Two students from Tipperary win the Fóroige Youth Entrepreneur of the Year award

Two 16-year-old students from Loreto Secondary School in Clonmel have been crowned the winners of the Foróige NFTE Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2024. Annamai Condon and Clodagh Desmond, the brains behind the enterprise Stick It, emerged victorious after competing against over 7,000 young entrepreneurs from all over Ireland.

Stick It, a product designed by the Loreto students, is a handy device for holding hurleys or hockey sticks that can easily latch onto schoolbags, sports gear bags, or bikes for convenient transportation. The duo expressed their excitement and gratitude for the win, with Annamai Condon stating, “We are absolutely delighted, the other businesses in the category were brilliant, we’re shocked to have won! We want to thank the judges and everyone who supported us along the way.”

The national final saw the top eight young entrepreneurs in the ‘Best Business’ category pitch their ideas to a panel of expert judges. In addition to Stick It winning the overall award, two other categories were recognized, with Portanos winning ‘Best Innovation’ and The Little Lost Collection winning ‘Best Social Enterprise’.

All three winning businesses will now represent Ireland at the European Youth Entrepreneur Awards in Berlin later this year. The Foróige NFTE program, which the participants completed, involves approximately 40 hours of learning and enables young people to develop their business ideas and trade in the real world.

Chairperson of Foróige, Odhrán O’Mahony, highlighted the life-changing impact of the program, stating, “It lights a spark that changes the way young people think about themselves and their own capability that is quite remarkable.” The success of Stick It and the other winners showcases the entrepreneurial spirit and innovation of young people in Ireland.