NATIONAL AWARD FOR KILKENNY STUDENTS AT ENTERPRISE FINALS
IRELAND’S FINEST YOUNG STUDENT ENTREPRENEURS CELEBRATED AT NATIONAL FINALS
Students from Kilkenny have taken 3rd prize in Junior Category at this year’s Student Enterprise Programme National Finals. The Finals of the Local Enterprise Office initiative took place last Thursday in Mullingar.
Supported by Local Enterprise Office Kilkenny, the students from Coláiste Abhainn Rí won 3rd Place in the Junior Category. The winning students were: Megan Bryan, Ruth Moylan, Keira Lyons, Aimee Hickey, Katie Walsh, who worked under the guidance of their teacher, Emer Hickey. Their student enterprise was called: ‘Recharge’d’, which is a natural gel that boosts energy, rehydrates and aids recovery after exercise.
The event was hosted by broadcasters Rick O’Shea and Ruth Scott, and they were joined during the ceremony by Alan Dillon, T.D., Minister of State for Employment, Small Business and Retail to announce the winners across the three main categories on the day.
Alan Dillon, T.D., Minister of State for Employment, Small Business and Retail, said; “This is one for the great days for Irish entrepreneurship in the country. We get a chance to see almost 90 businesses started by secondary school students from across the country who have all been shortlisted for the finals and that in itself is an amazing achievement from the 30,000 pupils who started last September.
“These are students who have come up with brilliant ideas and forged them into businesses, making sales and understanding and learning the skills it takes to become an entrepreneur. No matter what path they choose in life those skills will stand by them but we hope that many of the students we see today will go on to become the start-up leaders and entrepreneurs of the future in this country.”
There were 88 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 Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, 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.
Aileen McGrath, Head of Enterprise, Local Enterprise Office Kilkenny said;“Year on year the Student Enterprise Programme continues to showcase the very best of innovation and entrepreneurship amongst our secondary school students. 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 25/26 we hope to see some of our next great wave of Kilkenny business leaders and global entrepreneurs emerge.”
The National Final students, who competed across three categories, Junior, Intermediate and Senior, were all 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: ‘GloHurling’ set up by Cathal Sweeney from Mungret Community College, representing Local Enterprise Office Limerick (Senior Category Winner), ‘Smart Shovel’, a business set up by Aodhan Finegan and Leon Egan from St. Patrick’s Classical School Navan representing Local Enterprise Office Meath (Intermediate Category Winner), and ‘I Can’ set up by Paddy Lynch and Tom McDonald from St. Mary’s CBS, Portlaoise representing Local Enterprise Office Laois (Junior Category Winner).
The second Student Enterprise Programme Alumni Award was also presented to Jordan Casey Co-Founder and CEO of Mindpath, a digital mental health service focused on ADHD and Autism. Casey took part in the Student Enterprise Programme in first year of secondary school with his business Casey Games and he was Europe’s youngest IOS developer when he launched his first game on iTunes as a teenager.
The Student Enterprise of the Year for 2025 was “Cannon PC” from Clonkeen College, Dun Laoghaire in County Dublin. The start-up, created by student Jack Cannon, built upcycled high speed gaming PCs from old PCs being disposed of in office clear outs and for general sale online. Cannon PC achieved €40,000 in sales while also saving 1,000kgs of e-waste every year.
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 500,000 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:
LEO Kilkenny, call 056-7752662 or email info@leo.kilkennycoco.ie
STUDENT ENTERPRISE PROGRAMME WINNERS
2026
Junior - I Can, St. Mary’s CBS in Portlaoise
Intermediate – Smart Shovel, St. Patrick’s Classical School in Navan
Senior – GLOHurling, Mungret Community College, Limerick
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