Pictures OF Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Moses on Mount Sinai, Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Crucifixion and many other biblical scenes were on display in Trinity College Dublin last Thursday. The precocious artists were students who took part in an international Bible-illustrating competition.

The exhibition and awards ceremony was part of the international competition, Children of the World Illustrate the Bible - Book of 1,000 Tongues, organised in Ireland by the Religion Teachers' Association and the Israeli embassy. Certificates for those who entered the competition were presented at the awards ceremony, while medals were presented to five highly commended entries and five judged to be the best. Thirty-five of the 100 paintings submitted from Irish schools will go forward for adjudication by a judging panel in Jerusalem, which will choose the best painting. The overall winner from Ireland will be invited to spend a week in Israel during Channukah this winter and attend a youth conference in Jerusalem with winners from 91 other countries.

Organisers estimate that one million children have entered the competition.

The aim of the competition is to make biblical lessons more interesting the classroom by encouraging students' interaction with the Bible through art. The project is multi-denominational and open to students from all social backgrounds.

"The competition's a tremendous success," said Robert Dunne, chairperson of the RTA. "Students had to choose any Bible story and interpret it. It showed stories still have a meaning and interest for young people today and rekindled interest in the Bible. "It also complemented the work of religion teachers in the classroom."

Those judged best five at Thursday's ceremony were Aisling Murphy from Presentation College in Warrenmount, Dublin; Fiona Giblin from Loreto Convent in Letterkenny, Co Donegal; Rachel O'Toole from the Community College in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim; Aisling Byrne from Mount Anville in Goatstown, Dublin and Deirdre Finnegan from Mercy Convent in Tuam, Co Galway.

Fortunately, teachers did not go home from the awards ceremony in TCD without some kind of commendation for their work.

The schools and teachers that co-ordinated the project in Ireland will have a tree planted in their name in the "Bible Forest" in the Jerusalem hills.

Three of the five entries selected as the best in TCD last week. Above right: Aisling Murphy from Presentation College, Warrenmount, Dublin, with Moses and the Commandments ; below right: Fiona Giblin from Loreto Convent in Letterkenny, Co Donegal with Jonah and the Whale ; directly below: Rachel O'Toole from the Community College in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, with Jesus Walks on the Water and her school principal, Joseph Flynn