Young Limerick climate activist achieves place on the global 'Rise' programme 

Saoirse Exton, 16, a fifth-year student from Limerick City, is the only Irish recipient of the inaugural Rise Programme, set up to promote talented young people

Saoirse Exton is founder of the Fridays For Future Limerick. Picture: Sean Curtin/True Media

A climate activist from Limerick is among the first-ever recipients of a global talent programme launched by Google billionaires to promote brilliant young minds worldwide.

Saoirse Exton, 16, a fifth-year student from Limerick City, is the only Irish recipient among 100 young people selected from tens of thousands of entries worldwide for the inaugural Rise Programme, the anchor programme of a $1bn (€860m) pledge by Eric and Wendy Schmidt to support talented young people.