Historic win for Longford finalist at National Student Enterprise Awards

Historic win for Longford finalist at National Student Enterprise Awards
Moyne Community School’s Caitlyn Morris takes Intermediate Category

Press Release
9 May 2023

A student from Moyne Community School, County Longford has created history by winning first prize in the Intermediate Category at the Student Enterprise Programme National Finals for 2023 which took place at Croke Park on Friday, 5 May. This is the first year that Longford has had a main category winner at national level.

Supported by Local Enterprise Office Longford, Caitlin worked under the guidance of her teacher Padraig Doherty to beat off competition from 26 other entries in the intermediate category with her mini enterprise named: ‘Clip Clop Designs’. The sustainable business repurposes horseshoes to make colourful decorations. Caitlin impressed the judges with a real business acumen and a commitment to excellence that will make her one to watch in the future.

A total of 82 student businesses competed across three main categories for the final in what is Ireland’s largest entrepreneurship programme for second level students. The 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 25,000 students from over 500 secondary schools across the country take part.

Longford was also represented in the Junior Category by Bronwyn McGarry, Michael Murtagh, Holly McIntyre and Gavin Murphy also from Moyne Community School; and in the Senior Category by Erin Flynn and Rachel Higgins from Ardscoil Phadraig, Granard.

Minister of State for Employment Affairs and Retail Business Neale Richmond TD was guest of honour at the awards. He thanked and congratulated all studentsinvolved, commenting on the amazing array of businesses on display, “This is the first step on the path, you are the entrepreneurs and business leaders of the future and everyone here today is excited to see what you do next.”

Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council Cllr Turlough McGovern paid tribute to Caitlin, her teachers, parents and the team at Longford Local Enterprise Office on the win. “On behalf of Longford County Council, I wish to extend my congratulations to Caitlin, to Moyne Community School and to the Longford Local Enterprise Office team for their dedication to helping students by managing the Student Enterprise Programme so well, year after year.” 

Chief Executive of Longford County Council Paddy Mahon also welcomed the historic win, “This county has already proved itself to be a wonderful breeding ground for entrepreneurs. Well done to Caitlin for taking that one step further to win out the main Intermediate Category at national level – the future is certainly bright.”

Head of Enterprise, Longford Local Enterprise Office Michael Nevin said he was delighted to see Longford winning one of the main prizes for the first time. “Caitlin is a very positive role model for her peers and will no doubt inspire many others to get involved in entrepreneurship. The real-life skills involved in setting up and running a mini-enterprise will stand to students in the future regardless of what path they decide to pursue.”

Over the course of the Programme, each student enterprise was challenged with creating, setting up and running their own business and they were assessed by a high-level judging panel on the quality of the product, marketing and sales presentations, keeping accounts, and production of a business report.

The three main category winners on the day were: ‘McCompactors’ from Roscommon Community College, (Senior Category Winner), ‘’Clip Clop Designs” from Moyne Community School (Intermediate Category Winner), and ‘Grasper’ from Drumshanbo Vocational (Junior Category Winner).

Longford has had 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; Best Commercial Potential in 2021 for ‘Handy Hooks’ from Ballymahon Vocational School; Best Commercial Potential award 2018 for ‘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.

Since the Student Enterprise Programme began in 2003, over 350,000 students have taken part, learning key skills on how to create a business idea, start and grow a business.  

For local information, check out LocalEnterprise.ie/Longford or follow Local Enterprise Office, Longford on social media.  You can also check out www.StudentEnterprise.ie