Team Ireland has achieved its best-ever result at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), the world championship in mathematics for second-level students.
A student from Co Clare was among the participants who received an Honourable Mention.
Competing on the Sunshine Coast, Australia, among 635 of the world’s brightest young mathematicians from 110 countries, six Irish students vied to solve six fiendishly difficult mathematics problems within nine hours, with each student working alone.
Owen Barron (17 years old), from Coláiste an Spioraid Naoimh, Cork, and Tianci Yan (18 years), from Wesley College, Dublin, both won silver medals.
Vitalii Halushko (16 years), from St Vincent’s Castleknock College, earned a bronze medal.
Ben Maguire (17 years), from St. Vincent’s Castleknock College; Jack McAuliffe (17 years), from St Flannan’s College, Ennis, and Ang Yang Li (18 years), from The Institute of Education, Dublin, all received Honourable Mentions.
The team was led by Dr Bernd Kreussler (MIC Limerick), deputy Anca Mustata (UCC), and Professor Stephen Buckley (Maynooth U) as an observer. Emily Wolfe (UCC) also joined as a volunteer trainer in Australia.
The success of team Ireland at IMO was the culmination of years of hard work for the students, with support from a community of more than 80 mathematicians and members of the Irish Mathematical Trust – many of whom are former IMO participants. This allowed for a rigorous team selection process and an extended calendar of training. All this would not have been possible without the financial support of the Department of Education and Youth and Susquehanna International Group.
The Historic Result for Ireland included:
The highest medal count ever for Ireland at an IMO.
The highest team score (127 points) breaking the previous record by more than 40 points.
Ireland achieved its highest-ever country ranking (42nd place) marking the first time Ireland has finished in the top half of the leaderboard.
In April this year, Ireland also achieved a historic milestone at the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO), with its second highest score ever. Siobhán McGale (18), from St Louis Grammar School, Ballymena, Co. Antrim won a bronze medal.
IMO 2025 will likely be remembered as the competition where artificial intelligence (AI) won its first gold medal – an achievement received with trepidation by many, but also with some disappointment within IMO circles – as it may take attention away from the immense achievements of the student contestants. “However, that need not be the case,” says Irish Team Deputy Anca Mustata, “To me, the AI result highlights a perennial aspect of intelligence: that it is highly trainable. This should motivate us to invest even more in nurturing the intelligence of our young people, as this will grow intertwined with other profoundly human qualities: inquisitiveness, openness, resilience, a sense of belonging and contributions to community.”