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 Colaiste Abhainn Ri 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 brought together students from Junior, Intermediate and Senior categories, each showcasing businesses developed, launched and successfully traded through the Student Enterprise Programme. Judged by business leaders, entrepreneurs, enterprise agency representatives and mentors, students demonstrated creativity, innovation and strong commercial skills across a diverse range of products and services.
Category winners included GloHurling by Cathal Sweeney of Mungret Community College, representing LEO Limerick (Senior); Smart Shovel by Aodhan Finegan and Leon Egan of St. Patrick’s Classical School, Navan, representing LEO Meath (Intermediate); and I Can by Paddy Lynch and Tom McDonald of St. Mary’s CBS, Portlaoise, representing LEO Laois (Junior).
Student Enterprise of the Year 2025 was Cannon PC from Clonkeen College, Dún Laoghaire. Since 2003, over 500,000 students have participated nationwide.
