The students from Presentation Secondary School Tralee in Kerry won the top prize with their project ACT (Aid Care Treat): App-timising emergency response.
The BTYSE trophy was presented to the winners on Friday evening at the RDS in Dublin by Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD and Managing Director of BT Ireland, Shay Walsh.
ACT is a medical assistance app designed to support emergency healthcare responses. It integrates crucial features to provide swift and effective aid during critical situations. This is the second year the project has been recognised at the exhibition having previously been awarded Runner-Up Group in 2024.
“I’m very proud, it’s the most amazing thing we’ve got to do together so we are delighted. It’s such a fantastic finish to such a fantastic week,” said Ciara Murphy.
Ciara (17), Saoirse (15) and Laoise (12) have spent the last 12 months working on their project along with public and private sector stakeholders, including the Department of health, the HSE and the National Ambulance along with the Gardaí. The transformative app is designed to tackle challenges in transferring medical data effectively and efficiently to the emergency services.
The sisters win a prize of €7,500 and they will also represent Ireland at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists being held in Riga, Latvia.
For the first time, the Young Scientist winners will be awarded a trip to the World Expo in Osaka, Japan.
BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition 2025
Speaking at the awards ceremony this evening, Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD said: “I’d like to sincerely congratulate Ciara, Saoirse and Laoise on their extraordinary achievement. This win is testament to their creativity, dedication and hard work and the tremendous support of their family, teachers and school”.
“It has been a privilege to meet students here in the RDS and to see the innovation, creativity and attention to detail in their projects,” she added.
Professor Joe Barry, Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Group Judges said: “I would like to congratulate Ciara, Saoirse and Laoise on bringing this project so far. This project with the support of the emergency services has the potential to make a real difference in helping citizens in an emergency situation”.
Other student projects that were displayed over the three days of the competition include Taylor Armstrong’s project “THMs and Pesticides: Hidden Hazards”.
Winner of the BT Young Scientist and Technology competition are Kerry sisters Laoise (12), Ciara (17), Saoirse (15)
The Coláiste Muire Crosshaven student won second place in the Individual Award for the Chemical, Physical, Mathematical Sciences category.
Her project investigated the levels of trihalomethanes (THMs) and pesticides in Irish waters, including the River Lee, the River Shannon, the River Boyne and others.
“THMs are created when organic matter like plants and leaves are mixed with chlorine”, said the fifth year student.
“I saw a report on the news back in January last year that Ireland had exceeded THM levels and it inspired me to start the project. Ireland has the third highest levels of THMs in Europe, it’s definitely an important area of research,” she added.
Some THMs can be carcinogenic to humans and animals, including bromoform, a THM Ms Armstrong tested for.
Looking to the future, the student aims to develop new experimental methods to build on her study.
Another project that was on display was a group project from Mount St Michael in Cork. Caoimhe Scully, Niamh Wygers and Miya Sullivan’s project “Honey Healers”, investigated the use of West Cork honey for the production of antimicrobial bandages.
Fifteen qualifying projects from seven Meath secondary schools are among over 1,000 finalists competing to be crowned the BT Young Scientist for 2025. Photo: Chris Bellew / Fennell Photography
“Currently most antimicrobial bandages are made out of manuka honey which can cost up to €40. We found that one of the Irish honey’s we tested had the best antimicrobial properties was Caoimhe’s honey from hives in West Cork,” said Niamh Wygers.
Caoimhe’s family manages ten hives of bees, five in Inchodeny and five in Reenascreena.
Caoimhe told the Irish Independent: “ Once we harvested the honey we visited the microbiology lab in UCC and we worked with one of the professors there to test the honeys.”
The students did a series of tests using agar plates and varying bacterias.
“We swabbed the plates and then placed the honey bandages on top to test them. The honey that killed the most bacteria was my family’s honey from Inchydoney”.
That particular batch included samplings of heather, lavender and fir, boosting its antimicrobial properties.
Shay Walsh, Managing Director of BT Ireland, said: “I would like to congratulate all the participants and finalists of this year’s BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, who have showcased some truly innovative project ideas”.
“In addition to demonstrating boundless energy and ingenuity across topics ranging from Artificial Intelligence (AI), cyber security, mental health, sustainability, agriculture and many more, what has been most uplifting is seeing how STEM subjects can be used for the betterment of society and the world around us,” he added.
The exhibition continues on Saturday and tickets are available through the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition website or onsite at the RDS in Dublin.
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