Scoil Taobhóige pupils ready to take on Texas at world robotics competition

Three pupils from Scoil Taobhóige in Cloghan will represent Ireland at an international robotics competition in Texas in May.

Having come through qualifying rounds at the Finn Valley College and in Letterkenny, ten year old Finlay Mac Eacháin (from rang 4) and Olibhéar Dunkley and Andrew Ó Tuairisc, who are both 12 and in rang a sé, along with their families and Múinteoir Máire de Bláca travelled to Cork for the National VEX Robotics Finals, held at Munster Technological University (MTU) at the end of last month.

The boys won two awards, for teamwork and design, and are amongst the teams selected to represent Ireland at the World VEX Championship Finals in Dallas from 12-14 May.

“Ah, there was great excitement and they were delighted just to qualify for the All-Ireland finals and go to Cork,” Gwendoline Ní Fhiograí, principal of Scoil Taobhóige said. “They weren't expecting any more than that, and they're over the moon to be going to Texas.”

Using a kit similar to Lego, the boys built a robot for a 'rapid relay' competition, designing it to pick up balls, pass to another robot, and put them through targets to earn points. The children also wrote computer code in Gaeilge to programme the robot to carry out tasks, like lifting and passing a ball, autonomously.

Judges examined an engineering logbook where the team detailed their design process and the trials and errors they encountered over countless hours working to improve and refine their robot. The competition was intense, but the Scoil Taobhóige boys impressed the judges with their teamwork and design skills, and Príomhoide Ní Fhiograí says their bilingualism helped them with their project.

As a Gaeltacht school where pupils are educated through Gaeilge, all the computer coding for the competition was done through the Irish language and the logbook was presented bilingually.

“This competition involves some maths, and lots of problem solving, reasoning and critical thinking,” she said. “The boys have tried different things to see whether it improves the robot's performance.”

Scoil Taobhóige is a small school, with just 55 children drawn from 30 families, and the whole community in the Glenfin area is bursting with pride.

“The community is so supportive and is really coming in behind us to help send the team to Texas and fly the flag for Ireland,” Ms Ni Fhiograí said.

Preparations for the trip to Dallas are well under way. The passports are all in order, and the boys continue to work on improving their robot still further. They'll send over a copy of their engineering notebook, do an online interview with the judging panel and they've been asked to produce a video documenting their journey from Taobhóg to Texas. The finals will be held in the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Centre in Dallas, Texas and will feature more 419 teams from schools in more than 50 countries.

“They can't believe it,” Príomhoide Ní Fhiograí, says. “It's an incredible opportunity for the boys, and something I'm sure they'll remember for a long time to come.”

The cost of travelling to Texas for the competition is substantial, and a number of fundraisers have been organised to support the boys. There's a quiz in the Cloghan Day Centre on Friday 14 March at 8.30pm.

The Glenfin GAA Centre will host a Tae for Texas party on Friday 21 March from 7pm, while Eddie Gallagher will provide the music at a dance in Glenfin Hall the following Friday, 28 March, from 9-11.30pm.
Online donations can also be made on the iDonate.ie website.