.

A big focus of this years Irish Youth Music Awards National Day is to create a festival for young people to come and learn new skills around the creative and music industries, by getting hands on experience, advice and skills to further support them whether that's in life or playing in a band. We are very excited to reveal the industry professionals who are involved in the education hub and marketplace this year, as well as creating an event to showcase the brilliant up and coming talent from across Ireland all under one roof and at one of Ireland's most iconic venues

The Irish Youth Music Awards National Day is very important for RTÉ 2FM as an event like this creates a space to support the future generations of Irish musicians, songwriters and producers and gives them an opportunity to meet industry professionals and learn new skills. We are very excited to be involved in the IYMAs Programme as a media partner and to be part of the journey of so many young people from across Ireland and to broadcast live from the event

IYMAs 2017

IYMAs 2016

IYMAs Recipient 2015 - Jake Mc Ardle Youth Work Ireland Louth

I entered the IYMA’s in February 2015 little did I know I would be picked as the representing act for Co.Louth. I gained so many qualities throughout my journey. At the national event in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin it was great to see so many young people perform from all over Ireland. I feel the IYMA’s has helped me grow personally and musically. I am honoured to have been involved in a project like this. I would like to give a massive thank you to Youth Work Ireland for giving me this opportunity and supporting me on this journey

IYMAs Recipient 2014 - The Left Backs, Youth Action Northern Ireland

I thought the IYMAs was a really good idea to get young people interested in music. I think the creative element was the best part as you had to write your own music as it’s easier to do a cover than write your own song. The collective around the band on the project was great with the facebook team and the stylist. It was unbelievable to win The IYMAs, we have been in lots of battle of the bands competitions before and this and this is the first music event we won