Limerick City and County Council extends congrat-ulations to Cathal Sweeney, who won this year’s Senior Business of the Year Award at the Student Enterprise Programme Final held on Thursday in the Mullingar Park Hotel for his business, GLO Hurling.
The ‘Glo Ball’ was created and designed by the Transition Year student from Mungret Comm-unity College, using a phosphorescent material that glows in the dark. The ball was created for players who desired to train in the longer and darker winter months, but who had no access to floodlighting.
The ball is paired with a UV light that helps to maintain a long-lasting glow, which is stronger and has greater visibility than a torch.
He remembered having glow in the dark pyjamas when he was younger and wondered if this could be transferred to a sliotar and this was the starting point of how he created Glo Hurling.
This award follows on from Cathal’s success in Limerick Local Enterprise Office (LEO) initiatives: the Limerick Student Christmas Market in December; and the Student Enterprise Pro-gramme County Final in March, where he took home first place in both.
The enterprise 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, supports students to create, design and market their own business, all with the hope of reaching the National Finals.
Mayor of Limerick, John Moran congratulated Cath-al on his achievement: “Cathal’s success is a wonderful example of the ambition, creativity and ability that is thriving among our young people across Limerick. This award reflects Cathal’s talent, dedication and hard work to such a simple yet effective idea for our young hurlers to keep honing their craft. We shouldn’t forget that it’s a proud moment too for Mungret College, our Local Enterprise Office in Limerick and everyone who is supporting young entrepreneurs reach their material in our city and county.”
Head of Enterprise, Limerick City and County Council, Mike Cantwell said: “This is a proud day for student enterprise in Limerick. We would like to congratulate Cathal and his family on winning this national award. Each year, the Student Enterprise Pro-gramme supports over 30,000 students nationally in developing real business ideas and practical skills, and Cathal’s achievement shows the impact that can have.”
Alongside Cathal, Limerick had two more winners at the national finals. Malachy Wrenn and Aron O’Connor from Pet Slipper at Desmond College won the innovation award in the junior category.
In the Intermediate Cate-gory, Nell McMahon of Golf Align and attending Gaelcholáiste Uí Chonba won the Innovation Award.
To find out more about the awards or the supports available for new or expanding businesses in Limerick visit www.localenterprise.ie/Limerick.
Further information around the Student Enterprise Programme is available from www.studententerprise.ie and by searching #studenten terprise on social media.