Mayo student wins Oireachtas Essay Competition Prize

St Joseph’s Secondary School Castlebar student Marissa Illiana Divilley landed the prize for best essay in Connacht at the third Oireachtas Essay Competition prizegiving in Leinster House on Friday, May 2.

The judges praised Marissa for “an essay that skillfully employed historical examples, such as Daniel O'Connell and Martin Luther King Jr., to demonstrate the effectiveness of parliamentary politics in achieving liberation.”

READ MORE: Figures show 19,200 learner drivers are driving on Mayo roads

The judging panel included Gary Murphy, DCU Professor of Politics and Professor Patrick Geoghegan of TCD, author of a two-part biography of O’Connell also provided expert input to this year’s Competition.

Almost half the secondary schools on the island of Ireland entered the competition, with hundreds of students penning essays in Irish and English on the theme ‘Parliamentary Politics Liberates’ / ‘An tSaoirse agus an Pholaitíocht Pharlaiminteach’ – reflecting the 250th Anniversary of the birth of ‘The Liberator’, Daniel O’Connell. 

Marissa received her prize from the Competition Founding Patron, former Ceann Comhairle, Seán Ó Fearghaíl TD, at a ceremony attended by the winning students, their parents/guardians, teachers, as well as Competition judges and sponsors. The prizegiving ceremony was followed by lunch and a tour of Leinster House and over €6000 in prize money was awarded. 

The Competition was devised by Independent NUI Senator Rónán Mullen with the support of the Ceann Comhairle’s Office and the Oireachtas Education Unit.

Presenting the prizes, Deputy Ó Fearghaíl said that greater engagement by young people with the political system was “vital for the health of our democracy and for our ability to overcome the many challenges we face at home and abroad.”

“We are delighted with the growing support for Aiste an Oireachtais – with a significant increase this year in the number of entries received,” says Senator Mullen, the Competition Convenor. “Since Aiste an Oireachtais began in 2022, we have had registrations and entries from almost half the secondary schools on the island of Ireland (47%). “It is clear that schools recognise the importance of getting students to think about our democracy and the need to work it for the common good.”