Mucklagh pupils on way to All-Ireland Lego League finals

A team of pupils from St. Colman's National School in Mucklagh are on their way to an All-Ireland Lego Final next month after being crowned champions at the South Dublin First Lego League Submerged tournament.

Team “Glacier Guards” from St. Colman’s National School Mucklagh (Tullamore, Co. Offaly) will join Team “Coral Kids” from St. Oliver Plunkett BNS in Moate at the All-Ireland Finals, who won the Innovation Project Award and took home the runner-up trophy at the tournament.

A second team from St. Colman's in Mucklagh, Team “Reef Rescuers”, scored top points in the Robot Game.

Dr Rachel Farrell, Director of the UCD Centre for Cyber Resilience Education, highlighted the significance of the competition in fostering key digital skills that extend beyond robotics, linking it to broader cybersecurity education and outreach efforts:

"The First Lego League is not just about building robots—it’s about building future-ready skills. Coding, teamwork, and problem-solving are at the heart of this challenge" she said, adding that "by working together to design, test, and refine their solutions, students develop the critical thinking and collaborative mindset necessary to tackle complex, real-world challenges."

Heats of the hands-on robotics and problem-solving programme take place throughout Ireland this month, with teams of children, aged 10 to 16, learning to think creatively, like scientists and engineers.

The fun challenges involve a robot game and a research project, and this year’s theme will see Lego technology used to explore the layers of the ocean, bringing fresh ideas to the surface as students ‘sea’ into the future!

Teams will use technical and collaborative skills to explore life beneath the ocean waves in one of the planet’s most complex ecosystems.

First Lego League Ireland is proudly supported by the Research Ireland Discover Programme and delivered by CreativeHUT Ireland. The programme also benefits from national sponsorship by Amazon