Galway teenagers from schools in Salthill and Gort are preparing for the national final of Ireland’s largest entrepreneurial programme for secondary level students next week.
The Student Enterprise Programme, an initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices and now in its 21st year, has announced the 82 Finalists that will compete across three categories at the National Finals next month.
In the Junior Category, the student representing Galway at the national finals is Orlaith Connors from Gort Community School, who presented her enterprise, Orlaith’s Derrybrien Honey.
In the Intermediate Category, Charlie Carroll, Adam Forde, Aaron Keane, Rian Coyle, Jack Nolan from Coláiste Einde in Salthill will be representing the county at the finals with their business, Galway Engravers.
In the Senior Category of the competition, Galway will be represented on May 18 by Thoor Fire Pits, a student enterprise set up by Jack Losty, Diarmuid O’Fathaigh, Adam Diskin, Sean Hill from Gort Community School with the support of their teachers Marie McNamara and Linda Tubridy.
Michael Nevin, Chair of the Local Enterprise Offices’ Enterprise Education Committee, said that there is another fantastic selection of finalists for this year’s programme.
“Across all three categories we are seeing some really innovative thinking and an ambition to solve societal and environmental issues through entrepreneurship, which is really heartening for the future,” he said.
“We’re looking forward to seeing them all at the Finals in Croke Park and for those that didn’t make the finals this year they will have learned some invaluable skills and will hopefully bring that spark of entrepreneurship into later life.”
An initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices to encourage entrepreneurship in secondary schools, the Student Enterprise Programme has seen over 350,000 secondary school students take part in the programme since it first began.
