Local Enterprise Office Louth confirms that winning teenage entrepreneurs from Dundalk and Drogheda, will represent county at National Final of Student Enterprise Programme

Eleven teenage entrepreneurs from three local schools have won a place representing Louth at the Student Enterprise Programme National Finals in Croke Park on Friday, May 3^rd.

Every September through Local Enterprise Office Louth, entrepreneurial secondary school students begin their business journey as they are encouraged to research, set-up and run their own real-world businesses.

The enterprise education initiative, funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland and delivered by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities, is the most successful student enterprise programme of kind in the country. An estimated 26,000 students from 490 schools around the country begin their entrepreneurial journey every year with the help of their teachers, student enterprise co-ordinators and Local Enterprise Office.

The students were all competing at the Louth Final on 5^th March, which was held at the Carrickdale Hotel. An estimated 1100 students from 17 schools took part in the annual programme locally.

In the Junior Category, the student representing Louth at the National Finals in Croke Park is: Sarah Byrne from The Locker Doctor at Dundalk Grammar School.

In the Intermediate Category, Isabel O’Toole, Julie Greene, Eimear Brennan, Aoibhinn Comer and Niamh Cummins of Movie Night Delightsat Sacred Heart School, Drogheda will be representing the county in Croke Park.

In the Senior Category of the competition, Louth will be represented on May 3^rd by Alanna Tinnelly, Amy Ward, Ciara Sharkey, Fausta Razmaite and Sarah White from The Bin Bungee at Coláiste Rís, Dundalk.

The County has a successful track record in the student enterprise competition, including Makes Cents from Sacred Heart School, Drogheda who won the Best Commercial Potential Award in the Intermediate Category at the National Finals in May 2018.

Thomas McEvoy, Head of Enterprise, of Local Enterprise Office Louth congratulated the students, saying “We have a very successful student enterprise programme here in Louth, with over 1100 students from 17 local schools taking part this year. Our national finalists are excellent ambassadors for the programme and we wish them the very best of luck in Croke Park on May 3^rd.”

He continued: “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”.

Speaking at the County Final, Liam Reilly, Cathaoirleach of Louth County Council, commended the students attending the County Final on their hard work and the high quality of the business proposals on display, saying “we hope the programme has given all a positive flavour of enterprise and entrepreneurship” before extending best wishes for “what looks like a very bright future for all”.

The local students will be competing against hundreds of other student entrepreneurs from all over Ireland in Croke Park at the Annual Student Enterprise Programme National Finals on May 3^rd. 

Further information around the Student Enterprise Programme is available from www.studententerprise.ie and by searching #studententerprise on social media.

Names of winning enterprises

About the Student Enterprise Programme (studententerprise.ie)

The Student Enterprise Programme is co-ordinated by the Local Enterprise Offices and involves over 26,000 students from 490 secondary schools every year. It runs from September to May and the 2018/2019 National Final takes place on Friday, May 3^rd, 2019 in Dublin’s Croke Park.                                                                               

1. / #studententerprise / @StudentEntProg

The Local Enterprise Offices are co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Regional Development Fund 2014-2020.