Largy College Dragons Den

This year's Adrian Kelly, Dragons den took place on Tuesday the 16th of May, and saw 10 amazing mini companies battle it out on stage to be crowned winner. The companies involved were flyby diner by Shannon Wiggins, makes and bakes by Ceara by Ceara Monaghan, Emmas gems by Emma Flynn, RC clothing by Rihanna Corbett, grass magnet by Finn McGoldrick and James Doran, S’more Scents by Sophie Morgan, Ella Kierans, Oisin Kelly and Megan Smith, Awesome hair by Shauna McFadden, Ornagh Smyth and Rachel Donaghy, Crochet-it by Erin Connolly and Deirbhile Burns, Cobra Chess by Qais Beidoun and Duke Mbekwe and Baked by Eimear by Eimear McMahon.

TY Dragons Den Competition 2024

Our TY students had the opportunity to showcase their enterprise talent in our annual TY Dragons Den Competition. Students were required to submit a business plan for their company and on the day present a power point presentation to the judges. Following the pitch, the Dragons had the opportunity to question the entrepreneurs on all aspects of their business before deciding which company they would like to invest in.  

The judging panel comprised of Mr Adrian Kelly, Director of Askmore Business Consultants, Mr Mark McArdle from McArdle Office Supplies, who was the main sponsor of the event, Ms Lisa Creswell from Aslan Business Coaching, Mr. Emmet Colleran from Colleran Accountants and Mr Darren Greenan a consultant at Amledif Consulting.

First prize, a laptop, was won by Sidra Ati. Her company ‘Resinique’ specialises in exquisite resin art. Sidra makes an array of handcrafted items ranging from chess boards to jewellery, keyrings, photo frames, clocks, to name just a few. Resinique is a very worthy winner of this year’s competition.

Clodagh O Reilly was placed second and won a tablet for her mini company ‘Welcoming Wreaths’. Clodagh makes beautiful handcrafted knitted wreaths made from eco-friendly and recyclable materials. She specialises in seasonal wreaths and has sold many within the school community. Clodagh was also winner of ‘The Best Sole Trader Award’ at this year’s Monaghan Enterprise Competition.

Caolan, Dean and Morgan also won a tablet for the third-place spot for their company ‘CDM Puzzles’. CDM Puzzles specializes in creating high-quality jigsaw puzzles, the designs are based on the counties of Ireland, with the pieces consisting of the GAA clubs in those respective counties.

Well done to our prize winners but also to the other 7 companies that competed in the competition – 1. Lumos Candles (Denisa Horvat, Emily Butler, Cliondhna Greenan & Sinead Burns). 2. TradeLuxe (Peter Gilliland, Joe Clarke & Shane McCaughey). 3. Relaxation on Wheels (Tegan O'Toole, Dearbhla Quigley, Tara McCaffrey & Kayrn McGinn). 4. Our Wee Town (Lily May Watkins, Holly Curran, Caoimhe Gorman, Anna O'Reilly & Katie Maguire). 5. Rustic Transport (Jamie Beagan, Conor Burns, Ewan Humpreys & Euan O'Neill). 6. Snapconnect Charms (Shona Kelly, Ella McCarville, Rocha Clancy & Rachel Hannon) and 7. Farney Foods (Tomas McGuigan & Noah McGinty)

The standard was exceptionally high and as a result all 10 companies were awarded with gift vouchers to celebrate their hard work and participation.  We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Adrian Kelly for his continuous support and guidance that he has given us throughout the year and for bringing this concept of a Dragons Den to life. Many thanks also to Mr Curran, Mr Wixted, Ms Dunwoody & Ms Sherry for their ongoing assistance and guidance in this annual competition.