ChOIRL/IChO 2021
Congratulations to all the participants in ChOIRL 2021 and to the four students who represented Ireland at IChO 2021.
Success of Team Ireland at International Chemistry Olympiad 2021
Team Ireland achieved its best success to date in the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO), which was held from July 24 to August 2, 2021. All four competing students received awards, which meant the Irish challenge surpassed all previous achievements in the competition.
- Oisín Ó Feinneadha, St Peter’s College Secondary School, Wexford, and Tong Wu, Clongowes Wood College, Clane, Co Kildare, were awarded silver medals, placing them in the top 10-30% of chemistry students internationally on the world stage.
- Oscar Despard, Sandford Park School, Ranelagh, Dublin, also received a bronze medal and Aoife Morris, St Aloysius’ College, Carrigtwohill, Co Cork, completed the extraordinary success of Team Ireland by receiving an Honourable Mention award.
The International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) is an annual competition for the world’s most talented chemistry students at secondary school level. Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, the competition was held remotely in 2021, rather than in-situ in Japan, with nations around the world represented by individual teams made up of four students who were tested on their chemistry knowledge.
The 53rd International Chemistry Olympiad involved a highly challenging five-hour theoretical examination paper run remotely consisting of nine problems, involving very complex chemistry topics. The competition was one of the largest to take place since its inauguration with 312 student participants from 85 countries competing.
Ireland has successfully participated in the competition since 1997 with a total of 20 bronze medals, 4 honourable mentions and 2 silver medals awarded in 1999 and 2006. 2021 however was the first year that all four members of Team Ireland achieved awards and the first year that Ireland came away with two silver medals in the competition, doubling their overall tally in the competition from two to four.
The journey for the four students to IChO2021 Japan commenced in the Spring of 2021 where over 210 chemistry students from across the island of Ireland participated in Round 1 of the Chemistry Olympiad Ireland competition. This was reduced down to approximately 50 who competed for national metals and highly commended awards. From this group, Team Ireland was chosen after extensive training during the Easter Holidays and further assessment.
The four members of Team Ireland received extensive training for IChO2021 from an expert team of academics from across five Irish higher education institutions –Dr. Carl Poree, Dr. John O’Donoghue and Professor Mike Lyons, Trinity College Dublin; Dr. Elizabeth Gilchrist and Dr. Tim O’Sullivan, University College Cork; Dr. Pat O’Malley, Dr. Odilla Finlayson, Dr. Nessan Kerrigan and Dr. Hasim Ibrahim, Dublin City University; Dr. Brian Murphy, Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest; and Dr Cormac Quigley from Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology.
The Irish international delegation at IChO2021 included Dr. Brian Murphy, Dr. Carl Poree, Dr. John O’Donoghue and Dr. Elizabeth Gilchrist, who supported the four Irish students throughout the competition in July and who participated in the International Jury at IChO2021.