Charity Number: NIC104819
Glengormley Irish Traditional Music School
Report and Financial Statements
for the period ended 31 August 2025
CONTENTS
Page Reference and administrative information 3 Trustees’ Annual Report and Responsibility Statement 4 – 7 Independent Examiner’s Report 8 – 9 Receipts and Payments Accounts 10 Statements of assets and liabilities 11 Notes to the accounts 12 Additional analysis 13 – 14
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Glengormley Irish Traditional Music School
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
| Trustees | Ray Morgan |
|---|---|
| Kevin Scott | |
| Roisin McLaughlin | |
| Conor O’Kane | |
| Kate Walsh | |
| John Reynolds | |
| Colm McCann | |
| Declan McFaul | |
| Christina Murphy | |
| Beth McComish | |
| Chris Donohoe | |
| Siobhan Dunne | |
| Chairperson | Ray Morgan |
| Secretary | Ray Morgan |
| Treasurer | Conor O’Kane |
| Charity Number in Northern Ireland | NIC104819 |
| Principal address | 17 Hollybrook Heights |
| Newtownabbey | |
| Co Antrim | |
| BT36 7XS | |
| Accountants | Quarter |
| Chartered Accountants | |
| St Anne’s House | |
| 15 Church Street | |
| Belfast | |
| BT1 1PG | |
| Bankers | Santander Bank |
| 1 – 3 Farmley Road | |
| Glengormley | |
| Co Antrim | |
| BT36 7TR |
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The trustees present their Trustees' Annual Report prepared in accordance with Charities SORP 2015 (FRS102) and the unaudited financial statements for the period ended 31 August 2025, also prepared in accordance with the aforementioned Statement of Recommended Practice and FRS 102.
Trustees
The trustees who served during the period are as follows:
Ray Morgan Chair Kevin Scott Vice chair Roisin McLaughlin Secretary Conor O’Kane Treasurer Kate Walsh John Reynolds Colm McCann Declan McFaul Christina Murphy Beth McComish Chris Donohoe Siobhan Dunne
There have been no changes to the trustees from the date of the financial statements to date the accounts have been approved.
Structure, Governance and Management
The school is an unincorporated charity and was registered with the Charity Commission of Northern Ireland on 22 February 2016. The charity number is NIC104819.
The charity is governed by its constitution and is managed by the Trustees, who are noted above. We also have a musical director who manages the musical aspects of the school. The charity’s main function is to provide tuition on a weekly basis in traditional Irish music. We have two terms, a 15-week first term which runs from September to January, and a 12week second term which runs from February to May. We are also involved in numerous musical events in and around Newtownabbey and North Belfast throughout the year.
The charity’s principal address is:
17 Hollybrook Heights Newtownabbey Co Antrim BT36 7XS
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Objectives and Activities
We are a voluntary, community-based arts organisation now in our 20th year. The school was established to promote, for the benefit of the inhabitants of Glengormley and North Belfast and its environs, without distinction of age, sex, race, political, religious or other opinions, the education and training of people in all areas of Irish traditional music skills and musicianship and to promote appreciation for and knowledge of Irish traditional music for the benefit of the general public.
The school provides high quality traditional music tuition in the following instruments: Fiddle; Tin Whistle; Flute; Uileann Pipes; Button Accordian; Concertina; Banjo; Mandolin; Bodhran; Guitar; Harp and Ballad singing. The term included 27 classes in total which are held in Edmund Rice College, Hightown Road, Glengormley on Thursday evenings between 7.30pm and 9.30pm. Every pupil is given the opportunity to play in a group setting between 8.15pm and 8.45pm. We hold concerts at Christmas and in May, with a music Feis in March.
There are also weekend workshops held in March, a week-long workshop in Donegal held annually in July, and a Traditional Music Summer Scheme held in August. The school is also involved in numerous community events in Newtownabbey and North Belfast. GSOTM has taken the lead in the development of Belfast Summer School of Traditional Music/Belfast Tradfest with our pupils making up 25 % of all pupils attending the Tradfest and 70% of Volunteers coming from GSOTM. We are very proud of the lead we have taken in this. We are very much planning for the coming year and a return to face-to-face classes and engaging in our full range of social and community activities.
