Local Enterprise Office Tipperary have announced that teenage entrepreneurs from CBS Thurles, Coláiste Mhuire Co-Ed Thurles and Patrician Presentation Fethard will represent Tipperary at this year’s Student Enterprise Programme National Final on Thursday 9th May.
The students all took part in the Tipperary Final on Friday 23rd February 2024, which was held at the TUS Thurles Campus. An estimated 2,200 students from twenty seven (27) schools took part in the annual programme locally.
The enterprise education 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 28,000 students from just under 500 secondary schools across the country take part in 2022 / 2023. The programme supports students to create, design and market their own business, all with the hope of reaching the National Final.
In the Junior Category, the student representing Tipperary at the National Final is: Harry Ryan from HR Agri Photography at Patrician Presentation Fethard.
In the Intermediate Category, Harry Butler and Padraic O’Halloran, H&P Engineering, Coláiste Mhuire Co-Ed Thurles, will be representing the county at the Final.
In the Senior Category of the competition, Tipperary will be represented on May 9th by Seán Brett from Tankit™ at CBS Thurles.
Coláiste Mhuire Co-Ed Thurles picked up the Overall School Award on the day, congratulations Ms. Bergin, Ms. Molumby and Aine O’Brien. A big thank you to Coláiste Mhuire students who helped us on the day keeping everyone on time and where they were supposed to be.
The overall category winners were Intellectual Property Award Stick It, Anna Mai Condon and Clodagh Desmond, Loreto Clonmel, LEO SMART Business Award, O’Grady Laser Crafts, Ronan O’Grady, Coláiste Mhuire Co-Ed Thurles, Technology Award, Nonctu, Aaron Dee, Benas Astrauskas, Colm Fingegan, CBS Thurles, Innovation Award, Store & Score, Tom Crampton, Dara Faherty, Conor Harkin, Liam Britt, Daniel Dunne Buckley, Paddy Hoare of Our Lady’s Templemore.
The AIB Entrepreneurial Award went to Speedway X, Paddy & Seán, Rockwell College.
Sustainability awards sponsored by Tipperary Green Business Network winners were, Junior Category, White Candles for all Seasons, Aoibhinn Kennedy, Emma O’Brien, Isobel Slevin, St. Mary’s Nenagh, Intermediate Category, Paw & Order, Paul Bohan & Adrian McCormack, St. Josephs Borrisoleigh and Senior Category, The Horse Shoe Lads Philip Mason & Jack Parrott, Coláiste Dun Iascaigh Cahir.
Special guests at the Tipperary Final included Cathaoirleach Cllr. Ger Darcy, Head of Enterprise Anthony Fitzgerald, Amanda Jolliffe Dream Space STEM Leader and PR Pam Social Media Host/TV Presenter and Winner Best Documentary City of Angels Film Festivel 2023, Cannes World Film, DISFMF.
Last years awards won by local secondary schools have included students Kate McKenna, Orla Hayes, Sarah Brett, Issy Carr, Ellen O’Mara under the guidance of their teacher, Ms. Sharon Hynes from Ursuline Secondary School Thurles win Most Commercial Potential for their business Phone K.O.S.I.E in the very competitive Senior Category.
Colaiste Dun Iascaigh’s Rian O’Keeffe under the stewardship of his teacher Martina Harahill won 1st prize nationally in the ‘My Entrepreneurial Journey’ category.
CBS Thurles Premier Woodworking Padraic Callanan and Sean Bergin were awarded 2nd place nationally in the Intermediate Category. Their teacher Fergus O’Brien is no stranger to success in the programme when his team Handy Hose won 1st place in 2020 in the Senior category.
Speaking at the county final, Anthony Fitzgerald of Local Enterprise Office Tipperary congratulated the students, saying “We have a very successful student enterprise programme here in Tipperary, with over 2,200 students from 27 local schools taking part this year. Our national finalists are excellent ambassadors for the programme and we wish them the very best of luck on the 9th May, and we will all hope to be there to support them. What our students are learning from the programme is that with the right supports and encouragement, they can take an idea from the classroom and develop it into a real-life business. The skills they learn along the way, such as business planning, market research, selling and team-work, will help them become more entrepreneurial throughout their future careers”.
The local students will be competing against hundreds of other student entrepreneurs from all over Ireland at the Student Enterprise Programme National Final, taking place in the Mullingar Park Hotel on the 9th May.
Since the Student Enterprise Programme began in 2003, over 380,000 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 also has new range of online resources for 2023 / 2024 at www.StudentEnterprise.ie, which will feature regular blogs and houses a full range of Student Enterprise resources for students and teachers.
Further information around the Student Enterprise Programme is available from www.studententerprise.ie and by searching #studententerprise on social media.
ENDS
