Laois students compete for top prizes in Texaco Children’s Art Competition

YOUNG Laois artists have joined students nationwide in having their works evaluated as judging for the 2026 Texaco Children’s Art Competition gets underway.

Preliminary adjudicator, Tara Butler-Frey, is tasked with evaluating entries, including one received from Laois this year, a work entitled ‘Study’ by a pupil from St. Mary’s Christian Brothers School in Portlaoise. Tara is pictured above admiring the work.

Winners in six age categories, plus one category reserved exclusively for young artists with additional needs, will be announced in mid-April.

Now in its 72nd year, the Texaco Children’s Art Competition is the longest-running art sponsorship in Ireland. First held in 1955, it is hosted by Valero Energy (Ireland) Limited, the company that markets fuel in Ireland under the Texaco brand.

The first Texaco Children's Art Competition invited children to illustrate the phrase 'Keep It Quiet', a slogan that was used to promote Havoline motor oil. Brochures were printed and circulated to every primary and secondary school throughout the country.

The competition attracted many entries. It was decided that for the second iteration onwards, interested participants could create art free of constraints such as theme, method or medium. 

The closing date for entry into this year’s competition was Friday, 27th February 2026. Young artists across the island of Ireland were once more invited to participate in what has become a national celebration of children's art.