John’s a champion speller

Eason proudly announces John Murphy as the winner of this year's County Tipperary Eason Spelling Bee Final.

After a challenging competition against 17 other spelling enthusiasts, John, a Sixth Class pupil from Scoil Iosef Naofa in Corville, Roscrea, triumphed in the County Tipperary final. John will now represent County Tipperary in the Provincial Spelling Bee at the end of the month. A keen reader, John’s favourite book series is Lord of the Rings.

Celebrating its 12th year, the Eason Spelling Bee is a key part of Eason's broader literacy initiative, designed to encourage and inspire children to develop their spelling and pronunciation skills. Over the years, the competition has fostered a greater appreciation for words, vocabulary growth, and self-confidence among participating children.

Lisa O’Brien, Group Head of E-Commerce and Marketing at Eason, commented: “We are delighted to launch the 2025 Eason Spelling Bee with such talented children participating in County Tipperary. They are a testament to the bright young minds of Ireland. We are confident that this year we will build on the success of 2024 and inspire communities to support their local schools and, especially, their spelling bees!”

The All-Ireland winning bee will secure a selection of books for their school library valued at €7,500, along with the coveted title of Eason Spelling Bee 2025 Champion. The winner will also receive a goodie bag filled with books worth €500.

This year, over 450 schools nationwide will compete for this coveted prize. The Eason Spelling Bee team will travel across the country to host County Final Spelling Bees, followed by Provincial Spelling Bee contests. The champions from each province will then compete head-to-head in the All-Ireland Final Bee in June 2025, where the ultimate King or Queen Bee will be crowned.