Fourteen students from Archbishop McHale College in Tuam made a debut at the Technovation Ireland Regional Pitch Event (RPE ) at AMD’s Headquarters in Dublin, marking the school's first-ever participation in the international tech entrepreneurship competition. After 12 weeks of after-school sessions supported by Teen-Turn, the students pitched a series of creative, socially minded apps they coded themselves, including a standout Irish language learning app that earned praise for both innovation and relevance.
The team, called Gaeilge Gurus, made up of Amy Farrell, Caitlin Higgins, and Saoirse Moloney, tackled a problem close to their hearts: the challenge of learning Irish. “We have been learning Irish since we were five, and now we are 14,” they explained. “We wanted to make something that would help people like us.”
Their app combines daily challenges, interactive games, and study resources to make learning Irish more engaging. Features include games like crosswords, wordscapes, Wordles, and wordsearches all in Irish, study support, including past papers, listening comprehension, and a verb conjugation guide, a chatbot for Irish conversation and grammar questions, links to trusted translation tools like Teanglann and Tearma, book, movie, and series recommendations as Gaeilge and tiered learning levels from beginner to advanced.
The girls dedicated themselves to the project, often staying late after school and attending Teen-Turn 'super sessions' on weekends, all while balancing sports training and schoolwork. “We are proud that we stayed committed and had the confidence to stand up in front of the judges and pitch,” they said.
Saoirse Moloney was surprised with a special award at the event when she was awarded the Best Communicator prize, a set of Beats Headphones.
“When I heard Harry call my name, I was shocked. It was so unexpected but amazing. I use the prize every day and I am so grateful, especially to Ms. Hession for nominating me.”
The girls now hope to continue developing their app and are considering entering SciFest, the Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, and next year’s Technovation program.
