In the past few weeks, kids the length and breath of Ireland were urged to get their creative thinking caps on, as Google was on the hunt for a vibrant St Patrick’s Day Google logo for 2009. Vote now for your favourite!
The judging panel at Google has selected the cream of the crop, so now it’s up to us, the discerning googlers, to mine through the chosen logos and pick the one we like.
Voting will end at midnight on Monday, 16 February 2009, so get your skates on if you want to have your say in what Google will feature on the big day.
People can vote for one doodle from each category. The categories comprise: Junior Infants, Senior Infants, 1st and 2nd Class; 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Class; 1st, 2nd and 3rd Year; and Transition Year, 5th and 6th Year.
Google wanted students to create a doodle around the idea of ‘My Ireland’, describing what Ireland means to them. Our artistic, literary, architectural and musical heritage was an inspiration for some, while students were also encouraged to look at the Ireland of today, drawing on current events, weather, lifestyle and food, for example, to best sum up the country we are living in right now.
The expert judging panel selected by Google encompasses: Fionnuala Croke, keeper and head curator of the National Gallery of Ireland; Grainne Ryan, public health nurse and presenter of RTÉ’s Baby on Board; Dr Michael Drumm, principal clinical psychologist and psychology manager at Dublin’s Mater Hospital; and Dr Michael John Gorman, director of the Science Gallery, Trinity College Dublin.
With 312 county finalists in the draw, three county finalists will be chosen by us googlers for each judging group in each of the 26 counties. Prizes for this will be a Doodle 4 Google certificate.
In addition, there will be 104 county winners. One county winner will be chosen by the expert judging panel from each judging group in each region. The prizes for the winners of this category include a framed copy of their doodle, the display of doodles on the Doodle 4 Google website for public vote, a Doodle 4 Google goodie bag, plus an invite to an event at the Google Headquarters in Dublin.
Of the four national finalists, the public is asked to vote online for their favourite doodle from each judging group to help select the four national winners. Each finalist and their teacher will receive a laptop each.
Then it’s on to the final lap, where Dennis Hwang, Google’s original doodler, will pick the overall national winner. The winning doodle will be hosted on Google’s homepage in Ireland, the UK, US and Canada for 24 hours on St Patrick’s Day. In addition, the winning school will receive a €10,000 technology grant.
To vote, visit www.google.ie/doodle4google/
By Carmel Doyle
Pictured: county finalist Aoife O’Leary from Mercy College Cork’s take on the Ireland of today
