NATIONAL AWARD FOR LEITRIM STUDENTS AT ENTERPRISE FINALS
IRELAND’S FINEST YOUNG STUDENT ENTREPRENEURS CELEBRATED AT NATIONAL FINALS
Students from Drumshanbo Vocational School, County Leitrim scooped two awards at this year’s Student Enterprise Programme National Finals for ‘Junior Intellectual Property Award’ as well as first prize in the overall Junior Category which was an amazing achievement. St. Clare's Comprehensive School, Manorhamilton also placed runner up in the Intermediate Category. The Finals of the Local Enterprise Office initiative took place on Thursday the 8th of May in the Mullingar Park Hotel.
Supported by Local Enterprise Office Leitrim, the winning students in the Junior Category were Giuliana Keane, Sophie Gillard, Katelyn Murtagh & Antonia O’Looney from Drumshanbo Vocational School, who worked under the guidance of their teachers, Yvonne Traynor and Sharon Feeney. Their student enterprise was called Bumblebees and they produced a device called The Wasp which is an apparatus to provide assistance in climbing over barbed and electric fence wires.
Faolán Feeley from St. Clare's Comprehensive School, Manorhamilton, who worked under the guidance of his teacher Claire Gallagher, came second in the overall Intermediate Category for his product EASY Stand. Faolán’s student enterprise involved producing and selling personalised mobile phone and tablet stands.
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.
There were 85 student businesses in contention across three main categories for the Final in what is Ireland’s largest entrepreneurship programme for second level students. The initiative, funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland and delivered by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities throughout the country, saw over 30,000 students from 500 secondary schools across the country take part.
Joe Lowe, LEO Leitrim Head of Enterprise 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 We see every year that 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 great wave of Irish business leaders and global entrepreneurs emerge. I would like to congratulate our Leitrim winners this year on such an amazing achievement – to receive three national awards is fantastic. Well done to everyone involved.”
The National Final students, who competed across three categories, Junior, Intermediate and Senior, were all in attendance on the day exhibiting their businesses which 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.
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).
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 of the Year for 2024 was “High Lift” from St. Patrick’s Classical School in Navan, Co. Meath. The idea, created by Sean Finnegan and his business Finnegan Fabrication, manufactures portable cranes that can be fitted to the interior of commercial vans to help those in construction and similar industries to lift heavy materials in and out.
The Student Enterprise Programme is funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland and delivered by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities throughout the country. Since the Student Enterprise Programme began in 2003, over 450,000 students have taken part, learning key skills on how to create a business idea, start a business and grow a business.
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.
For further information contact Sheena Cannon, sheena.cannon@leitrimcoco.ie / 086 4401033
STUDENT ENTERPRISE PROGRAMME WINNERS
2025
Junior – Bumblebees, Drumshanbo Vocational College, Leitrim
Intermediate – Suet & Song, St. Kieran’s College, Kilkenny
Senior – Cannon PC, Clonkeen College, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin
2024
Junior – Carry Caman, Presentation Secondary School, Castleisland, Kerry
Intermediate – Esker Timber Creations, Presentation College Athenry, Galway
Senior – High Lift, St. Patrick’s Classical School, Navan, Meath
2023
Junior - Grasper – Drumshanbo Vocational School, Leitrim
Intermediate - Clip Clop Designs – Moyne Community School, Longford
Senior - McCompactors – Roscommon Community College, Roscommon
2022
Junior – Sew Stylish - Brigid’s College, Callan
Intermediate – Earrings by Aoibheann- Loreto College, Dalkey
Senior – Barrelda – St. Patrick’s Classical School, Navan
2021
Junior – Go Green Now – Salerno Secondary School, Galway
Intermediate – T-Snappi – Summerhill College, Sligo
Senior – Coppercase – St. Macartan’s College, Monaghan
2020
Junior – Sofatop – Ballybay Community College, Monaghan
Intermediate – Aim It Board – Loreto College, Dublin City
Senior – Handy Hose – CBS Thurles, Tipperary
2019
Junior – Specrest – Educate Together, Portmarnock
Intermediate – Crios Mhadra – Presentation Secondary, Castleisland, Kerry
Senior – Smooth Remove – Boherbue Comprehensive, North Cork
2018
Junior – Complete Camán – Presentation Secondary School, CastleIsland, Kerry
Intermediate – Lift Arm Assist – CBS Kilkenny
Senior – Abbey Bread – Cistercian College, Roscrea, Offaly
2017
Junior – Daisy’s Pawesome Bowties – Our Lady’s Secondary School, Drogheda
Intermediate – Scott Engine Tables - Colaiste Chill Mhantáin, Rathnew, Wicklow
Senior – ROC Protection – Clonkeen College, Blackrock, Dublin