Donegal students get ready for this year’s Student Enterprise Programme finals

Students from Errigal College, Letterkenny and Carndonagh Community College will represent Donegal at this year’s Student Enterprise Programme National Finals on Friday, May 5 at Croke Park, Dublin.

Participants from schools across Donegal took part in the county final which was held during Local Enterprise Week at the Clanree Hotel, Letterkenny.

A total of 897 students from 15 schools took part in the annual programme locally.

The enterprise education initiative, funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland and delivered by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities throughout the country, saw over 25,000 students from just under 500 secondary schools across the country take part in 2021 / 2022.

The programme supports students to create, design and market their own businesses all with the hope of reaching the national finals.

The winner of the senior category of the competition was Matthias Uhlich of Errigal College, Letterkenny with his business, Local Lino Art. 

In the junior category, the winning students were Jessica McLaughlin, Aoife McDermott and Emily O’Boyle from Carndonagh Community School with their business Aoife’s Rings and Things.

The winners of the intermediate category were St Columba’s College students Indira Tinney and Ryan McDermott with their business Resin & Co.

In the My Entrepreneurial Journey category – which is open to junior and intermediate students – the winner was Aiden Carragher of Rosses Community School with his business Green Airways.

Special guests at the Donegal County Final included cathaoirleach of Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District, Cllr Donal Mandy Kelly and judges Nicola McLaughlin of Sequin Cinderella, Shannon Porter of The Milk Bar and Martin O’Reilly of O’Reilly Sports.

Donegal has had a successful track record in the Student Enterprise Competition. Recent awards won by local secondary schools have included Cathal Cannon, St Columba’s College Stranorlar, who was one of the five finalists at last year’s final of the Student Enterprise Programme in the Helix.

Cathal pitched his enterprise Sports Injury Response, an app that guides coaches and managers on how to treat an injury on the sideline while waiting on professional medical assistance.

Further information around the Student Enterprise Programme is available from www.studententerprise.ie and by searching #studententerprise on social media.