Pobalscoil students are runners up in all-Europe achievement awards
“GLAN GO GLAS HAS BROUGHT GREAT HONOUR TO IRELAND ON THE EUROPEAN STAGE”
DINGLE Pobalscoil students win glory at the European GEN-E in Sicily
The eruption of Mount Etna, which showered the Sicilian city of Catalania with ash, provided a backdrop of fireworks to the announcement of Pobalscoil Corca Dhuibhne students’s triumph as first runner-up in the all-Europe GEN-E, Junior Achievement Awards.
The quality of their eco-friendly products and the confident presentation of their ‘Glan go Glas’ business by transition year students, Kate Ní Shúilleabháin, Katie Ní Éineacháin, Ríona Ní Ghealbháin, Oisín Ó Dubhda, and Cian Ó Gallachóir impressed the competition judges who placed them in second place ahead of entries from 55 other countries.
Helen Raferty of Junior Achievement Ireland said, “Glan go Glas’ has brought great honour to Ireland on the European stage”.
The group progressed to representing Ireland in the European competition after their mini-company ‘Glan go Glas’, which provides eco-friendly cleaning products, won the national Údarás na Gaeltachta ‘Clár na gComhlachtaí‘ competition.
Chief Executive Officer of Údarás na Gaeltachta, Tomás Ó Síocháin, described the students’ success as “a remarkable achievement for Glan go Glas and Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne. It clearly demonstrates the talent and innovation of our young people in the Gaeltacht”.
Pobalscoil teacher and mentor to the students, Trish Heneghan, said the idea for the eco-friendly cleaning products came from a talk on food waste that the students attended. They subsequently collected food waste from local supermarkets and added other ingredients to develop their ‘Glan go Glas’ cleaning products.
This award means a lot to Trish, who has steered and coached students in developing mini companies during Transition Year for more than a decade.
In the five years that Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne students have taken part in the Clár na Comhlachtaí competition, the school has won the national title four times. The European competition attracts in the region of 6,000 entries and the Pobalscoil student’s success there was all the more remarkable because they were the youngest contestants, Trish said.
She said she was surprised to learn in Sicily that the Gen-E programme is a part of the general curriculum in schools in many countries, with students taking two years to develop their companies before presenting them for the competition.
By contrast, the West Kerry students and their mentor do all the work within a six-month timeframe.
The eruption of Mount Etna did nothing to dampen the spirits of West Kerry’s young entrepreneurs, but the disruption to airline schedules caused by a cloud of volcanic ash meant their journey home was prolonged, with an extra overnight stop in Naples before flying to Shannon.