Achievements and Performance
We completed our first term in January 2025 and the second term in May. We had approx. 330 pupils (350 attending classes) who signed up for our first term. As expected, we had 270 pupils in the second term. We held our end-of-term concert in May with over 200 pupils and 300 of an audience. We held a further end of term concert in the Duncairn arts centre for our older pupils and for our groups in June as we wanted to make sure that we showcased in detail our very successful and strong musicians/groups.
We continued with our Grupa Ceols, we had over 60 young people taking part in weekly practices. The 3 groups all entered the Antrim Fleadh in May and were successful in going forward to the Ulster Fleadh in Warrenpoint in July. Our groups did not place. We had a very successful Antrim Fleadh in the individual competitions (see results attached) and were very heavily represented at Ulster. Two of our pupils made it through to the All-Ireland Fleadh and one of them was successfully placed. We took over 40 of our pupils on a weekend residential by way of Fleadh preparation in Cushendall in March.
We held LCM exams in the school in April and had very successful results with all 31 participants receiving either a distinction or a merit.
We held a very successful trip to Sitges, Barcelona, Spain in October 2024 with a group of 30 musicians and parents taking part and performing at a Irish Music festival. We held a very successful trip to Donegal in July 2025 with 30 of our pupils taking part in a week of traditional music workshops. We held a Trad Music Summer scheme in August 2025 with 65 young people taking part and 15 volunteers.
We hold two weekly traditional music seisiuns in a local bar for adults and older teenagers. We have held monthly seisiuns for young people from throughout Belfast at 2 Royal Ave with 50-60 participants
We have been involved in numerous community events, including monthly visits to the Hospice and occasional visits to the children’s hospice.
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We held a Primary school performance opportunity at 2 Royal Ave in December and again in March as part of Belfast City Councils St Patrick’s celebrations and a further event held in June. There are now 26 Primary schools who are involved in this event who have either taken part and performed or intend to take part in the future. Several secondary schools are now requesting to be involved in this activity. We are exploring ways to involve them in this or in a stand-alone event for secondary schools.
The GSOTM community were heavily involved in Belfast Tradfest in July, as pupils in the summer school, as volunteers in the organisation and as performers as part of our performance group, as individual musicians and as participants in seisuins.
We continue to be involved in providing peripatetic support to a number of primary and secondary schools in Newtownabbey and North Belfast
Financial Review
The school had an operating surplus for the year of £1,153. The school continued to generate the majority of its income from tuition and membership fees, this source of income increased by £110 during the year. Fundraising income decreased during the year from £1,182 to £574. As with previous years, teaching costs formed the most significant outgoing during the year.
The school continued to receive financial support from The Arts Council NI, receiving grants of £5,590 during the year, decreasing from £22,025 during the year. The grant was fully expended and are grateful for this continued support in enabling them to fulfil their aims and objectives on an annual basis. The school ended the financial year with an unrestricted reserves balance of £14,845.
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Trustees’ Responsibilities Statement
The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in Northern Ireland requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently.
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observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2015 (FRS 102);
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make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.
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state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements.
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008, the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015, and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
By Order of the Board
Ray Morgan Trustee
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Glengormley Irish Traditional Music School Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Glengormley Irish Traditional Music School
I report on the accounts of the charity for the period ended 31 August 2025, which are set out on pages 9 to 13.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
As the charity’s trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008. The charity considers that under applicable law, they are entitled to adopt the receipts and payments basis for the year ended 31 August 2025, and that no audit requirement applies, but there is a requirement of independent examination.
It is my responsibility to:
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examine the accounts under section 65 of the Charities Act;
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follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland under section 65(9)(b) of the Charities Act; and
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state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner's report
I have examined your charity accounts as required under section 65 of the Charities Act and my examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland under section 65(9)(b) of the Charities Act.
My examination included a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also included consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as charity trustees concerning any such matters.
My role is to state whether any material matters have come to my attention giving me cause to believe:
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That accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 63 of the Charities Act.
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That the accounts do not accord with those accounting records.
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That the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act.
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That there is further information needed for a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
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Glengormley Irish Traditional Music School Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Glengormley Irish Traditional Music School
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination and have no concerns in respect of the matters (1) to (4) listed above, and in connection with following the Directions of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, I have found no matters that require drawing to your attention.
