Grammy nominated Fontaines D.C. launch new scholarship in their name
BIMM Institute Dublin, home to Ireland’s most talented developing new artists, has launched new scholarship in partnership with their former students from Grammy nominated Fontaines D.C.
Two Mayo musicians are members of the punk-rock band who have taken the international music scene by storm - drummer Tom Coll, from Crimlin, outside Castlebar, and Conor Deegan (bass guitar), from Castlebar.
The BA (Hons) in Commercial Modern Music is Ireland’s first third-level degree course in contemporary music and is open to those who wish to study drums, guitar, bass, vocals and songwriting. It is a practical and vocational, full time degree course validated by Technological University Dublin (TUD).
BIMM Institute graduates Fontaines D.C. will partner with the college with this new scholarship aiding burgeoning musicians who are preparing to launch their creative careers.
The band will be actively involved in selecting the deserving recipient of the scholarship, who will have their BA (Hons) Commercial Modern Music course fees paid in full for the four-year duration of the degree course, worth €12,000.
Since finishing their time at BIMM Institute Dublin in 2017, Fontaines D.C. have released two critically acclaimed albums, both charting Top 5 in the Irish album charts. Their 2019 debut release, ‘Dogrel’, received a Mercury Music Prize nomination while the follow up, ‘A Hero’s Death’, released in 2020, picked up a Grammy award nomination for Best Rock Album.
Recently NME awarded the band with the prestigious 'Best Band in the World' title at their annual awards ceremony.
Their highly anticipated third record ‘Skinty Fia’, due for release on April 22, will be followed up with two summer shows at the Iveagh Gardens and an Irish tour later this year.
Speaking about the announcement of the scholarship, Conor Deegan commented: “We're honoured to have a scholarship in our name. Our time in BIMM gave us time to figure out who we wanted to be as a band. We were given guidance on how to achieve our dreams. We're looking forward to being able to help someone else succeed at their time there with this scholarship.”
College principal Alan Cullivan added: “Everyone at BIMM is thrilled to be launching this scholarship with Fontaines D.C., having watched their career grow with great excitement both before and since they completed their studies. At BIMM, we are driven by a commitment to helping Ireland’s next generation of music talent achieve their creative goals and realise their ambitions as artists… to be able to offer that in collaboration with our former students is a bonus.”
Applicants interested in applying for this scholarship must first apply to the BA (Hons) in Commercial Modern Music via the CAO at www.cao.ie, using the course code TU 961. CAO Late Applications are open for those who haven’t yet made a CAO application for this year until 1st May 2022. The deadline for scholarship applications will be 1st July 2022.