IRELAND’S FINEST YOUNG STUDENT ENTREPRENEURS CELEBRATED AT NATIONAL FINALS
Students from Louisburgh, Mayo won “Best Stand” at this year’s Student Enterprise Programme National Finals. The Finals took place on Thursday 8th May in Mullingar. Supported by Local Enterprise Office Mayo, the students from Sancta Maria College, Louisburgh won Best Stand at the finals. Their student enterprise was called: ‘Grainne Whale’, which produces a range of fun knitwear items. Their teacher is Maria Malone.
In all, 3 student businesses represented Mayo at the finals:
1. “Buiz Quiz” St. Gerald’s, Castlebar – Junior category
2. “Grainne Whale”, Sancta Maria College Louisburgh. - Intermediate category
3. “The Wine Waiter” Our Lady’s Secondary School, Belmullet - Senior category
There were 85 student businesses in contention across three main categories – Senior, Intermediate, Junior. The Student Enterprise Programme is Ireland’s largest entrepreneurship programme for second level students. The initiative is funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland and delivered by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices throughout the country. This year, the programme saw over 30,000 students from 500 secondary schools take part nationally.
The event was hosted by broadcasters Rick O’Shea and Louise Cantillon and they were joined during the ceremony by Peter Burke, T.D. Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Employment as he announced the winners across the three main categories on the day.
Businesses were judged by a team of national businesses experts and mentors. Each student enterprise was challenged with creating, setting up and running their own business, which must show sales of their service or product. The judging panel included business owners and representatives from enterprise agencies and associated bodies.
John Magee, Head of Enterprise, Mayo County Council said; “Year on year the Student Enterprise Programme continues to showcase the very best of Irish ingenuity and entrepreneurship amongst our secondary school students. This year produced a varied selection of businesses, from agricultural products and homemade gifts to pet apps and seaweed harvesting and some amazing winners across the board. The National Finals are not an end point for our student entrepreneurs, but a stepping stone on the next stage of their entrepreneurial journey. From our class of 24/25 we hope to see some of our next wave of business leaders and entrepreneurs emerge.”
The Student Enterprise Programme is open to students of all ages at secondary level, with three separate categories - Junior (1st year), Intermediate (2nd and 3rd year) and Senior (4th , 5th and 6th year, LVA, LCA and Youth Outreach).
Overall, the three main category winners on the day were: ‘Cannon PC’ set up by Jack Cannon from Clonkeen College in Dun Laoghaire, representing Local Enterprise Office Dun Laoghaire- Rathdown (Senior Category Winner), ‘Suet & Song’, a business set up by Michael O’Keeffe from St. Kieran’s College in Kilkenny representing Local Enterprise Office Kilkenny (Intermediate Category Winner), and ‘Bumblebees’ set up by Antonia O’Looney, Sophie Gilard, Guiliana Keane and Katelyn Murtagh from Drumshanbo Vocational School representing Local Enterprise Office Leitrim (Junior Category Winner).
The Student Enterprise Programme is one of a number of initiatives that the Local Enterprise Offices run, to foster entrepreneurship across the country. Others include Local Enterprise Week, the National Enterprise Awards, National Women’s Enterprise Day and Local Enterprise Showcase. The Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities are funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland.
