A trio of teenage entrepreneurs will attempt to do their county proud when they represent Galway at this year’s Student Enterprise Programme National Final next Thursday, May 8, in Mullingar.

Katelyn Hyland from Holy Rosary College, Mountbellew, and Niamh Ryan and Aoife Cleary from High Cross College in Tuam emerged as winners in the Senior and Intermediate Categories respectively from the LEO Galway Student Enterprise Finals.

Katelyn Hyland from Holy Rosary College, Mountbellew established her business idea, Cúl Cards, to take local honours in the Senior Category.

“Cúl Cards is an interactive, Irish card game which aims to promote the use of Irish in the classroom, at home and in daily life!” she explained.

“There are 24 topics per pack and they are all designed with bright colours and vibrant, fun icons to keep everyone interested.

“On the back of the card there is a list of potential answers/prompts associated with each topic. They come in a box with a 30 second timer, and instructions.

“Cúl Cards are ideal for primary and secondary school students. They help prepare primary school students for spoken examinations and boost their confidence when speaking Irish.

“They are versatile and can be used as a game or even just as flashcards to revise different topics. Cúl cards are especially great in the classroom for engaging lessons and healthy competition among classmates!” she added.

Scents Crafts & Co, established by Niamh Ryan and Aoife Cleary from High Cross College in Tuam, will be representing the county In the Intermediate Category at the national final.

“We create scented items, such as various different types of candles, lip balm & hand cream gift sets,” they explained.

“Our unique selling point is having a small surprise in some of our candles, that reveal themselves as you burn the candle. We came up with this idea to make our candles interactive and distinctive.

“We also offer customisable candles, where you can customise the candle size, the colour and also personalise them.

“Breaking away from the candles topic, we also sell clay bead bracelets which you can customise to your preferred colour. To contact customers for these customisable orders, we use our company’s Instagram DM’s,” they added.

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 next Thursday, May 8.

The enterprise education initiative is funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland and delivered by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities throughout the country. The programme supports students to create, design and market their own business, all with the hope of reaching the National Final.

Further information around the Student Enterprise Programme is available from www.studententerprise.ie.

Pictured: Katelyn Hyland from Holy Rosary College, Mountbellew, overall winner of the LEO Galway Student Enterprise Final with her business, Cúl Card, pictured with Caroline McDonagh, Head of Enterprise at LEO Galway and Deputy Mayor of Galway City Cllr Niall McNelis. Katelyn will represent Galway at the National Student Enterprise Finals.