{"id":589,"date":"2017-09-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-09-13T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/?p=589"},"modified":"2026-06-10T13:34:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T12:34:45","slug":"ombudsman-for-children-opens-childrens-rights-art-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/ombudsman-for-children-opens-childrens-rights-art-exhibition\/","title":{"rendered":"Ombudsman for Children opens children\u2019s rights art exhibition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\"Ombudsman\n\nThe Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon on Monday (11 September) opened Rights in their Eyes an exhibition of works by the winners of the 63rd Texaco Children\u2019s Art Competition at the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin.\n\nRights in their Eyes is a collection of works reflecting children\u2019s rights in Ireland as seen by the young artists who range in age from 6 to 17. This exhibition is the first of many activities planned by the Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office (OCO) to mark 25 years since Ireland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The images created by the young people will be used throughout the year reflecting children\u2019s own views on rights in Ireland today.\n\nSpeaking following the launch Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon said:\n\n\u201cThese art pieces give a snapshot of how the young people view children\u2019s rights today. The images range from family to play to the stress children feel in their everyday lives.\n\n\u201cThe young people themselves put it best when they outlined the inspiration behind their pieces. Lucy Deegan (17) who created a piece depicting her friends looking out an old railway carriage door explained how she felt her friends were experiencing enthusiasm and joy, depicting a child\u2019s right to play.\n\n\u201cIn Amy Zhao\u2019s (12) drawing a young girl is trapped between two phones. Amy says \u2018we are trapped in our phones, just like prison. Maybe that\u2019s why they\u2019re called cell phones\u2019. She says \u2018family times are definitely more valuable than devices\u2019.\n\n\u201cThe 25th anniversary of the UNCRC in Ireland is a time to consider not only the progress that has been made in the area of children\u2019s rights but also the work still to be done.\n\n\u201cWe were delighted to team up with Texaco for this project. The Texaco Children\u2019s Art Competition has supported the development of young people\u2019s talent in Ireland for almost 64 years now. The competition has been extremely valuable to children.\u201d\n\nAlso speaking at the launch James Twohig, Valero Director of Operations in Ireland said\n\n\u201cSince 1955, the objective of the Children\u2019s Art Competition has simply been \u2018to support and encourage children through art\u2019.\n\u201cThere is a fascinating level of sophistication in the quality of the work presented, in the artists\u2019 imaginations and most importantly, in the way they have used their personal experiences as an inspiration for this celebration.\u201d\n\nThe young artists who took part in the exhibition are:\n