Name: Mr Ciarán McCavana
Relevant professional qualification or body, FCCA
Address: Quarter Chartered Accountants St Anne’s House 15 Church Street Belfast Co Antrim BT1 1PG
Date: 26[th] March 2026
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| Glengormley Irish Traditional Music School NIC104819 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Receipts and payments accounts | ||
| To For the period from 01/09/2024 31/08/2025 |
||
| Section A Receipts and payments Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total funds to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ A1 Receipts |
Last year to the nearest £ |
|
| Donations & legacies 1,000 - - 1,000 - Grants - 6,190 - 6,190 23,625 Fundraising activities 2,163 - - 2,163 1,182 Advertising Income 400 - - 400 - Dividend on investments - - - - - Members' subscriptions 36,312 - - 36,312 36,202 Charitable trading receipts 8,965 - - 8,965 3,631 Rents from land & buildings - - - - - Other charitable receipts - - - - - A1 Sub total(Gross income for the Annual Return) 48,840 6,190 - 55,030 64,640 A2 Asset and investment sales Proceeds from sale of fixed asset - - - - - Loan repayments received - - - - - A2 Sub total - - - - - Total receipts 48,840 6,190 - 55,030 64,640 A3 Payments Cost of fundraising events 8,172 - - 8,172 15,346 Gross trading payments - - - - - Investment management costs - - - - - Direct charitable activity 39,285 6,190 - 45,475 52,658 Grants & donations paid - - - - - Governance costs - - - - 1,080 Other costs - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A3 Sub total 47,457 6,190 - 53,647 69,084 A4 Asset and investment purchases Purchase of investments - - - - - Loans made - - - - - A4 Sub total - - - - - Total payments 47,457 6,190 - 53,647 69,084 Net of receipts/(payments) 1,383 - - 1,383 - 4,444 A5 Transfers between funds - - - - - A6 Cash funds last year end 13,692 - - 13,692 18,136 ayeee~~ee~~ =tae~~=e~~ |
||
| Cash funds this year end 15,075 - - 15,075 |
- 15,075 | 13,692 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Glengormley Irish Traditional Music School - NIC104819|Period end date: 31/08/2025|
|Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period|
|Unrestricted|Restricted|Endowment|
|Categories|Details|funds|funds|funds|Total funds|Last year|
|to nearest £|to nearest £|to nearest £|to nearest £|to nearest £|
|B1 Cash funds|Current account|16,975|-|-|16,975|16,028|
|Deposit account|-|-|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|-|-|
|===|Total cash funds|16,975|-|-|16,975|16,028|
|Make sure that Cash Balances match the Cash Funds in Section A|
|Unrestricted|Restricted|Endowment|
|funds|funds|funds|==|Total funds|Last year|
|Details|to nearest £|to nearest £|to nearest £|to nearest £|to nearest £|
|B2 Other monetary|None|-|-|-|-|-|
|assets|-|-|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|-|-|
|Total|-|-|
|== ===e=|
|Fund to which|Current value|
|Details|asset belongs|Cost (optional)|(optional)|Last year|
|B3 Investment|None|-|-|-|
|assets|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|
|Total|-|-|-|
|Fund to which|Current value|
|Details|asset belongs|Cost (optional)|(optional)|Last year|
|B4 Assets retained|None|-|-|-|
|for the charity’s own|-|-|-|
|use|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|
|Total|-|-|-|
|Fund to which|When due|Amount due|
|Details|liability relates|(optional)|(optional)|Last year|
|B5 Liabilities|None|-|-|
|-|-|
|-|-|
|-|-|
|-|-|
|Total|-|-|
|——__==|
|Signed by one or two|Date of|
|trustees on behalf of all|Signature|Print Name|
|the trustees|approval|
|Ray Morgan|
|26/03/2026|
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| Glengormley Irish Traditional Music School - NIC104819 Period end date: 31/08/2025 |
Glengormley Irish Traditional Music School - NIC104819 Period end date: 31/08/2025 |
|---|---|
| Section C Notes to the Accounts |
|
| C1 Nature and purpose of funds C2 Grants C3 Trustee remuneration - details C4 Trustee expenses - details C6 Other information C5 Transactions with trustees and connected persons |
