Three Limerick schools have students reach linguistic Olympiad final

STUDENTS from three Limerick schools have reached the national final of an All-Ireland Olympiad.

Students from Coláiste Chiaráin, Croom, Salesian Secondary College, Pallaskenry and Villiers School (pictured above) located on the North Circular Road in Limerick city attended the final of 18th All-Ireland Linguistics Olympiad (AILO), hosted by the ADAPT Centre at Dublin City University (DCU).

This finale brought together 104 students from 47 schools spanning 18 counties, all vying for a chance to compete on the international stage this July in Taipei, Taiwan.

Run by ADAPT, the world-leading Research Ireland Centre for AI-Driven Digital Content Technology, the contest challenges secondary school students to apply logic and reasoning skills to solve complex puzzles that range from Norse scripts to the complexities of the Bukiyip counting systems.

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Director of ADAPT, Professor John D Kelleher said: “The analytical skills displayed by these students are truly inspiring. We are very proud of this competition which exemplifies the passion we have for fostering the next generation of innovators.”

The 104 national finalists came through preliminary rounds held in schools all over the island in January. Over 3,500 students registered for this year’s contest.

The results of the National Final of AILO will soon be released. For those eager to try the challenges, sample puzzles from the Olympiad can be downloaded at https://ailo.adaptcentre.ie/sample-puzzles/.