What a year! In collaboration with the UCD Classical Museum, Access Classics once again welcomed hundreds of students, teachers and parents to UCD’s Belfield campus, and were also delighted to hit the road to visit schools, including our old friends Dundrum College of Further Education and the Portmarnock Malahide Educate Together! Whether re-creating curse tablets, handling museum artefacts, unlocking the sounds of ancient Greek or considering the leadership of Alexander the Great, the Access Classics team had enormous fun chatting with the students! Below are two key highlights from the year!

Classical Association of Ireland Teachers (CAI-T) Young Classicist Awards, 2026

Access Classics was delighted to welcome back the CAI-T Young Classicist Awards to the UCD campus, where, on 29 May, the amazing finalists presented their work in front of friends, teachers, parents and, very importantly (!), the judges: Dr Christopher Farrell and MA students Rhea Bates and Cooper Hays, all from the UCD School of Classics. As in previous years, second-level students around Ireland were set the challenge of creating a project in any medium about any aspect of the ancient world in the hopes of claiming victory in the following categories: Senior Award (4th-6th year), Junior Award (1st-3rd year), Sustainability Award (for a project connected with the Global Sustainability Goals) and the Languages Award (for a project based on/with a component of Latin or Ancient Greek).

(L to R) Dr Bridget Martin, Dr Christopher Farrell, Rhea Bates and Cooper Hays congratulating the finalists and winners!

Every year, the creativity and standard somehow increases, and this year was no exception, with entries including computer games, PowerPoint presentations, videos, creative writing, paintings, dance, music and woodwork! It was certainly no easy task for the judges to determine the winners. Congratulations to all students and schools who entered this year, and especially to the winning entrants from St Andrew’s College (Sustainability Award), Gonzaga College S.J. (Languages Award), St Paul’s Secondary School, Greenhills (Senior Award) and Blackrock College (Junior Award). After the awards, many students visited the Classical Museum, handled some of the ancient artefacts and tried on our replica helmet!

Well done to all students on their fantastic entries, and we very much look forward to next year!

A very special visit

After a long day of UCD adventures!

Access Classics’ highlight this year was an event made possible by a generous donation to the UCD School of Classics by an anonymous donor. On a beautiful mid-May morning, pupils from three schools in the Tallaght area were collected by bus and brought to the leafy UCD Belfield campus. Joining forces with UCD Widening Participation, our aim was to introduce the students to both Classics and its cognate subjects within the College of Arts and Humanities, as well as to UCD’s vibrant campus. Dr Geremiah Garsha (School of History) and Dr Anthony McIntyre (School of English, Drama and Film) were on hand in the morning to chat with the students about aspects of piracy and Hollywood storytelling techniques, and Assoc. Prof. Fionnuala Walsh (School of History) brought the students for a tour of Special Collections in the UCD Library!

Students hard at work, making “blessing” tablets!

Following a quick snack, the Classics contingent took over. Dr Martin Brady and Dr Bridget Martin were delighted to introduce the students to Latin and ancient Greek through interactive activities involving Greek curses/blessings and Roman numerals! After lunch in UCD’s main restaurant (again, made possible through the generous donation), the wonderful UCD Access and Lifelong Learning student access leaders brought the students on a tour of campus, and we ended the day in the best way possible: with a trip to the Classical Museum! Huge thanks to all the students and teachers who attended and really threw themselves into the spirit of the day, and special thanks to the donor whose generosity made the event possible. Watch this space for similar future events!

Thank you!

As ever, a massive thank you to all the students, teachers, parents, colleagues (in and outside UCD) and friends for their help and enthusiasm over the past year! The Access Classics team is constantly inspired by the work we see all around us to promote Classics in Ireland, and we look forward to doing our part in the next academic year. In the meantime, please do get in touch if you have any questions or would like to enquire about a school visit (bridget.martin@ucd.ie; access.classics@ucd.ie)!