Five Wexford students have won top prizes in this year’s 66th Texaco Children’s Art Competition. 

All were winners of Special Merit Awards for artworks that Final Adjudicator, Professor Declan McGonagle said: “were imaginative and displayed high levels of skill”. 

They were Alannah Brennan (age 18), a pupil at Gorey Community School; Noah Bates (13) from Bridgetown College; Sara Kinsella (13) from St. Mary’s Secondary School, New Ross; Mila Hurley (8) from Wexford Educate Together National School, Clonard and Finley Anderson (6) from St. Iberius National School, Wexford Town. 

No stranger to the Competition, Noah won first prize in the 6 years and under category in 2012. 

With the onset of Covid-19, the Competition had to be extended over a longer period this year with delays to the final adjudication process and the announcement of winners. 

As a result, activities normally undertaken during April and May – traditionally, the introduction of winners to the media and the formal presentation of prizes – had to be set aside as a consequence of which prizes will be delivered by hand without the possibility of an awards ceremony.