County Cork student wins National Scratch Coding Competition 2026
Aisling Fitzgerald from Cork has been named the overall winner of the Annual National Scratch Coding Competition, organised by Lero, the Research Ireland Centre for Software and the Irish Computer Society.
Aisling, a student from Coláiste Muire Crosshaven, Co. Cork, was presented with his award at the 16th national finals of the annual competition at University of Limerick (UL) on Thursday. The finals brought together Ireland’s best young coders from primary and post-primary schools from all over the country to showcase their project to the competition judges. The keynote address at the finals was given by Professor at UL Patrick Denny.
Aisling’s project truth can be bent was designed and built using Scratch, a visual programming language that makes it easy to create interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art and share these creations on the web. The Scratch project is a puzzle game in which you play as a news reporter assigned to write a story in a small town.
Lero’s Education and Public Engagement Manager, Dr Clare McInerney, said Lero’s involvement in the Scratch competition is crucial for a critical reason:
“Software is everywhere, it is all around us and it has never been so important that children and young people learn not just how to use it but also how it works. At Lero, we support the development of software skills at every stage of education. It is part of our mission to foster and grow coding skills and computational thinking among younger children, teens, and those far older.”
“What we witness at the culmination of the National Scratch Competition Finals is the payoff of months of hard graft by the contestants, their teachers and families – and let me tell you – it’s awe-inspiring. Their projects are an amazing combination of science, technology, imagination and ingenuity – showing off just how much fun coding can be. It leaves me wondering what these finalists will do next?” she added.
Dr McInerney said this year, there were 407 students involved this year with 65% male and 35% female entrants.
“We congratulate Aisling and all today’s finalists and those who supported them on their journey. Our panel of 15 judges were so impressed by the quality and originality of the projects that some have asked to come back next year,” she added.