Kilmore Re-turn to Cavan with award

A Cavan primary school was among the winners recognised at the first ever Re-turn Awards, which took place on Wednesday, June 3 at a special ceremony at Croke Park. Hosted by Today FM presenter Ian Dempsey, the awards recognised schools that have gone above and beyond to “Re-turn it Right”, using recycling projects to support sustainability, fundraising and positive change within their communities.

Cavan primary school, Kilmore Central National School, received €1,000 for its efforts at the awards. The school was honoured with the Re-turn Local Legends Award for its whole-school campaign linking sustainability, wellbeing and helping others. Led by the Student Council, pupils sorted returns, tracked collections, created posters and helped decide how vouchers were used. The campaign raised funds for a healthy-eating initiative and food donations, demonstrating the positive impact the Deposit Return Scheme can have on schools and communities across Cavan.

More than 300 schools from across Ireland entered the awards. On the day, 16 winning schools were recognised across a range of award categories celebrating innovation, participation, sustainability and community involvement. The overall winner of the Re-turn Awards was Pelletstown Educate Together National School, Dublin, which received the top prize of €5,000 for its imaginative “Monster Bin’ initiative.

Special guests at the awards included members of the Re-turn Awards judging panel including former Irish rugby international Donncha O’Callaghan and educational consultant and primary school teacher Fiona Maguire.

Donncha O’Callaghan, said: “It has been fantastic to see how schools right across Ireland have embraced the Deposit Return Scheme in such a creative and positive way. Both students and teachers have shown incredible passion, community spirit and leadership, not just helping the environment, but also raising funds for projects and initiatives that make a real difference in their school and communities.

“What really stood out for me was the imagination behind so many of the entries. From fundraising drives to awareness campaigns, schools found brilliant ways to get everyone involved and create lasting change. Every school recognised today should be hugely proud of what they’ve achieved, including Kilmore Central National School from Cavan that has been recognised for its creativity, commitment and community spirit.”

Since the launch of the Deposit Return Scheme in 2024, schools have played a key role in helping communities recycle the right way with many schools using the Scheme to help raise funds for activities within their school as well as learn more about protecting the environment.