Meet our teachers…
Seadna Franklin (School Director)
Séadna Franklin BMus, LGSM, LLCM, ARCM, ARIAM is the founding director of the Music School of Meath. Séadna started his musical education at the age of four at the Royal Irish Academy of Music where he studied piano and violin. At the age of twelve he was awarded a Schola Cantorum music scholarship to study at St. Finian’s College, Mullingar. Always a high achiever, Séadna took part in many national competitions where he was a multiple prize winner. He was awarded his first diplomas in piano and violin teaching in 1993 and 1994, respectively. During his degree in Music at University College Cork, Séadna was awarded numerous other associate and licentiate teaching diplomas from the Royal College of Music, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the London College of Music. Having been awarded a Finnish government scholarship in 1997, Séadna’s passion for music education took him to Helsinki, Finland to embark on a course of piano pedagogy and performance under Ms. Arja Soursa-Rannanmaki. Here he was introduced to the Kodály principles of music education which he later mastered at the Kodály Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary. He has been a participant in numerous masterclasses at international level. Passionate about all things music, Séadna continues to devote time to study and to broaden his knowledge on all areas of music education. Particularly interested in the development of education in Ireland, Séadna has been a frequent speaker at various workshops for professional bodies including the European Piano Teachers Association (of which he was a committee member), the European String Teachers Association and the Kodály Society of Ireland. He served on the panel of examiners at the Royal Irish Academy of Music from 2001 to 2018.
Amanda Harkin
Amanda Harkin is a graduate of NUI Maynooth where she received a BA Double Honours in Music and English. She has been playing piano for 19 years and has become a very passionate musician. She regularly performs at weddings, corporate receptions, lunchtime concerts and in musical theatre shows. Amanda is the official accompanist for Loreto Secondary School in Navan where she accompanies choir exams, concerts and has appeared alongside Loreto’s choir for the semi-finals of the RTÉ All Island School Choir Competition aired in October 2011. Amanda was also choral accompanist for a choir who performed for President Michael D. Higgins in November 2011. She has also been recently involved in teaching in Loreto Secondary School Navan. While she loves to perform, Amanda’s main interest lies with teaching. She has been teaching piano to all ages and levels since 2006 and really enjoys her work.
Ailish Madden
Ailish holds a diploma in piano teaching from the Royal Irish Academy of Music (DipRIAM) and a diploma in performance from the London College of Music (ARCM). A former student of the Music School of Meath, Ailish began kindergarten classes at the age of 3 and subsequently moved on to learn the piano. She completed all RIAM graded exams up to and including Senior Certificate level. She received a number of High Achiever Awards for excellence in performance over the years. In 2020 Ailish was awarded a gold medal for recital performance in piano. Throughout the years Ailish won numerous prizes at competitions including Feis Ceoil, Sligo Music Festival, Navan Choral Festival, Midlands Feis Ceoil and Newpark Music Festival.
Ailish received an entrance scholarship to study the clarinet at the RIAM and has received a scholarship every year since, having been awarded the highest mark in her faculty in annual assessments. She was selected to perform at the Showcase faculty concert on many occasions. Ailish has completed all RIAM grades on clarinet. She won the junior clarinet solo competition in the Feis Ceoil. She has participated in many competitions and was the overall winner of woodwind and brass at Newpark music festival. . She has a keen interest in group performing and is a member of the RIAM Senior Wind Ensemble. She has previously attended the Summer Youth Orchestra Programme with the Dublin Youth Orchestra.
Ailish is keen to pass on her passion and love of music to all of her students.
Elliot Guinane
Elliot began Kindergarten classes at the age of 3 at the Music School of Meath (formerly Ceolscoil na Mí). During her time as a student she completed all RIAM exams on the piano. She also completed musicianship classes and competed successfully at the Navan Choral Festival Piano Competition.Elliot is currently a student on the Batchelor of Education (Primary) course in Marino Institute of Education. This career choice is reflective of her enthusiasm to share her love of learning and to make a positive difference in the lives of children she will be teaching. Elliot will bring her passion and personality to the classroom and to-date she has had significant experience with dealing with children of varying age and mixed abilities.
Inna Vydysh
Inna is a piano teacher with over 20 years experience working both in Ireland and the Ukraine. Inna studied at the Melitopol State Pedagogical Institute in the Ukraine where she was awarded a diploma in Music and Pedagogical Studies in 1991. After completing her studies, Inna has been teaching music to children both at primary and secondary level. She is very experienced in teaching not only basic musical concepts to very young children, but also more advanced subjects to older children. She joined the team of teachers at the Music School of Meath in 2006 where she teaches piano to all levels, including Junior and Leaving Certificate students. Inna enjoys working with children of all ages and likes to be involved in all stages of musical education. She is happy to share all the knowledge she has with each of her pupils.
Maria Franklin
Maria began her musical education in the kindergarten classes at the Music School of Meath. She later progressed to piano where, by the age of 15, she had completed with distinction all Royal Irish Academy of Music grades. She was selected by the RIAM as a high achiever for her exceptional standard in piano performance. She has attended numerous masterclasses with renowned pianists including Prof. Anthony Byrne of the RIAM. Maria is a multiple prize winner at local and national piano competitions including 1st prize at the Navan Choral Festival Piano Competition. In 2022 she was awarded a RIAM Senior Certificate and recently received a Gold medal for a recital hosted by the Academy. Maria is a fun, outgoing teacher who enjoys the challenges of teaching. She has worked as a piano, music kindergarten and musicianship teacher at the school. Maria is excited to help children realise their full musical potential.
Michelle Byrne
Awaiting Biography
Niamh Mc Guinness
Awaiting Biography
Susan Hyland
Susan Hyland has been a member of the Music School of Meath team of teachers since 2008, teaching classes in piano, theory, musicianship and Junior Certificate. Susan’s love of music began at the age of seven. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Degree in Music from the DKIT where she specialised in classical solo performance. Her thesis examined children’s piano music in Ireland by 20th century female Irish composers. In 2010 she also took part in a Kodaly music making course.
Susan’s approach to music education is pro-active, friendly, practical, relaxed and fun. Her aim is to share her knowledge and love of the language of music. She has been involved in many music education projects including the DSM summer Camps, and facilitation of music workshops in many schools including Dundalk School of Music, Gaelscoil Primary School, St. Josephs Primary School (Dundalk), Ratoath School of Music and Songschool in Balbriggan.