Delvin student Seán Murphy, of Coláiste Mhuire, actually won two awards in the Social & Behavioural category - the Kerrygold Award and 1st Place Senior Individual for his research into adolescent male attitude development.

Incredible success as Westmeath students win fifteen awards at Young Scientists exhibition

Eilís Ryan

Published: Sat 10 Jan 2026, 3:14 PM

Last updated: Sat 10 Jan 2026, 3:36 PM

It was a historic night for the Lake County at the RDS as Moate Community School was yesterday, Friday, officially crowned the Best School in the Republic of Ireland at the 62nd Stripe Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (YSTE).

The prestigious title capped off an extraordinary run for Westmeath, which saw local students secure a staggering 15 awards—cementing the county’s reputation as a national powerhouse for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

Mullingar Students Lead the Charge

In Mullingar, the celebrations are centered on Coláiste Mhuire, which remarkably fielded 18 projects this year—the highest number from any single school in the country. The school’s dedication to innovation paid off with several major wins.

Delvin student Seán Murphy actually won two awards in the Social & Behavioural category - the Kerrygold Award and 1st Place Senior Individual for his research into adolescent male attitude development.

James Heffernan and Charlie Murtagh took home The CIÉ Group Award for their AI-powered early flood warning system, WaterWatch.

The team of Thomas and James Hyland earned 3rd Place Junior Group for "EcoEase," a project recycling workwear into sensory toys for neurodivergent minds, while Coby Masterson and Daniel Adewale secured 2nd Place Junior Group in Technology for their internet privacy study.

Moate’s Golden Year

While Moate Community School walked away with the "Best School" trophy, its students also filled the prize cabinet with category-specific honors. Leah Winters, Shona Kinahan, and Ella Hamm were standout performers, winning The AbbVie Health & Wellbeing Award and 1st Place Intermediate Group for "Ferma-Aid," a sustainable emergency food aid project.

Other notable Moate winners included Nemhain Doolin, who took 1st Place Junior Individual for her chess rating evolution project, and Rachel Coghlan, who won the Kerry Sustainable Nutrition Award for her work on eco-friendly chewing gum.

National Winners Announced

While Westmeath dominated the regional headlines, the overall Stripe Young Scientist of the Year title went to Aoibheann Daly from Kerry. Her project, GlioScope, uses Causal AI to help doctors identify brain cancer mutations through simple MRI scans, potentially replacing high-risk brain biopsies.

Stripe co-founder and former winner Patrick Collison, who presented the awards alongside Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton, praised the "stunning" caliber of work. "It is inspiring to see the incredible depth of talent displayed," Collison remarked, noting that the exhibition remains a vital "accelerator" for Irish innovation.

Minister Peter Burke TD, a former student of Coláiste Mhuire, said he was "blown away" by the results: "Westmeath continues to punch above its weight, accounting for almost 7% of all projects nationally. This is a credit to the students, the teachers, and the leadership in our local schools."

The overall winner, Aoibheann Daly, will now move on to represent Ireland at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists in Germany this September.