Patrick’s doodle clocks up €10k grant

Wishing for better times may have become a national past time but one schoolboy has turned the dreary national attitude to his advantage — catching the eye of a world-leading firm in the process.

Patrick Horan, a sixth-year student from Clonlara in Co Clare, was last night named the winner of this year’s Doodle 4 Google national competition.

The annual event, which began in 2009, encourages young people’s artistic interests by showcasing their best work on the Google Ireland search engine during the St Patrick’s Day celebrations.