Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Students Ready to Take on National Competition

Local Enterprise Office Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown (DLR) have announced that teenage entrepreneurs from Holy Child Killiney and St Andrew’s College will represent Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown at this year’s Student Enterprise Programme National Final in May.  The students competed in the DLR final in February, with an estimated 650 students from 17 schools participating in the annual programme locally.

Winners at the local final were:

• In the Junior Category are Lucy Doolin, Amelia Doyle, Amber Smith from Loreto Abbey, Dalkey. 
• In the Intermediate Category, Max Grogan, from “Peaceful Pal”.
• In the Senior Category is Amelia Lawless McCarthy from “My Pet Pal” also from Holy Child School Killiney.

Special guests at the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown final included Cllr Denis O’Callaghan, Cathaoirleach, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. DLR has enjoyed considerable success in the past at National level. In 2022 “Earrings by Aoibheann” from Loreto Abbey Secondary School, Dalkey took top spot in the National Finals. 

Speaking at the county final, Owen Laverty of Local Enterprise Office Dún Laoghaire Rathdown congratulated the students, saying: 

“We have a very successful student enterprise programme here in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, with over 650 students from 17 local schools taking part this year. Our national finalists are excellent ambassadors for the programme, and we wish them the very best of luck on the 9th May, and we will all hope to be there to support them.  What our students are learning from the programme is that with the right supports and encouragement, they can take an idea from the classroom and develop it into a real-life business. The skills they learn along the way, such as business planning, market research, selling and team-work, will help them become more entrepreneurial throughout their future careers”.

The local students will be competing against hundreds of other student entrepreneurs from all over Ireland at the Student Enterprise Programme National Final, taking place in the Mullingar Park Hotel on the 9th May.  

Since the Student Enterprise Programme began in 2003, over 380,000 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 also has new range of online resources for 2023 / 2024 at www.StudentEnterprise.ie, which will feature regular blogs and houses a full range of Student Enterprise resources for students and teachers.    

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