Louth first class student makes waves at national creative writing awards
St Mary’s NS Knockbridge pupil Evan Hilliard was honoured at the awards
A 1st class student from St Mary's National School Knockbridge, Evan Hilliard, was recognised as a creative writing winner at the Green-Schools “Marine Environment Awards”, which took place at the Hyatt Centric Hotel in Dublin on Friday 15th May 2026.
The awards ceremony celebrates schools working on the eighth theme of the Green-Schools programme “Global Citizenship: Marine Environment”.
This module is supported by the Marine Environment section of the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, and encourages schools to develop their understanding of the importance of our coastal and oceanic environments, with a particular focus on taking action to raise awareness about and reduce the impacts of marine litter and plastics.
Evan was named as the third-place winner in the category ‘1st and 2nd class’. The judges were delighted by this wonderful example of creativity, imagination, and storytelling. Evan’s piece was filled with strong imagery and even a little touch of magic, bringing the story vividly to life. They also loved the thoughtful links to the SeaKeepers programme, showing a great connection between storytelling and care for our oceans.
Eighty-two schools nationwide will receive their Green-Flag for the Marine Environment throughout the month of May, and eight of the most outstanding schools were selected as regional “Marine School of the Year” winners to be awarded at a special ceremony at the Hyatt Centric.
These four primary, and four secondary schools, stood out for their fantastic work studying the marine environment and marine biodiversity within their schools, raising awareness of marine plastics, and taking steps to reduce plastic waste within their community.
From the regional winners, one overall national primary school winner, and one national secondary school winner were selected: Curravagh NS, Cavan and Seamount College, Galway. In addition to a trophy and the Green Flag award, these schools also received €500 to go towards their Green-Schools actions.
Also at the event, twelve students were awarded prizes as the winners of the Green-Schools National Marine Creative Writing Competition, 2026, “A Message from the Waves”.
This is the sixth year of the popular competition, which is open to primary and secondary school students, and over 250 entries were received. The first place winners received prizes including a trophy, a whale or dolphin adoption pack from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, book tokens, and €100 towards a creative writing workshop or their Green-Schools work.
Overall, the awards ceremony was a great success, with over 85 attendees celebrating the outstanding achievements of our Marine Environment Green-Schools.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Green-Schools Manager, Joanne Scott, said: “We are incredibly proud to recognise the outstanding efforts of schools across the country who are being awarded for their work on the Global Citizenship Marine Environment theme.
“These students and teachers are leading by example, showing that through education, action, and community engagement, we can protect our marine environment for future generations.”