Mayo students speak highly of trip to European Parliament
Graduate.ie is a free online competition for Second Level Students to take part in and learn about important local and national topics. Students who complete the competition can be entered to win one of many educational trips to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Graduate.ie has been in operation since 2001 and is funded by the Irish Government, local authorities, and the European Union to educate young people (typically 2nd to 5th year students) on important civic, national, and local topics.
Mayo County Council sponsors the Mayo prize winners and two Castlebar students, Nevin Lynch, and Emer Cronin spoke very highly of the programme at a recent Mayo County Council SPC meeting. They were both winners of a trip to the European Parliament in 2024, which included over 20 students.
Nevin Lynch, who is from Breaffy and went to school in St. Gerald’s College, Castlebar, is currently studying engineering in college. Nevin won the trip to Strasbourg in 2024, and his prize was sponsored by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, and Mayo County Council. Nevin said the programme has had a lasting impact on him. “The main purpose of the trip is to engage, inspire you and to show you the political side of life. It was fantastic to meet everybody on the trip and to make new friends, but the main highlight for me was entering the European Parliament.
“There are hundreds of students your own age from all the different EU countries there. You have to patiently wait for your opportunity to speak, and I really wanted to make the most out of the trip. I was lucky enough to be chosen to speak, and getting the opportunity to speak in the European Parliament is something that I will cherish.
“When all of the Graduate group winners went back to the hotel later that evening after visiting the European Parliament, we stayed in the hotel lobby until the small hours of the morning just talking about the experience we had. We also spoke about all of the things that were taking place in our communities across Ireland, and it was such a connected feeling. I then developed an interest in politics thanks to that trip to Strasbourg.
“That trip really changed me and when I initially boarded the plane at Dublin Airport I may have felt that ‘this is class, I am going away for a weekend.’ However, this educational trip was fantastic.”
“I am currently a first year in college studying engineering and I have plans to join some of the college societies as well. That trip to Strasbourg has really sparked an involvement of young people in society that you want nowadays. I am grateful for that lifechanging experience.”
Emer Cronin is a student in St. Joseph’s Secondary School, Castlebar. As a third year student in November 2023 she won week 9 of the Graduate.ie online quiz competition, which was sponsored by the Ombudsman for Children's Office and Mayo County Council.
Emer said visiting the European Parliament was an amazing experience.
“Going to Strasbourg and the European Parliament was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. You get to listen to people from different parts of the world and hear their opinions on politics. It makes you feel that even though we are a small country, we are connected to this bigger network of people and the EU. While I didn’t get a chance to speak on the day, I remember just walking into the parliament where a lot of the decision making for Europe is made.
“We also got to participate in Euroscola in the parliament, and we had the opportunity to contribute questions to different representatives and vote on climate change legislation which was all very interesting.”