Gaelscoil Durlas Eile Win At Junior Entrepreneur Showcase
Creativity, hard graft and willingness to invest their own hard-earned cash were the hallmarks of the primary school Entrepreneurs who took part in the Junior Entrepreneur Programme All Ireland Showcase Day at the RDS in Dublin yesterday May 20th.
Five and half thousand children from thirty counties arrived by bus to the RDS to display their classroom projects which have created an astonishing profit of €198,000 from sales of €320,000 since the start of the year. It’s the tenth year of the programme which is headed by entrepreneur Jerry Kennelly and sponsored by his company Tweak, supported by other entrepreneurs in their localities throughout Ireland.
Pupils from Gaelscoil Durlas Eile in Thurles, won the ‘Top Team’ award. Their product ‘Get Up and Go’, is a bi-lingual boardgame aimed at keeping the whole family active. They achieved a total income of over €2700, with €700 of that being profit.
The long journey to Dublin was rewarded with an exciting day with a chance to see the stars – Dragon’s Den star and East Coast Bakehouse Co-Founder Alison Cowzer interviewed a bevy of entrepreneurs including David McKernan who recently sold his company Java Republic for €30m. Medical testing entrepreneur Dr. Ann Shortt of Full Health Medical, Eva Carri of Girlcrew, Caroline Keeling of Keelings Fruit and Ray McManus Sportsfile.comwere among those who shared their secrets with the budding entrepreneurs.
RTE’s Marty Morrissey, along with a bevy of RTE stars including Miriam O’Callaghan, David McCullough and Nuala Carey brought glitz to the affair as the 220 classes of children (from the 600 which participated in the programme) waited to see if they were among the prizewinners.
Teacher Fiona Santry of Castlemartyr National School’s charges won ‘Class of the Year’ for a creative business called ‘GalackTyco Trading Cards’. This set of cards, which sold for €2. The back story revolved around a space age story about the GalackTyco galaxy created by the pupils, along with a wide range of planets and warring characters seeking control of the galaxy.
Every pupil invested in the venture and they finally netted a profit of €717 from sales of €1,118
The most profitable winner was a 308 page Quiz book called ‘Beat the Quiz Master by Scoil Na Mbraithre in Tuam, Co. Galway, which included 3,000 questions for children and adults. This mammoth publishing task created a profit of €8,799 from €12,000 sales.
|
Award |
Product Name |
|
Teacher |
School |
Address |
Sales |
Profit |
|
Genius Product |
Mama-G’s Sting Solution Kit |
Colour-coded plasters containing customised remedies for different types of stings, |
Cranait Fahy |
St Anthony’s NS |
Ballinlough, Cork, ROI |
€350 |
€200 |
|
Financial Wizards |
Beat the Quiz Master |
For their fun and colourful quiz book that is designed for both adults and children – which made a whopping €8799 euros profit, |
Aidan Burke |
Scoil Na Mbraithre |
Tuam, Galway, ROI |
€12,000 |
€8,799 |
|
Creative Pioneers |
Detail Bracelets |
This class successfully designed and launched bracelets that store important medical information using QR codes |
Ellen Costigan |
Scoil Bheinín Naofa Cailiní |
Balsaran, Duleek, Co. Meath |
€2,070 |
€1,706 |
|
Community Champions |
CHATTERBOXES |
Creative and witty cards to encourage conversation – and reduce the overuse of phones and tablets |
Cathryn Girvan |
St Mary’s Primary School |
16 LISNAGOWAN ROAD, DUNGANNON, TYRONE, NI, BT70 3LH |
€390 |
€255 |
|
Change Agents |
Re-Wrappers |
Attractive and eco-friendly, re-usable food wrappings called RE-WRAPPINGS, |
Aileen O’Connor |
An Spioraid Naomh Cailini |
Curraheen Road, Bishopstown, Cork, Ireland |
€976 |
€824 |
|
Class of the Year |
GalackTyco Trading Cards |
|
Fiona Santry |
Castlemartyr National School |
Gortnahomnamore, Castlemartyr, Cork, ROI, P25FK64 |
€1,118 |
€717 |
|
Top Teams |
Get Up and Go – Bí ag Bogadh |
An Activity-based bilingual board game which is designed to improve fitness – while having fun! |
Eibhlín Ní Chuinneagáin |
Gaelscoil Durlas Eile |
Durlas, Tipperary, ROI, E41A668 |
€2,750 |
€655 |
|
Marketing Gurus |
Coffee Scrub |
Lavender-scented hand and body scrub made from re-cycled coffee from a local restaurant. |
Alan Walsh |
Naomh Padraig Mixed |
Baile Haol, Kilkenny, ROI, R95EK00 |
€1,400 |
€1,000 |
|
Star Submission |
President’s of Ireland ruler |
A ruler featuring images of every President of Ireland |
Elaine Lyons |
Shountrade National School |
Shountrade, Adare, Limerick, ROI |
€2,000 |
€1,280 |
Winner of the Bright Spark award Conor Bradfield, St. Mary’s Central School, Enniskean, Co. Cork for his High Tech Dog Kennel
