A SKIBBEREEN teenager who combined storytelling and tech to support local businesses has been named runner-up in the national finals of the Student Enterprise Programme.

Micheál McCarthy, a first-year student from Mount Saint Michael Rosscarbery, last week achieved second place in the Junior Category at the highly-regarded and competitive competition.

Representing the Local Enterprise Office Cork North and West, Micheál impressed judges with his business, West Cork Skies – Moments in Time, a unique enterprise combining drone photography, heritage storytelling, and digital innovation to support local communities and independent businesses.

What began with Micheál investing his Confirmation money in a drone has grown into a meaningful business focused on preserving stories and supporting local enterprise.

Alongside creating mounted aerial prints of West Cork landscapes and producing Stories of Our Land heritage shorts, Micheál recently launched Shop Stories, a QR-based storytelling platform designed to help independent businesses share their history and connect with customers in a meaningful way.

His first customer was John O’Driscoll Motor Factors in Skibbereen, whose video was shown to judges as part of the national competition.

The concept has already gained strong local support, with many more businesses signing up in Skibbereen as part of the first rollout.

Micheál said: ‘I’m delighted to have represented West Cork and Mount Saint Michael at the national finals. I started this business because I love West Cork and wanted to capture it through photography, but after speaking to customers I realised that every place, farm, and business has a story worth telling. 

‘That led me to work with farmers to create Stories of Our Land, preserving family and farming history for future generations. From there, I began thinking about how storytelling could also help independent businesses, many of which are under pressure despite being such an important part of our towns and villages.

‘Shop Stories helps businesses share their journey through short videos linked to QR codes displayed in their shop windows, allowing locals and tourists alike to better understand and support them. I believe small independent businesses will always have something online corporations cannot compete with — real people and real stories.’

Micheál’s business stood out nationally for its combination of storytelling, technology, heritage preservation, and community impact, with judges praising both the originality of the concept and its potential to scale nationally through the newly secured ShopStories.ie platform.

Micheál paid special thanks to teacher Ms. Laura Carolan for all her support and encouragement throughout the programme and all at Mount Saint Michael Secondary School.

The Student Enterprise Programme is Ireland’s largest student entrepreneurship initiative, involving over 30,000 secondary school students annually and encouraging young people to develop real business ideas, products, and services.