The winners of Ireland's Water Schools of the Year have been announced at an awards ceremony in Dublin.

The Green-Schools programme named Ballaghkeen National School (Wexford) and St. Louis' Secondary School (Dundalk) the winners of the main prize, recognising both institutions' work on the Water theme.

This year's Primary Water School of the Year, Ballaghkeen National School, embraced the Water theme with actions such as installing water filters and butts; regulating tap pressure; replacing faulty taps; and adding basins to all sinks. Combined with awareness measures that included the wider community and multiple action days the school managed to reduce their already low water usage from 8.87l per person per day to 5.96l.

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St. Louis' Secondary School promoted their work on the Water theme far beyond their school gates. By appointing a PRO, using social media and writing for the weekly staff newsletter their committee succeeded in raising awareness about water scarcity and usage, including the importance of monitoring for leaks. This reflected in a reduction of per person water usage from 92l to 3.6l per day.

Green-Schools Manager, Cathy Baxter said: "This is one of our favourite events in the Green-Schools calendar. It's fantastic to be in a position to acknowledge and reward the efforts of the students, teachers, principals, parents and caretakers who have committed so much of their time to conserving water and to see the fruits of our workshops and events throughout the year."

(CM/MH)