Daragh Dunne, Conor O’Dempsey and Conor Metcalfe emerged as winners of the national competition for law students, held in Cathal Brugha Barracks in Rathmines on Saturday.

Rebecca Kelly, Áine Doyle and Larisa Mirt from the Law Society of Ireland were announced as the runner-up team, and won a prize for best performance in the cultural property scenario.

The stand-out individual award was presented to Princess Gloria Sunny-Joe, studying at University College Cork.

Teams representing UCD, University of Galway and Queen’s University Belfast also competed in this year’s competition.

The Irish Red Cross Corn Adomnáin competition involves a fictitious conflict simulation whereby participating teams of students role-play to explore key elements of international humanitarian law, such as the regulation of weapons and the protection of civilians, healthcare infrastructure and cultural property.

The students’ performances are evaluated by a judging panel of 20 highly-experienced people in the field of international humanitarian law including academics, representatives from the Defence Forces, lawyers, the Irish Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Deirdre Garvey, secretary general of the Irish Red Cross, said: “It is crucially important that our future lawyers, barristers and law experts understand and promote international humanitarian law.

“Respect for IHL saves lives, reduces human suffering and protects human dignity. Today there are 130 armed conflicts underway across the globe and over the past two years we have seen a steady increase in attacks on civilians, including children, humanitarian workers and journalists. This must not continue.

“A core mandate of the Red Cross movement is to promote understanding and awareness of IHL and so we are proud to run the 11th annual Irish Red Cross Corn Adomnáin competition.

“I hope it inspires students to further their studies in IHL and in doing so continue Ireland’s strong tradition – dating all the way back to 697 AD – of urging adherence to these critical laws.

“Congratulations to the worthy winners from Trinity College and to all the students who took part.”

Col Richard Brennan, director of legal services with the Irish Defence Forces and one of the judges of this year’s competition, said: “International humanitarian law remains a critical and central tool for commanders for mitigating the human cost of armed conflict.

“Fundamentally, it seeks to strike an important balance between military necessity and humanitarian considerations and, as such, its respect, correct interpretation and application by States and commanders is critical.”