THE Christmas lights were switched on at a ceremony in Omagh last Thursday and some of the singing to mark the occasion was performed by local children from the Gibson Primary School and St Colmcille's Primary School. The choirs had already come together to record a collection of pieces which feature on the newly-launched Ireland's Voices for Peace album. Proceeds from the £14.99 album will help fund a summer choir school.

Teacher Sheena Herron, from the Gibson school, one of the main movers behind the project along with choral director Blanaid Murphy, says: "The album has already crossed the religious divide. It is bringing together children from the same town who, in the normal course, would have absolutely no contact with each other."