Competition Rules and Procedures
- Students must register for the Competition through this website. You must provide the name, address, email and phone number of your school. A ‘Teacher Point of Contact’ must certify your eligibility to participate in the Competition, include a contact email and consent to be contacted in connection with your entry if needed (for example, if you are being considered for a prize). The ‘Teacher Point of Contact’ must be your School Principal, Deputy Principal, Year Head or other Co-ordinating Teacher in the school.
- To upload your essay, please click the “Upload Your Essay” link in the registration acknowledgement email.
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Your essay must be completed using our Oireachtas Essay Competition template.
You can download the template here.
You must insert your ID Number in the box indicated on the template. - You must rename the essay file using your ID Number, e.g. D8A7.pdf.
- To upload your essay, please click the “Upload Your Essay” link in the registration acknowledgement email. You must retain soft and hard copies of the essay submitted. These must be produced by you before you can be designated a Competition Winner or Highly Commended.
- The deadline for registration for the Competition is 12 noon on Friday 6th November 2026. The deadline for submitting essays is 12 noon on Friday 20 November 2026.
- Entries will be anonymised before being assessed by a team of judges. Entrants must ensure that their essays do not contain details that would easily identify who they are.
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The winning entry will be announced in Spring 2027.
Contact will be made with the National Winners, Regional Winners and Highly Commended Winners via the “Teacher Point of Contact” in each case. The organisers will not contact students who are not prize-winners. However, every effort will be made to update the competition website on a timely basis with information about the winners. - The Competition Organisers reserve the right to extend deadlines and announcement dates applicable to the Competition, to change the number or nature of prizes being awarded and to add names to the Judging Panel as the effective administration of the Competition requires.
- The judges’ decision will be final. No correspondence concerning the assessment of any essay is possible. All correspondence with the Competition Organisers, other than the submission of essays, must be by way of email to info@oireachtasessay.ie.
- The maximum word count allowed for an essay is 1,000 words. If an essay exceeds this word count, it will be disqualified.
- Essays that are found to contain plagiarised content will be disqualified.
- An essay must be entirely authored and composed by the person submitting it. Assessed reliance on AI, including using AI to generate outlines, write drafts, or significantly rewrite original sentences will lead to the disqualification of the essay from the competition. Two or more AI checkers will be employed by the Competition Organisers to make this assessment, and any decision made by the Judging Panel in this regard will be final.
- In relation to no. 13 above, as part of the submission process students are requested to certify that their essays have been entirely authored and composed by themselves personally.
- National and Regional Winners must be available to travel to Leinster House in Dublin with their parents/guardians for the Winners Awards Ceremony.
- It is a condition of valid entry to the Competition that a parent/guardian of a participating student/prize-winner will be willing to sign a consent form for the use of any photos, video or other publicity material, including any recorded interviews, featuring the participating student/prize-winner in connection with the Oireachtas Essay Competition or otherwise in connection with any reportage on the Competition. Consent forms are available on request.
- Home-educated students in the senior cycle are welcome to enter the Oireachtas Essay Competition via this website. Your ‘Teacher Point of Contact’ must certify your eligibility to participate in the Competition, include a contact email and consent to be contacted in connection with your entry if needed (for example, if you are being considered for a prize). In this case, your ‘Teacher Point of Contact’ will be a parent/guardian. When registering, you should choose your own email address and choose “Home School” as your school.
FAQ
When can you register?
Closing date for competition registration is 12 noon on Friday 6th November 2026.
When do you get your registration ID number?
Within a few hours of registration it will be in your email box.
What if you don't get a registration ID?
Try to register again. Failing that, contact us here: info@oireachtasessay.ie
How must the essay be submitted?
To upload your essay, please click the “Upload Your Essay” link in the registration acknowledgement email. You must use the ID Number sent to you after you Register as the sole and only name for your essay. No part of the content of your essay should be capable of identifying you.
When will the results be announced?
The winners of the Oireachtas Essay Competition will be announced in Spring 2027.
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