Individual / institution Number of grants made £ Institution 1 5,590 Institution 1 600 6,190 £ 0 0 0 0 0 Number of trustees £ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Transaction amount (£) Balance outstanding at period end (£) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Unrestricted funds are available for general purposes in accordance with the charity's purposes. The restricted fund is available to spend on artist costs to further the charity's objectives. Type of activity or project supported Arts Council NI Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council Total Authority under which paid None Nature of relationship Nature of transaction None None |
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Glengormley Irish Traditional Music School - NIC104819
Period end date: 31/08/2025
Additional analysis (1)
Analysis of receipts and payments
1 Donations
----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Expendable Permanent Total current
funds Restricted funds endowment funds endowment funds period Total last period
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
Donations 1,000 - - - 1,000 -
- - - - - -
- - - - - -
- - - - - -
Total 1,000 - - - 1,000 -
2 Grants
Unrestricted Total current
funds Restricted funds period Total last period
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
Arts Council of Northern Ireland - Artists Costs - 5,590 5,590 22,025
ANBC 600 600 600
Arts Business Northern Ireland - -
TradFest Belfast - - 1,000
Feile - -
Total - 6,190 6,190 23,625
----- End of picture text -----
3 Gross receipts from other charitable activities
----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Expendable Permanent Total current
funds Restricted funds endowment funds endowment funds period Total last period
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
- - - - - -
- - - - - -
- - - - - -
- - - - - -
- - - - - -
- - - - - -
- - - - - -
- - - - - -
Total - - - - - -
----- End of picture text -----
4 Payments relating directly to charitable activities
| Unrestricted funds to nearest £ |
Restricted funds to nearest £ |
Expendable endowment funds to nearest £ |
Permanent endowment funds to nearest £ |
Total current period to nearest £ |
Total last period to nearest £ |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct payments relating to charitable activities Cost of fundraising events Support costs - Bank charges - Insurance - Sundry Expenses - Printing, postage & stationery - Advertising - Computer Cost - Sponsorship |
35,696 8,172 62 637 890 1,500 - 500 - - |
6,190 - - - - - - - - |
- - - - - - - - - - - |
- - - - - - - - - - - |
41,886 8,172 - 62 637 - 890 1,500 - 500 - - |
66,334 - - 90 403 - 60 2,197 - - - - |
| Total | 47,457 | 6,190 | - | - | 53,647 | 69,084 |
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Glengormley Irish Traditional Music School - NIC104819
Period end date: 31/08/2025
Additional analysis (2)
5 Breakdown of restricted funds
----- Start of picture text -----
Arts Council Antrim & Total restricted Total restricted
of Northern Newtownabbey funds funds last
Ireland Borough period
Council
Receipts
Donations - - - - -
Legacies - - - - -
Grants 5,590 600 - 6,190 23,625
Receipts from fundraising activities - - - - -
Gross trading receipts - - - - -
- - - -
Income from investments other than land and buildings -
Rents from land & buildings - - - - -
Gross receipts from other charitable activities - - - - -
Sub total 5,590 600 - 6,190 23,625
Receipts from asset & investment sales
Proceeds from sale of fixed assets - - - - -
Proceeds from sale of investments - - - - -
Sub total - - - - -
Total receipts 5,590 600 - 6,190 23,625
Payments
Expenses for fundraising activities - - - - -
Gross trading payments - - - - -
Investment management costs - - - - -
Payments relating directly to charitable activities 5,590 600 - 6,190 23,625
Grants and donations - - - - -
Governance costs: - - - - -
Audit / independent examination - - - - -
Preparation of annual accounts - - - - -
Legal costs - - - - -
- - - - -
- - - - -
Sub total 5,590 600 - 6,190 23,625
Payments relating to asset and investment
movements
Purchases of fixed assets - - - - -
Purchase of investments - - - - -
Sub total - - - - -
Total payments 5,590 600 - 6,190 23,625
Net receipts / (payments) - - - - -
Transfers to / (from) funds - - - - -
Surplus / (deficit) for year - - - - -
----- End of picture text -----
Nature and purpose of funds
The restricted funds have been provided by Arts Council NI and Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council, for artists costs for Glengormley Irish School of Traditional Music.
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