Students Entrepreneurial Programme 2025-2026
- Home
- Students 2025-2026
Carrick-on-Suir Students Celebrate Innovation at The Journey of an Idea Awards
The next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators took centre stage at the Tides of Time Visitor Centre as The Journey of an Idea – Year Two reached its exciting conclusion with a vibrant awards ceremony celebrating creativity, tourism, and community spirit.
Led by Explore Carrick-on-Suir and supported by Tina Mulhearne of the Tipperary Local Enterprise Office, the programme has quickly established itself as a flagship initiative encouraging young people to shape the future of their town. Following the success of last year’s programme, which saw previous winner Danny Nugent secure second place at the National Student Enterprise Awards, this year’s students were challenged to embrace the theme “The Quest for Tourism Innovation.”
Inspired by the Explore Carrick-on-Suir Quest Map and following Tipperary’s inclusion in Lonely Planet’s Top 25 Destinations in the World for 2026, students from Comeragh College and Scoil Mhuire Greenhill developed imaginative ideas aimed at enhancing the visitor experience through accessibility, heritage, storytelling, sustainability, and enterprise. Throughout the year, participants took part in webinars, school visits, mentoring sessions and networking opportunities with local businesses.
Held one day before the public opening of the newly developed Tides of Time Visitor Centre, the awards ceremony provided a fitting setting to celebrate the power of imagination and ambition. Supported by the EU Just Transition Fund and Fáilte Ireland, the Centre itself stands as a testament to what can be achieved through vision and collaboration.
This year’s overall winners, Katie Lonergan and Saoirse Shanahan Roche, received the top prize of €2,000 for Access4All, an app designed to help people with mobility challenges access attractions and locations more easily. Joint second place prizes of €1,000 each were awarded to Kevin Jones for Capture Carrick Photos, a concept combining heritage tours and photography, and to Evan Boland, Keeley Nevin and Mia Lowe Waters for Le Chéile, a project centred on community walks and engagement. Joint third place prizes of €500 each went to Shay Smith, whose Smith & Vaughan Sliotars creatively linked sport and heritage through specially designed sliotars featuring local landmarks, and Anna Taylor, who developed a student-led digital guide to provide visitors with authentic local recommendations. Additional prizes recognised a range of imaginative projects rooted in storytelling, sustainability and family experiences.
Speaking at the event, Sarah-Jane Cleary of Explore Carrick-on-Suir praised the students’ ability to think about tourism in practical and meaningful ways, while Tony Musiol, Chairman of Carrick-on-Suir Economic Development, described the occasion as especially significant, with the next generation of ideas being celebrated within a building that itself represents a long journey of imagination and ambition.
As The Journey of an Idea continues to grow, planning is already underway for Year Three, promising an even more dynamic programme that will continue to empower young people and inspire fresh ideas for the future of Carrick-on-Suir.
UPLOAD YOUR PROJECT HERE
The Journey of an Idea Year 2
THE Quest for Tourism Innovation
Carrick-on-Suir was buzzing with excitement on 23 October 2025 as The Journey of an Idea – Year Two was officially launched at the Carraig Hotel. Following a hugely successful first year, the Student Entrepreneurial Programme has returned with fresh ambition, inviting students to shape the future of tourism in their hometown.
This year’s theme, The Quest for Tourism Innovation, arrives at the perfect moment. With Tipperary named in Lonely Planet’s Top 25 Destinations in the World for 2026, the county is now firmly on the world stage. For local students, this recognition offers a real platform to contribute to how visitors discover and enjoy Carrick-on-Suir.
Using the Quest Map as their starting point, students will develop new ideas for visitor experiences — celebrating what already exists, while imagining exciting new adventures for the future. The programme will take a project-based approach, with monthly creative challenges leading to a judged showcase next April.
The initiative is led by Explore Carrick-on-Suir, supported by experts from Fáilte Ireland, Mirador Media, and internationally renowned mural artist Fintan Magee, whose stunning new biodiversity mural now overlooks the town. Guest speakers Sheila Dooley-Walsh, Marc Roosli, and Fintan Magee encouraged students to think creatively, communicate with confidence, and take pride in their place.
The Journey of an Idea is more than a competition — it’s an invitation for young people to lead, create, and imagine what’s possible.
Here’s to a year of bold thinking, inspired storytelling, and new journeys — all beginning right here in Carrick-on-Suir.
DOWNLOAD YOUR RESOURCE PACK HERE
NEWSLETTERS
WEBINARS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
FOR PARENTS
