Kevin Sorohan from Co Longford has been named Junior Inventor of the Year.
Kevin, from sixth class in Fermoyle National School, Lanesboro, invented a seatbelt clasp light for better car safety. His winning design is “a light which is situated in the push button of a seatbelt and will illuminate when the car lights are switched on to make it easier for the passengers to locate seat belt plugs in the dark”.
Minister Conor Lenihan at the prizewinning ceremony with Enda Brien, one of the young winners featured in the national media today
Kevin was presented with his award at the prize-giving ceremony in Kilkenny yesterday, by the Minister of State for Science, Technology and Innovation, Conor Lenihan.
The annual competition is sponsored by the Irish Patents Office and aims to encourage primary schoolchildren “to be innovative and creative in finding solutions to everyday problems”. This year there were more than 2,000 entries from 140 schools.
Some of the winners featured in today’s national newspapers, including the Irish Independent and Irish Times. Many of the entries will also be on display in McDonagh Junction Shopping Centre in Kilkenny for the next fortnight.
They include an “i-hat” (an iPod built into a hat), a navigator trolley for finding elusive supermarket products, and an automatic dog-feeder that allows owners to go on holiday without having to place their pet in a kennel.
1st to 3rd Class winners
- 1st place – Katie Walker (Scoil Mochua, Celbridge, Co Kildare), for a “swim watch” which counts the lengths you swim and time taken for each length
- 2nd – Evan Rossiter (St Columcille’s Senior National School, Knocklyon, Dublin) with a “two-in-one shoe” that can change from, for example, a runner to a hurling boot
- 3rd – Enda Brien (Kiltormer National School, Ballinsloe, Co Galway) for a portable DVD player for people with disabilities
4th to 6th Class winners
- 1st place – Ronan O’Connell (Scoil Mhainchin, Enistymon, Co Clare). His safety sensor in an electric cooker ring can detect if the ring is on but there has been no saucepan on it for 50 seconds, then automatically switches off
- 2nd – Morgan Hole (Scoil Bhride, Mountnugent, Co Cavan) for a lightweight, insulated compartment for bottled gas to stop it freezing during cold weather
- 3rd – Josh Kelly (St Mary’s Boys National School, Monaghan) with his pressurised children’s stair gate which works on the same principal as a pedal bin
Local winners
The Co Kilkenny winners in the “Best Local Entries” category were:
- Roisin Coady (St Brigid’s NS, Coon) for a remote controlled electric silage pit cover
- Cathal Ryan (St Leonards NS, Dunamaggain) for a system of hinged flaps that hang under the eaves of a house to prevent birds from nesting
