National award for County Roscommon student
Abigail O’Brien, The Mercy College, Roscommon, is pictured at the Green-Schools Secondary Water Conference and Awards in Dublin. Pic: Conor Healy / Picture It Photography
A pupil from The Mercy College in County Roscommon was among the big winners at an annual awards ceremony held in Dublin recently. Abigail O’Brien was named as a national winner in the Green-Schools poster competition and received her award at a ceremony held in Dublin city centre.
Wood Quay in Dublin 8 was the venue for the awards ceremonies, which were held over the course of two days. They were held to recognise the efforts of primary and secondary students across the country who participated in the Green-Schools Water Programme in the 2025-26 academic year, and to honour the winning students in this year’s poster competition.
The theme of this year’s poster competition was 'Water and Me / Mise agus Uisce', and participating students were asked to design a poster centring on moments when water has mattered to them.
The response from pupils of the participating schools was impressive, with 1,600 entries received across the junior primary, senior primary and secondary categories. The standard of entry was exceptionally high and the judging panel had a hugely difficult task in choosing their winners. Twelve regional winners were each awarded a €100 voucher and had their poster professionally framed, while three overall national winners were also announced at the ceremony.
Secondary school students were also invited to enter a video competition, also on the theme of ‘Water is Life’. The national winner and two runners-up were given their prizes at the ceremony.
Uisce Éireann’s Customer Strategy and Regulation Manager, Reyna Nixon, was on-hand at the award ceremonies and said that the number of entries was evidence of the Green-Schools Water Programme going from strength to strength around the country.
“The Green-Schools awards are always a wonderful occasion and this year, the quality of the submissions across the various categories has been truly incredible. The vital work being done by Green-Schools in schools across Ireland is clearly bearing fruit in terms of how our young people think about water and the need to conserve and respect it. We in Uisce Éireann are proud of our long-standing sponsorship of the programme,” said Reyna.
Cathy Baxter, An Taisce Director of Education, said: “The Green-Schools Water Awards are one of the highlights of our year. They celebrate the creativity, commitment and teamwork of students and teachers working together to protect one of our most precious resources: water. These young people are leading by example and showing that real environmental change begins in our schools and communities. We’re so proud of their efforts and inspired by their impacts.”
The annual event marked the thirteenth year of Uisce Éireann’s sponsorship of An Taisce’s Green-Schools programme which supports schools working to gain a Green Flag under the water theme. Throughout the current academic year, An Taisce has been engaging directly with over 300 schools on the Water Flag, working with over 90,000 students and 9,000 teachers across the country.
The Green-Schools water theme is a grassroots sponsorship that aims to foster awareness and understanding of a range of activities, tailored to students at both primary level and secondary level. In addition to developing awareness around water conservation, the sponsorship incorporates wider engagement around stewardship of our water resources.
