PICTURES | Granard and Moyne set the standard as 250 Longford students participate in County Enterprise Awards Final

Use the Arrows < > above to go through the gallery

Teenage entrepreneurs from Ardscoil Phadraig, Granard and Moyne Community College will represent Longford at this year’s Student Enterprise Programme national finals. The finals, which are making a return to Croke Park for the first time since 2019, are set to take place on Friday, May 5.

The Local Enterprise Office of Longford County Council hosted the Longford County Final on Tuesday, March 21 at the Longford Arms Hotel. An estimated 250 students from eight local schools took part. READ MORE BELOW PHOTO

The Student Enterprise Programme is an 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. In 2021/22 over 25,000 students from almost 500 secondary schools participated.

The programme supports students to create, design and market their own business, all aiming to reach the national finals. The students learn skills that will last a lifetime along the way, such as business planning, market research, selling and teamwork.

Longford winners
In the Junior Category, Bronwyn McGarry, Michael Murtagh, Holly McIntyre and Gavin Murphy from Moyne Community school will represent Longford at the national finals with their business ‘Big Move 2 Big School’. The business has produced a booklet on the transition to secondary school by first year students for first years students.

In the Intermediate Category, Caitlin Morris, also from Moyne Community School, will be representing the county at Croke Park with her business ‘Clip Clop Designs’ which produces bespoke decorative horseshoe gifts.

And in the Senior Category of the competition, Longford will be represented by Erin Flynn and Rachel Higgins from Ardscoil Phadraig, Granard with their business ‘An Crú Capaill’ – another business that is re-using old horseshoes to make beautiful products, like candle holders.

Chief Executive of Longford County Council Paddy Mahon congratulated the students going forward saying, “Our national finalists are excellent ambassadors for the Student Enterprise Programme.

“We wish them the very best of luck in May. I know they will have excellent support from the Local Enterprise Office here at Longford County Council and they have all our full support.”

Head of Enterprise with Longford County Council Michael Nevin praised all Longford students and schools participating in the Student Enterprise Programme. “In what has been a particularly challenging few years for students everywhere, this programme offers them an outlet outside of the usual school demands. It shows that with the right supports and encouragement, anyone can take an idea from the classroom and develop it into a real-life business, learning skills that will last a lifetime along the way. It’s a wonderful platform supporting the entrepreneurs of the next generation.”

The Longford Student Enterprise final was attended by Longford Westmeath TD Deputy Joe Flaherty, Senator Micheál Carrigy, President of Longford Chamber of Commerce Fiona Fenelon and elected members of Longford County Council including Cllr Colin Dalton, Cllr Uruemu Adejinmi, Cllr Mick Cahill and Cllr Martin Monaghan.

The event was also attended by Longford County Council officials Chief Executive Paddy Mahon, Director of Services Barbara Heslin.

Longford has enjoyed significant success over the years in the national competition.

Recent national awards have included Best Endeavour in 2022 for ‘Saoirse’s Bakes and Cakes’ from Moyne Community School; while the Best Commercial Potential in 2021 went to ‘Handy Hooks’ from Ballymahon Vocational School; Best Commercial Potential award 2018 was ‘Reel Easy’ from Moyne Community School and 2nd place in the Senior Category in 2017 for ‘J & S Kitchen Aid’ from Mercy Secondary School in Ballymahon.