The Law Society of Ireland has named Offaly Transition Year (TY) student Rhea Schreiber from Sacred Heart Secondary School, Tullamore, as the winner of the national Gráinne O’Neill Memorial Legal Essay Competition 2026. The winner was announced at a special ceremony for finalists held at the Law Society in Dublin on Wednesday 6 May 2026. 

Now in its fourth year, the annual competition invites TY students from across the country to submit a 1,500-word legal essay on a specific topic. This year, over 500 essays were submitted by students from 67 schools across 20 counties, each exploring the topic: Protecting Voices, Preventing Harm: Legal Challenges in Online Freedom of Speech. 

The essay competition aims to inspire legal learning amongst students across the country, by encouraging them to consider contemporary justice issues, and legal matters that they might encounter in their daily lives. 

Thirty-six finalists attended the event. Aishling Heavey, Holy Rosary College, Mountbellew, Galway was awarded second place, while Niamh Doyle, Our Lady's Bower, Athlone, Westmeath took home third place.

Seven merit certificates were awarded to: Euan Stewart, Moville Community College, Donegal; Nathan Keane, St. Geralds DLS College, Mayo; Louise Tynan, St. Paul’s Secondary School, Greenhill’s, Dublin; Matias Ó Conaill, Christian Brothers College, Cork; Roiri Gately, Mercy College, Roscommon; Muhammad Ibrahim Tariq, Marist College, Athlone, Westmeath; and Primrose Scully, Árdscoil Na Tríonóide, Athy, Kildare. 

Click here to learn more about the competition.