Pictured at the ETB Excellence Awards 2025 were, l-r, Sinead McGrath (Active Consent) Niall Mulpeter (ETBI), LOETB winners Gillian Cunningham and Hazel Duffy, and event host RTE’s Ray Kennedy.

Laois & Offaly ETB scoop prize at National Excellence Awards

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Laois & Offaly Education & Training Board (LOETB) scooped a prize for Respect at this year’s ETB Excellence Awards, held in Croke Park as part of ETB Week 2025, which showcases Ireland’s sixteen ETBs and the services they provide to learners of all ages.

Memories of Charleville Castle Felting Project, an LOETB initiative led by a dedicated group of older women who came together to learn the intricate and creative craft of felting, was the runner up in the ETB Award for Excellence in Respect 2025. The judges praised the initiative which fostered new skills and celebrated individuality, dignity, and worth. For many of the participants, this project represented the first time in years they had the opportunity to learn and create in a supportive, empowering environment.

The awards highlighted learner and staff excellence across primary, secondary, further education & training, and youth services.

Opening the event and addressing over 200 staff and learners from across Ireland’s ETBs, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD said: “Congratulations on winning an ETB Excellence Award. Your dedication reminds us that education is not just about what we learn, it is about what we become. It is about pushing limits, breaking barriers, and striving for excellence every single day. My Department is committed to removing barriers to education and ensuring that opportunities are available to all—regardless of background, age, or circumstance. Education changes lives, and through your efforts, we are ensuring that more people in Ireland have access to learning opportunities that empower them to reach their full potential. True excellence can only be achieved when everyone has an equal chance to succeed.”

The Excellence Awards were the flagship event for ETB Week 2025, which also included

· the launch of a landmark book on ETBs edited by former Education Editor of the Irish Independent Katherine Donnelly: Education & Training Boards: Shaping the Future, leaving no one behind;

· Muintearas’25: a groundbreaking event bringing ETB Irish-medium schools together for the first time to celebrate and commit to inclusive Irish medium education; and

· events across the 16 ETBs to promote their services.

Education & Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) also highlighted the sectorial core values of equality, community, respect and care throughout the week.

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