Ireland’s largest celebration of secondary school entrepreneurs took place in Croke Park at the Student Enterprise national final on Wednesday, 2 May, co-ordinated by Local Enterprise Offices. The Student Enterprise Programme is now in its 16th year and going strong. This year’s programme attracted 23,600 participants from 480 secondary schools around the country. Starting every September, the enterprise education initiative helps students gain the skills and practical knowledge of running a real-life business.

Abbey Bread, a bread mix inspired by a 100-year-old recipe from the Cistercian Monks in Roscrea has earned keen baker Manus Heenan, a 17 year-old from Co Offaly, the top award in the senior category at the finals.

The winners

Senior category

  • • Winner: Abbey Bread from Cistercian College, Roscrea.
  • • Runner-up: The Roofing Safety Bar from St Patrick’s Classical School, Navan, Co Meath.
  • • Third place: Free Flow Bunkers from St Macartan’s College in Monaghan.
  • Intermediate category

  • • Winner: Lift Arm Assist from CBS, Kilkenny.
  • • Runner-up: Inishowen Pens from Scoil Mhuire Buncrana in Donegal.
  • • Third place: U Shield from Coláiste Dún Iascaig Cahir in Tipperary.
  • Junior category

  • • Winner: Complete Camán from Presentation Secondary School, Castleisland.
  • • Runner-up: Gnó-Jó from Coláiste Naomh Kilcormac in Offaly.
  • • Third place: Slimey Wonders from Dominican College, Muckross Park, Dublin.
  • Successful competitors

    Lift Arm Assist, developed by three teenage boys from Kilkenny, is a hydraulic arm that replaces the lift arm stabiliser on the back of a tractor. The idea aims to reduce the risk when attaching equipment to the tractor. The product is retailing at €210.

    The Complete Camán, developed by five teenage girls from Kerry, is an all-in-one training hurley.

    Reel Easy is a product which keeps tension on a wire, preventing it from tangling or knotting when transferring the wire from a spool onto a reel. It was designed by Shane Dobson, Daniel Doherty, Shane Grimes, Luke Hurson and Shane Hagan of Moyne Community School, Co Longford.

    The Roofing Safety Bar was created by Darragh Canny and Sean Keogh from St Patrick’s Classical School, Meath. It is designed to improve health and safety when working on roofs of buildings.

    Minister for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen and Sheelagh Daly of the Local Enterprise Offices presented all students with their awards.

    The programme, funded by the Irish Government through Enterprise Ireland and delivered by the LEOs, had a total of 230 teenage entrepreneurs, aged between 13 and 18, from 77 different enterprises, competing at the national final, with every local authority area represented.

    “Innovate or evaporate”

    Congratulating this year’s winners and their schools, Minister Breen said: “Whether it’s generating business ideas, developing markets or selling to customers, students taking part in the Student Enterprise Programme throughout Ireland have consistently shown a passion and flair for business and enterprise. Entrepreneurship is the backbone of the Irish economy and initiatives such as the Student Enterprise Programme are key to developing Ireland’s future enterprising culture. I’d like to congratulate this year’s winning students and schools. I hope their success will inspire more schools to sign up for the next programme in September through their Local Enterprise Office.”

    Sheelagh Daly, chair of the Network of Local Enterprise Offices, added: “We have seen over 150,000 students learn how to successfully run a business in the 16 years of the Student Enterprise Programme, thanks to a long-term partnership between local schools and Local Enterprise Offices. The programme is by far the largest enterprise initiative for schools in the country, and year after year we see brilliant ideas and businesses that not only succeed at school level, but that also succeed at national level. Judging by this year’s finalists and winners, the future is bright for Ireland’s entrepreneurs.” CL