Tipperary Student Enterprise Awards 2016 Winners

Colaiste Phobal Roscrea and Our Lady’s Secondary School Templemore win the top prizes at the Tipperary Student Enterprise Awards.

Following the County Final of the Student Enterprise Awards which took place at LIT Thurles on Friday last, two Tipperary Schools will progress to represent their County in three categories at  the National Finals taking place in Croke Park on April 20 next.  Over 240 students from across the County competed in the competition which began in second level schools last September and initially involved almost 1800 students. Co-ordinated by the Local Enterprise Office Tipperary, the competition is the most successful programme of its kind in the country with up to 17,000 participants.  Colaiste Phobal Roscrea swept the boards winning both the Senior and Intermediate Awards with Our Lady’s Secondary School in Templemore winning the Junior Award. Jack Kirwan with his innovative water sterilising unit won the Senior Award with Tadgh Nash and his business called 550 Paracord Bracelets scooping the Intermediate award. The Junior category winner was Aisling Meehan with her business Clawbag, a gear bag with a hook for holding hurleys.

This year’s awards were presented by the Cathaoirleach of Tipperary County Council, Seamus Hanafin who delivered the welcome address. Addressing the packed auditorium, Cathaoirleach Seamus Hanafin said that “in Tipperary we have great Entrepreneurs, we just don’t have enough of them. That is why Tipperary County Council through the Local Enterprise Office is seeking to support more young people to select entrepreneurship as a career choice. The Student Enterprise Awards programme plays an important part in this. Nationally more than 17,000 students from 370 secondary schools research and run their own businesses and here in Tipperary today we have 93 of the best showcasing their ideas. By supporting the aspiring entrepreneurs of today the Local Enterprise Office is fostering the job creators of tomorrow”.

Rita Guinan Head of Enterprise who was MC at the event commented “that through these Awards, secondary school students learn important new business and teamwork skills in the classroom that will prepare them for an enterprising future, after school. The educational programme offers students a chance to research, set-up and run their own real-life enterprise, helping to foster an enterprise culture throughout the county”.

During the day in addition to showcasing their businesses Students got an opportunity to hear from Mr. Colin Baker of Back From The Future. Colin appears regularly on Tv3’s Ireland AM and is the Sunday Business Post resident Technology journalist. He outlined for the Students the dream he and his brother had to run their own Technology Store – a place where they could share their love of technology with others, helping people to enjoy and understand it as they did and how they brought that dream to fruition.

The competition carried a prize fund of €3,000 at local level in addition to specially commissioned awards.  The senior competition was judged by Mr Gearoid O’Rourke of A&C Chemicals Ltd,  Ms Aileen McGrath LEO Westmeath and Ms Camelia Shanahan of Meli Bondre who is also President of Network North Tipperary while the Junior and Intermediate categories were adjudicated by Mr Thos Hayes former CEO of the CEB & Ms Patsy Cooney of LIT Thurles.  

LIT Thurles, proved to be an ideal venue for this scale of event combining extensive exhibition space with top class conference facilities creating an energy that on the day that was palpable.