The five winners of the TRUST Essay Competition were announced today.
Sponsored by The Irish Times, the Department of Justice and the Rotary Club of Dublin, the competition was open to Transition Year students to write an essay - called 'The Outsider'- on the theme of outsiders in Irish society.
Announcing the awards, Ms Alice Leahy, director and co-founder of the organisation, said secondary school students were becoming increasingly aware that the Celtic Tiger economy is not necessarily inclusive. She added they had demonstrated an awareness of the problems this poses which was encouraging for the future.
"The pressure to succeed is now so great that failure means exclusion," Ms Leahy said.
"That pressure is very evident even amongst students in the second level sector as the points race intensifies at this time of the year.
"However, the heartening thing about the results of this competition is how sensitive many students are to the needs of others and how aware they are of those who are excluded."
The winners of the competition are Eithne Byrne, Gorey, Co. Wexford; Niamh Fitzgerald, Loreto College, Dublin 2; Hugh Forde, Gormanston College, Co. Meath; Sinead Hickey, Dundrum, Dublin 14; and Aisling Ni Chathasaigh, Killarney, Co. Kerry.