A group of students in County Clare have been crowned the winners of Engineers Ireland's STEPS Young Engineers Award.

The third- and fourth-class students from Clooney National School took home the prize for their Ash Antibiotic invention.

Developed by the Clooney Crackers – with a team comprised of Tiernan, Jane, Patrick, Maggie and Kate – the Ash Antibiotic invention is a prototype robot which aims to detect and cure Ash dieback disease. The innovative project was developed to support and foster local wildlife in Clare and to support hurling manufacturing in the county. The students created a spherical robot, made out of cardboard and paper mâché, and a working motor to demonstrate the possibilities of their invention and how a robot could travel to an infected tree and inject a liquid medicine to help cure the disease.

Commenting on the award, the winning student team said: "Ash trees have been part of our history for thousands of years. They are one of the seven sacred trees of ancient Ireland and are one of the most common native trees in Ireland. We believe that our invention could help to prevent Ash dieback disease which is very prevalent in our community. By protecting trees from this disease, we can not only help the animals that live in the trees, but also support our hurling community, so that hurleys can be manufactured from local wood."

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Clooney National School students faced stiff competition from 116 other class groups from across Ireland who submitted almost 600 projects to this year's STEPS Young Engineers Award, which is co-ordinated by Engineers Ireland's STEPS programme - funded by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and industry leaders Arup, the EPA, ESB, Intel and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). 

Now in its fifth year, the nationwide primary school competition encourages third- and fourth-class pupils and their teachers to explore the world of engineering by developing an engineering project that would help to improve their local community.

Clooney National School Class Teacher Sinéad Lynch commented: "The STEPS Young Engineers Programme was a fantastic opportunity for the children to engage with their local environment and become invested in their community. It allowed the children to appreciate the real-world application of subjects such as maths and science and fostered 21st century skills such as collaboration, problem solving and critical thinking skills. All of the children who participated thoroughly enjoyed the process."

A virtual awards ceremony took place on Engineers Ireland's website and YouTube Channel.