Donegal students shine at All-Ireland Linguistics final held in DCU

Two students from Donegal competed at the National Final of the 18th All Ireland Linguistics Olympiad (AILO), hosted by the ADAPT Centre at Dublin City University (DCU). 

Euan Stewart from Moville Community College and St Columba’s Comprehensive School's Maria McLoone competed among over 100 finalists from 56 schools nationwide for the chance to represent Ireland at the International Linguistics Olympiad in Bucharest, Romania this July.  The finalists progressed through a preliminary round, involving nearly 1,000 competitors, held in schools earlier this year.  

The competition challenges students to apply logic and reasoning to decode unfamiliar languages by analysing the language data they are given to work out the ‘rules’ of the new language. These transferable skills are critical in preparing young people for a wide range of careers in computing, linguistics and language. 

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Speaking about the event, Director of ADAPT, Professor John Kelleher said: “AILO is a showcase of the analytical ability, curiosity and capability of Ireland’s young people. The students who have reached the final have demonstrated exceptional problem-solving skills.  The skills developed here are directly transferable to the real world, and we hope will give them a love of computing and data-driven research.  

"We are very proud to host the final at DCU and to support an all-island initiative that opens up these futures to students from every background.” AILO is run by ADAPT, the Research Ireland Centre for AI-driven Digital Content Technology.