Donegal student does her school proud at All-Ireland Linguistics Olympiad final

St Columba’s Comprehensive School in Glenties has expressed its pride at one of its students reaching the National Final of the All-Ireland Linguistics Olympiad (AILO).

Maria McLoone was one of only two students to represent County Donegal in the AILO Final at DCU, with Euan Stewart from Moville Community College being the other, among 104 finalists from 56 schools nationwide.

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Maria participated in the challenging individual event in the morning, testing her problem-solving skills for over two and a half hours against the world’s toughest puzzles in logic, language, and linguistics. In the afternoon, Maria joined with students from other schools and took part in the two-hour team competition.

“This was Maria’s second trip to the AILO final, having won a gold medal in the Junior competition in 2024,” St Columba’s said. “This year she improved her overall ranking in the senior individual round by two places, with an impressive 11th-place finish.

Run by the ADAPT Centre and supported by Science Foundation Ireland, the AILO contest challenges students to engage in ‘code-breaking’ by applying logic, patience, and reasoning skills to solve complex puzzles in unfamiliar languages. It is a key element of the nationwide Problem-Solving Initiative.