At the 27th Annual Pentel International Children's Art Exhibition in the RDS, some 247,000 paintings from 84 countries were submitted, with 3,800 entries coming from Irish primary schools.
Ciara Byrne, a pupil at Scoil Mhuire National School, Lucan, Co Dublin, won the prestigious Foreign Minister award, the highest accolade the judges can bestow.
Six other Irish schoolchildren each won a Supreme Gold Award. The Irish paintings can be viewed in selected libraries around the State.