Interrupting their pre-competition warm-up, the young students from St Canice's national school orchestra told of many benefits of participating in the Feis Ceoil .
There was the bus journey up from Kilkenny, a morning shopping spree in the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre, a trip to McDonald's and a day off school.
Being in an orchestra is also a lot of good fun, they added, before going on to win first prize in the junior orchestra competition.
Over 8,000 of the country's most talented young musicians will be on show at the Siemens Feis Ceoil, which opened its doors yesterday.
Proud parents, tense teachers and eager musicians aged from eight upwards will spend the next two weeks in the RDS and a number of locations around Dublin. In all there are more than 170 singing and instrument competitions.
They are all hoping to make it to the prizewinners' concert on Sunday, April 4th.
Now in its 108th year, the Feis Ceoil is Europe's longest running classical music festival.
Prizes aside, the feis also offers participants an opportunity to meet their peers and receive objective assessment from people who are not their teachers, according to Ms Enid Chaloner, president of the Feis Ceoil.
Results: day one
Junior Violin (A): 1, Eva Hurley (Dublin); 2, Ailbhe Doherty (Dublin).
Soprano Solo: 1, Sadhbh Dennedy (Dublin; 2, Naomi O'Connell (Clare).
The Marchant Cup: DIT Trio (Dublin).
Fitzgerald Trophy: William Wood (Dublin).
Orchestra (A); Loreto College (St Stephen's Green).