Ireland’s brightest young economists honoured by the Central Bank of Ireland at the 2021 Generation €uro Students’ Award

• Students from Belvedere College in Dublin win top award.
• Coláiste Ghobnatan in Cork and Killorglin Community College in Kerry runners up in the national final.

Ireland’s brightest young economists – students from Belvedere College in Dublin, Coláiste Ghobnatan in Cork, and Killorglin Community College in Kerry - competed in a tightly contested national final in the Generation €uro Students’ Award run by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Students from Belvedere College in Dublin claimed the top award after beating tough competition from Coláiste Ghobnatan and Killorglin Community College in the national final.

Now in its eighth year, the school competition, run by the Central Bank of Ireland in association with the European Central Bank (ECB), challenges Transition Year and 5th Year students to design monetary policy.

Economic students Garret Molloy, Paul Flanagan and Vincent Lin from Belvedere College, and their teacher Caoimhe McCormack, will now represent Ireland at the ECB where they will virtually meet ECB President Christine Lagarde and the other winning teams from across Europe.

Deputy Governor Sharon Donnery praised the budding economists for participating in the final, saying: “The Central Bank is committed to encouraging the economists of the future, and the students demonstrate there is a strong pipeline of young people interested in economics who may choose to forge careers in this area.

“I congratulate all three teams for their perseverance in working together and reaching the final during a challenging year for everyone. The students showed a great understanding of the principles of economics and monetary policy, and the work performed by the ECB, the Eurosystem, and the Central Bank.

“Selecting a winner was a difficult decision for the judging panel. The teams analysed the challenges faced by the euro area and should be commended for their ability to assess the rapidly changing economic environment against the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis.”

Speaking about the winning team, Deputy Governor Donnery added: “Belvedere College showed a great understanding of the principles of economics and monetary policy, the ECB’s mandate of price stability, and answered competently questions posed by senior economists, displaying in-depth knowledge of the topic.”