Donegal’s Cully Coders to represent Ireland at First Lego League Canada Cup

The Cully Coders, an all-girl robotics team from Cully, just outside Donegal Town, have achieved outstanding success at the First Lego League 2026 Unearthed All- Ireland Final in Dublin. 

The five girls, aged between 11 and 14 years, earned the Champions Award, the top honour of the competition. They also won the Robot Performance Award and the Knockout Game, showcasing their exceptional skill, creativity, and teamwork, for the second year in a row! 

The Cully Coders scored 540 points at the All-Ireland Final, out of a possible 545. They have spent a huge number of hours coding, testing and making changes to make sure their game is consistently accurate.

Their All-Ireland win has earned them the opportunity to travel to Canada. In June, they will be the only team representing Ireland at the First Lego League Canada Cup, competing against 95 teams. 

Throughout the whole season, more than 2,000 students have taken part in the league across Ireland. First Lego League challenges young people to build, code, test, and improve a LEGO robot to complete themed missions. It is an international STEM programme designed to inspire students through robotics, engineering, real-world problem solving, teamwork, and innovation.

It challenges children across four key areas: Robot Game - Teams design, build, and code a LEGO robot to complete a series of missions on a themed challenge mat. Matches are fast-paced, highly technical, and push students’ engineering and programming skills to very high levels. Robot Design -  Teams present their robot’s mechanical design, coding strategies, and technical innovation to judges. They explain how they have developed robust, reliable engineering solutions. Innovation Project - Each team identifies a real-world problem related to the season’s theme and develops an innovative STEM-based solution, involving research, community engagement, prototyping and presenting to industry experts. Core Values -  Teams are scored on teamwork, professionalism, inclusion, impact, discovery, gracious professionalism and fun, forming a vital foundation for future STEM careers. 

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This year’s theme focuses on archaeology, and the Cully Coders have created QRtefact Discovery Drawers for their Innovation Project. It’s an educational tool that blends hands-on excavation with digital learning. Their goal is to help young people explore archaeology in a fun and engaging way.

The prototype has already sparked significant interest:  It is booked for an event at Bundoran Community Library on 1 April, thanks to Joe Kelly from Donegal County Library Service.  It will feature at Donegal Castle during Heritage Week alongside Donegal’s Community Archaeologist, Kate Robb. Judith McCarthy, Curator of Donegal County Museum, has expressed interest in using it for an archaeological exhibition next year.

The team are no stranger to international achievement. Last year, they travelled to Greece for the First Lego League Open International Competition, where they represented Ireland and placed 2nd in Engineering Excellence and 5th in the Robot Game, competing against teams from 50 countries.

One of their coaches, Adele McElhinney, praised the girls’ hard work and dedication: “These five girls are truly inspirational. They have worked exceptionally hard all year, never missing a practice. They are a shining example of what can be achieved through dedication, teamwork and resilience.”

Travelling to Canada to represent your country is a life-changing opportunity, but also a significant financial challenge. The team, who are grateful for the support shown so far, are now launching a fundraising appeal to help cover competition registration costs, travel and accommodation.