Winners of our 2026 Columban Schools Media Competition for young people in Ireland and Britain have been announced.
This year the competition attracted a record 349 entries across Britain and Ireland, the highest number in the nine years the Columbans have run the Schools Media Competition.
The response in Britain was particularly high.
Young people aged between 13 and 18 years were asked to produce a piece of writing (prose or poem) or image on the subject, “Becoming a refugee is never a choice, but how we respond is”. Winners explored perceptions of people seeking sanctuary, considering practical examples of welcome and solidarity.
Second Place Image from the 2026 Columban Competition – Irish Region from St Paul’s Secondary School Greenhills, Dublin.
Entries were positive about the Church’s stance of ‘welcoming the stranger’ despite recent threats and animosity against people seeking sanctuary in Ireland and Britain.
In response to these tensions, winners’ names in both Ireland and Britain have been anonymised.
James Trewby, Coordinator of the Columban Justice, Peace and Ecology Team and a competition organiser in Britain, paid tribute to all the students who entered the competition.
“It is a testament to the courage and commitment of the schools that they are willing to stand up and witness to living out Catholic Social Teaching,” he said.
Third Place in the 2026 Columban Schools Competition from Jesus and Mary Secondary School, Enniscrone, Co Sligo.
The winning images from Ireland are shown on this page. The winning article will be published in the May/June 2026 issue of the Far East magazine. The list of winners can be seen here: https://www.columbancompetition.com/2026prizewinners
Many congratulations to all the winners and many thanks to them and all who entered for their time and effort and interest in the subject. With best wishes from the Columban Missionaries!