This post was originally published on here
LIMERICK students were in seventh heaven at the Stripe Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (YSTE) this weekend.
Seven awards were shared by teenagers attending Coláiste Chiaráin, Croom and Desmond College, Newcastle West. They are continuing in the footsteps of former Castletroy College students Patrick and John Collison, who founded Stripe in 2010. Patrick won the overall title in 2005 while John, won a category award.
Eileen O’Mara, chief revenue officer at Stripe, said: “It is inspiring to see the incredible depth of talent displayed by all the winners.”
Coláiste Chiaráin’s Miles Bueno and Sarah Hurley’s project, Predicting Outages up to 10 days in advance, won the AerCap Sustainable Skies Award (Technology). The duo also claimed the 2nd Senior Group (Technology) award.
Schoolmate Tomas O’Sullivan with his Chirp – A low cost approach to bat monitoring using AI audio analysis, claimed the 1st Junior Individual (Technology) award.
Desmond College’s Sophie Keane’s project, Effective Medical Solution for Bed Bugs (Cimex Lectularius), won The Housing Agency Award (Health & Wellbeing). She also takes home the 2nd Senior Individual (Health & Wellbeing) award.
The West Limerick school’s Daniel Doherty and his Grip Geenie Bringing comfort and confidence to users, one twist at a time, received the 2nd Junior Individual (Health & Wellbeing) award.
Desmond College’s third winner is Nell McMahon’s AsthmaSense: A System for Recording and Predicting Asthma Attacks. His hard work was recognised with the 3rd Intermediate Individual (Health & Wellbeing) award.
Meanwhile, Aoibheann Daly, a fourth year student from Mercy Secondary School Mounthawk in Kerry, was announced as the overall winner at the competition for her project to improve the treatment of brain cancer.
The Stripe YSTE trophy was presented to Aoibheann on Friday by Minister for Education, Hildegarde Naughton, and Stripe cofounder and former YSTE winner Patrick Collison. In addition to receiving the grand prize of €7,500, she will go on to represent Ireland at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists in Germany in September 2026.
A Limerick student may not have claimed the trophy like 2024 winner Seán O’Sullivan, Coláiste Chiaráin, but it was made in the county.
The trophy is a testament to cutting-edge Irish innovation, designed by Stripe’s design team and printed from titanium grade 23 by Limerick-based Croom Medical. Created using advanced 3D-printing technology, it uses the same strong, medical-grade material as orthopedic implants. Its detailed design could not be produced using traditional manufacturing methods, reflecting the blend of engineering innovation and scientific discovery at the heart of the exhibition.
For more pictures, click ‘Next’
