Kildare Students Reach Final of Ireland’s First Team Maths Quiz

Posted on: 01 March 2005

Students from Patrician Secondary School, Newbridge will battle it out in the finals of Ireland’s first Team Mathematics Competition in Trinity College on Saturday 5 March 2005. Organised by the Hamilton Mathematics Institute TCD and the Irish Mathematics Teachers Association, the finals will see ten regional champion teams facing stiff competition as they compete for the Hamilton Trophy. Students Seamus O’Boyle, Patrick O’Leary, Enda Miley, Robert Devine and Robert Lonergan will travel to Trinity College with their Maths teacher, Pat O’Leary. The Newbridge team has been successful in reaching the finals to represent their region. 249 teams nationwide signed up to the competition which is based on the Leaving Certificate Higher Maths syllabus. The format is a table quiz with eight rounds. In addition to being presented with the Hamilton Trophy, the winning team will be offered one week’s work experience in Trinity College’s SFI Nanoscience Laboratory. The laboratory, the first of its type in the country, carries out world-class research in the areas of nanoscience, encompassing physics, chemistry, biology and materials science. Team members and runners up will be receive the ‘Sean O’Tuama Medal’, named in the memory of a past Secretary of the Irish Mathematics Teachers Association. The Hamilton Mathematics Institute TCD is an institute dedicated to fostering mathematics and related disciplines. Named after William Rowan Hamilton, the Institute also aims to improve the public understanding of mathematics. Hamilton was one of Ireland’s most famous scientists and one of the world’s great mathematicians. 2005 marks the bicentenary of his birth.