A group of young students from outside Donegal Town has made waves on the international stage, bringing home top honours from the FIRST LEGO League Open International Competition in Greece.
The Cully Coders, aged 10 to 13 and from five different schools around the South Donegal area, represented Ireland at the international event over the May bank holiday weekend. They are Zoe, Rebecca, Andrew, Georgia, Sienna, Abby and Jonathan.
With 50 teams from countries around the world competing, the tournament challenged teams to excel in robotics, innovation, and teamwork.
This year’s theme, ‘Submerged’, focused on exploring life beneath the sea. For their Innovation Project, The Cully Coders set out to tackle a real-world problem: the fact that 80% of the ocean remains unexplored, largely due to the darkness of the deepest ocean zones.
They learned that about 76% of marine life uses bioluminescence to navigate and communicate. Inspired by this, the team created glow-in-the-dark bottles made from Epsom salts and glow paint, designed to help illuminate dark underwater environments. The goal was to improve safety and visibility for divers.
To develop and refine their idea, the team consulted with a range of experts including Clean Coasts, The Sea Collective, P&O Maritime, and Sheephaven Divers. These meetings helped the children better understand marine environments and receive valuable feedback, which they used to test and improve their prototype. Local divers even trialled the bottles and reported they were useful when attached to dive belts, helping divers see one another more easily in low light.
In Greece, The Cully Coders performed brilliantly, placing 5th overall in the Robot Game and winning 2nd Place in Engineering Excellence, standing out among the best young robotics teams in the world.
They were also noted for showing excellent Core Values of the competition: teamwork, respect, and “gracious professionalism.”
Their coaches—Stephen, Adele, and Scott McElhinney, along with Brendon Greene—couldn’t be prouder of what the team has accomplished.
“To see these young people represent Ireland with such creativity, skill and humility was amazing,” said coach Stephen McElhinney. “They’ve worked so hard and really brought their ideas to life. The support from the community and the experts they met made a huge difference.”
The Cully Coders are deeply grateful to everyone who took the time to share their knowledge and advice, which played a key role in shaping the success of their project.
Their success has inspired people across Donegal and beyond, showing what’s possible when young minds explore big ideas with heart and determination.
They would like to sincerely thank everyone who contributed to their fundraising efforts and made the trip a reality.
Following wins at the regional event in Galway in March—where they took home both the Robot Game and the Champion’s Award—the team continued their winning streak at the national finals in Dublin in April. There, they again won the Robot Game, the Champion’s Award, and the Knockout Rounds, earning their place on the international stage.
Tags:
