National awards for Meath students at Enterprise finals

Students from Meath took the top prizes in this year’s Student Enterprise Programme National Finals which took place last week in Mullingar.

Supported by Local Enterprise Office Meath, the students from St. Patrick’s Classical School won the Overall Winner in the Senior Category and the Social Media & Marketing award in the Junior Category .

The winning student in the Senior Category was Seán Finnegan, with Finnegan’s Fabrication / High Lift , a portable crane to load and unload a van.

In the Junior Category were Cian Healy and Sean Hughes from CS Hurls , mini hurls made from recycled pallets, who worked under the guidance of their teacher, Gareth McMahon.

There were 81 student businesses in contention across three main categories for the Final in what is Ireland’s largest entrepreneurship programme for second level students.

Meath County Council and it’s Cathaoirleach, Cllr Tommy Reilly, made a special presentation to the St Patrick’s Classical School trio.

“I want to congratulate Séan, Cian and Sean for their incredible achievements at the National Student Enterprise Awards and it is only right and just that Meath County Council recognise those achievements,” said Cllr Tommy Reilly.

“It is just amazing to see Séan, Cian and Sean come out on top when you consider that over 28,000 students took part nationally. It is a huge achievement to even make it to the finals but to win, is even better again. I hope the boys are very proud of their achievements; they really are a credit to their parents and to their school.

"A special mention also for their teacher Gareth McMahon, who is an instrumental figure in St Pat’s when it comes to enterprise,” added Cllr Reilly.

Joe English, Head of Enterprise Meath LEO 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 23/24 we hope to see some of our next great wave of Irish business leaders and global entrepreneurs emerge.”

Peter Burke, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, who took part in the ceremony, congratulated the students; “Congratulations to everyone who made it to the National Finals. With over 28,000 students taking part in this year’s programme, it is a huge achievement to make it to the Finals and shows a real flair for entrepreneurship. Some amazing businesses and entrepreneurs have come from this programme – the majority did not win any prizes but are still running successful businesses today. So, to those of you who won something today, a huge congratulations, but most importantly, to you all, this is the first step on the path, you are the entrepreneurs and business leaders of the future and everyone here today is excited to see what you do next.”

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 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 400,000 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.