St Brogans Little Treats sweet success in Croke Park

Lucy Hayes and Julia Chromick with class teacher Rachel Shaughuessy and Michael Hanley, Local Enterprise Office.

SECOND Year students from St Brogan’s College in Bandon have taken second place in the Intermediate category of this year’s National Student Enterprise Awards held in Croke Park.
This is the first year that students from West Cork entered the Intermediate category – which is open to second and third year students.
The two-member team of Julia Chromick and Lucy Hayes set up their business ‘Little Treats’ which saw them create a range of artisan sweet treats.
The Bandon duo beat off stiff competition from over 20 other teams in their category from all over the country who qualified in their region to represent their Enterprise Board.
Co-ordinated by all 31 Local Enterprise Offices across Ireland, the 13th Annual Student Enterprise Awards National Final saw 300 student entrepreneurs showcase 74 different businesses, across junior, intermediate and senior categories. Over 17,000 students from 370 schools take part in the programme every year.
Speaking of the award, Michael Hanley, head of enterprise with the local LEO, said they were delighted for the young Bandon students who represented their school and the West Cork region so well in Dublin. ‘This is the third such national award received by students from West Cork in the past five years, which is no mean feat and certainly bodes well for the future of entrepreneurship in the region,’ he said. He also thanked teacher Rachel Shaughnessy and the staff at St Brogan’s for their dedication to the students in the run-up to the finals. And he said the senior finalists from Bantry with their ‘Scents of Home’ were also to be commended for doing West Cork proud in their respective category. He wished Bantry duo Emma Spillane and Hannah Kelly from Colaiste Pobail Bheanntraí well with their fledgling business.
Also speaking of the final event, Christine Duggan, schools programme co-ordinator for West Cork said: ‘It has been a pleasure to work with all the participating West Cork schools throughout the year and although it is wonderful to take a major prize at the finals, it is the new lessons that the students have learned that makes the Student Enterprise programme so special.’
Schools who are interested in participating in the 2015/2016 programme, which will commence again in September, should make contact with the West Cork Local Enterprise Office.