The student enterprise programme has attracted over 30,000 students from across Ireland since its commencement last September.

Over the course of the year, the Local Enterprise Office initiative, supported by Enterprise Ireland and local authorities, saw young entrepreneurs attend local finals with their business ideas, before shortlisting 88 finalists. These finalists gathered on 7 May at the national final, which took place in the Mullingar Park Hotel in Co Westmeath.

On the day, the top prize was awarded to 16-year-old Cathal Sweeney from Mungret Community College in Co Limerick.

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The young hurler created Glo Ball, a sliotar that glows in the dark to help hurlers train for longer hours in the winter. Generating €40,000 in sales in the last four months, he took home the student enterprise of the year award.

Smart Shovel

The intermediate section was won by two students, Leon Egan and Aodhan Finegan from St Patrick’s Classical School in Navan, for their Smart Shovel. The gardening tool has depth markers along the blade and shaft for more accurate usage when used for landscaping.

“We created a patent-pending measuring shovel to solve a problem we kept running into while planting. We started this idea after getting frustrated with low yields in our garden. We realised that a big issue was not knowing the correct depth to plant different seeds.

"Every time we planted, we were guessing and often ended up with poor results. We noticed that many other beginners were facing the same confusion,” says Leon.

“That was when we decided to design a simple tool that could remove the guesswork. Our measuring shovel includes clear depth markers so users know exactly how deep to plant. We built our business from the ground up while still balancing school and other commitments. We handle everything ourselves, from designing and testing the product to selling it and collecting feedback.

"Our ambition is to expand the business so that more gardeners can benefit from our tool. In the future, we hope to inspire other students to turn their everyday frustrations into real-world inventions,” adds Aodhan.

For more information about the programme, see studententerprise.ie