This article is from page 6 of the 2012-03-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
A LEAVING Cert student from Clare has won the national Doodle 4 Google Competition. Last evening (Monday), Patrick Horan from Clonlara was announced as the winner of the competition.
A desire to turn back time and see how people lived in the past has won Patrick the fourth Doodle 4 Google competition. Patrick, a sixth-year student at St Munchin’s College in Limerick, looked to the past for his inspiration.The theme of this year’s competition was ‘I wish…’.
Commenting on the inspiration for his doodle, Patrick said, “Many of us look towards the stars to make a wish. I wish I could turn back time to see our world in past times. My doodle shows the mechanisms inside a clock slowly turning back the hands of time, making my wish come true.”
Patrick’s doodle will be seen by millions of users when it appears on the Google Ireland homepage on Friday, March 16. Patrick’s school will be awarded a € 10,000 technology grant, while both Patrick and his teacher will receive a personal laptop.
This is the second time a student from St Munchin’s has won the com- petition – Evan O’Sullivan-Glynn won the very first Doodle 4 Google competition in 2009.
Sophia Foster-Dimino, an official Google doodler, travelled from Google’s offices in Mountain View, California, to present Patrick with his award at a special prize-giving ceremony in Google’s EMEA headquarters in Dublin.
“This is my first visit to Ireland and, with over 2,300 entrants, it is obvious that Ireland’s reputation as a cultural and artistic leader in Europe is well deserved. The creativity exhibited by all of the five group winners was fantastic. I really struggled to pick the overall winner. I can’t wait to see Patrick’s doodle on the Google Ireland homepage.”
John Herlihy, Head of Google Ireland said, “The Doodle 4 Google competition shows the power of imagination and how talented Irish children are. Everyone involved should be extremely proud of their achievements. Google is committed to encouraging creativity and innovation amongst the next generation and the standards shown by this year’s entrants confirm that Ireland’s future is in safe hands.”