Eason Spelling Bee: On the road again for its 11th year!

 

 

 

The Eason Spelling Bee is back for its eleventh year! With over 500 schools taking part in 2023, and more in 2024, it is great to be back promoting literacy for children across the counties of Ireland.

The Eason Spelling Bee County Finals kicked off at the end of February, with the first competition taking place in Co. Offaly.

Each registered school has held their own in-house spelling bee to determine which of their students will be put forward for the Eason Spelling Bee county finals. These will run across every county in the Republic of Ireland. Once each county champion is chosen, the winners will move on to the provincial finals where the top speller from each county will battle it out to be their provinces’ champion and move forward to the all-Ireland final where we will crown our Eason Spelling Bee winner for 2024.

Along with the coveted title of King/Queen Bee, there are also some amazing prizes to be won! The details can be found below:


• All-Ireland winning school: A book library to the value of €7,500
• All-Ireland finalists (non-winners) school: A book library to the value of €3,000
• Overall winner: Books/Vouchers to the value of €500
• Finalists (non-winners): Books/Vouchers to the value of €250

 

Offaly

On Monday, February 26th our team was welcome with open arms by teachers and pupils from Scoil Naomh Colmcille in Offaly, who were eagerly awaiting to meet our Spelling Bee Team. Spellers were put to the test to see who would be crowned our Offaly Spelling Bee champion.

12 year old Rhylin Schreiber from Charleville National School was crowned County Champion. Her winning word was ‘‘gargoyle’. She will now represent Offaly in the Leinster Final in May.

 

 

 

Westmeath

On Tuesday, February 27th, The Spelling Bee Team made the journey to Gaelscoil an Choillín in Mullingar, County Westmeath.  Of the 18 competitors, Yusra Shaik from St Mary’s Primary School in Mullingar was named the winner. Yusra’s winning word was ‘dysfunction’. Her favourite books are ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ – a series filled with dysfunction, so it’s no wonder she got it right! We can’t wait to see Yusra again at the Leinster final this May.

 

 

 

Longford

Our final location for week one of the competition brought us to Scoil Mhuire Newtownforbes in County Longford on Wednesday, February 28th. Of the 11 competitors, Rachel McHugh from the host school was named the winner. We are delighted to have Rachel represent Longford in the Leinster final this May.

 

 

The Eason Spelling Bee is a showcase for some of the brightest and most talented young people in the country. Rachel, Yusra and Rhylin are just a few of the many exceptional spellers who have distinguished themselves in this prestigious competition. Their achievements are a testament to the power of hard work, dedication, and a love of learning. Congratulations to all the winners and participants of the Eason Spelling Bee, and make sure to stay tuned in for more updates on this amazing competition.