Historic Firsts for Ireland at EGMO 2025

Team Ireland has achieved some historic milestone at the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO) 7-11 April 2025. Ireland was represented by

   Siobhán McGale - 18 years old, St Louis Grammar School, Ballymena, Co. Antrim;

   Aifric Barron - 15 years old, Mount Mercy College, Cork;

   Charlotte Walmsley - 16 years old, Scoil Mhuire, Cork;

   Siqin You - 17 years old, Nord Anglia International School, Dublin. 

The team was led by Myrto Manolaki, lecturer at the University College Dublin, and deputy Fionn Kimber O’Shea, student at St John’s College, Cambridge.

Competing in Prishtina, Kosovo, among 219 of the brightest young mathematicians from 56 countries, this year’s team is only the second Irish EGMO team ever to break the 40-point barrier. The 2025 Irish team earned 43 points overall, placing Ireland among top performers compared with nations of similar population size.

The 2025 Team Proudly Brings Home:

•            🥉 1 Bronze Medal won by Siobhán McGale

•            🎖️ 3 Honourable Mentions earned by Aifric Barron, Charlotte and Siqin You

•            ✅ All four team members successfully solving at least one full problem — a first for Ireland at EGMO

To put the competition into context, the mathematics problems at EGMO are exceptionally challenging, requiring creative problem-solving skills and a depth of knowledge that goes well beyond the standard secondary school curriculum. Each contestant faces two 4.5-hour exams over two days, with problems modelled on the difficulty of the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), demanding deep mathematical insight rather than routine methods. Indeed, to quote a Financial Times article, “IMO gold medalists are 50 times more likely to go on and win a Fields Medal – “the Nobel for mathematics” – than someone with a PhD in mathematics from the University of Cambridge”*. However, of the 64 mathematicians awarded Fields medals since 1936, only two were women: Maryam Mirzakhani, herself a former IMO gold medallist, and Maryna Viazovska, who as a youth had narrowly missed a place on Ukraine’s IMO team. Hence the importance of competitions like the EGMO to give girls the necessary confidence, motivation and a chance to build international experience.

A New Era of Training

EGMO 2025 marks the second best result ever achieved by an Irish team at the EGMO, and the first medal after 2020. Key elements of training included:

•            Extended training calendar, with two camps in UCD and four in UCC starting from August 2024, in addition to Maths Enrichment classes offered in 6 centres across Ireland.

•            Countless hours of volunteering by a broad group of experienced academics based in Irish academic institutions, coordinated by the Irish Maths Trust.

•            Increased international collaborations, with educators from Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Cambridge visiting Cork to train Irish students, alongside with local students and academics. These completed an online line-up of former Irish IMO team members, as well as guest online lecturers from India/Cambridge, organized by IMO 2024 deputy Tianyiwa Xie.

•            Year-round mentoring organised by Cambridge-based mathematics student and EGMO 2025 deputy Fionn Kimber O’Shea.

•            Travel support from An Roinn Oideachais / Department of Education

•            Sponsorship of Dublin-based training camps by Susquehanna

The 2025 Irish EGMO team leader, Dr. Myrto Manolaki, a lecturer (Assistant Professor) at the University College Dublin, organised one of the training camps in Dublin, which took place 3 weeks before the competition. In addition to training duties, EGMO team leaders play an essential role as jury members, ensuring that the competition proceeds at the highest standards, and all competitors are treated fairly. “As a leader, the past few days have been like a roller-coaster – in a process known as “coordination” – we had to make sure that our students’ work is duly acknowledged by a team of markers reviewing hundreds of scripts brim-full of original ideas under extreme time pressure – we essentially had to act as advocates for our students. The marking was very tough, but we were happy to see the girls’ value shone through. I am very proud of this huge success, which would not have been possible without the inspiring efforts of a huge team of volunteers.”

The 2025 Irish EGMO team deputy leader, Fionn Kimber O’Shea, is himself no stranger to mathematical Olympiads – with a bronze in Japan, in 2023, he is Ireland’s most recent IMO medalist. Says Fionn Kimber O’Shea, “When I took on the role of Deputy Leader, I knew this was going to be a particularly challenging EGMO edition for Ireland. Normally, years of experience are needed to excel in such a competition– however, based on prior results, this was going to be one of the youngest and least experienced teams ever. So, together with my former deputy Anca Mustata, we came up with a plan to offer girls EGMO training year-long. Among others, I invited lecturers from Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine and past Olympians from Cambridge University to teach the team. We offered online training, practice exams and feedback, to give the girls much needed exam experience. We played tennis and soccer in the evenings to build team spirit and have fun.”

“This result is a testament to the talent, commitment, and perseverance of the girls—and of a growing community coming together to support female mathematicians in Ireland,” said Anca Mustata, lecturer, UCC.  “I also think the girls were lucky to have such dedicated and pro-active leadership - I could see their determination to succeed grow day by day.”

About the Irish Mathematical Trust

The Irish Mathematical Trust (IMT) is a volunteer-led organisation comprising over sixty mathematicians from across Ireland, committed to nurturing the next generation of creative thinkers in mathematics. Building on a 30-year tradition, IMT offers free enrichment classes in six major university centres and organises national competitions like the Irish Mathematical Olympiad. The Trust also supports Ireland’s participation in international contests such as the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) and the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO). Beyond competitions, IMT fosters collaboration among STEM companies, educators, parents, and students to strengthen mathematics education nationwide.

About EGMO

The European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO) is an international mathematics competition created to encourage young women to pursue mathematics at the highest levels. Established in 2012, EGMO features participants from across Europe and beyond. The competition includes two 4.5-hour exams over two days, featuring six complex problems drawn from algebra, number theory, combinatorics, and geometry.

EGMO aims to foster mathematical talent, inspire future scientists, and increase female participation in elite mathematics competitions like the IMO.

The next EGMO will take place in Bordeaux, France, in 2026.

Quoted from Financial Times, “The biggest gender gap is in mathematics”