EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™

The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ programme passionately believes in promoting entrepreneurship across the island of Ireland and empowering entrepreneurs to grow their businesses in Ireland, Northern Ireland and around the world.

The team

Roger Wallace

EY Ireland Assurance Partner and Head of Entrepreneur of the Year Programme and PMM | EY Private

Clara Carroll

EY Associate Director – EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Ireland

Eimear McCrann

EY Ireland Entrepreneur Of The Year Manager

View all

Nominations Are Now Open

Watch "The Unstoppables"

The world’s most unstoppable entrepreneurs reveal insights that can inspire us all to reframe our future. Watch on your local CNBC TV channel or on demand at cbnc.com/unstoppables.

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Meet the entrepreneurs

The Unstoppables - Awards 2021

Find Out More About Our Awards and Past Finalists.

Find Out More

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The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ programme not only ensures national and international recognition for successful finalists and Alumni but also provides an invaluable network and business opportunity within a growing, 550+ strong EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Alumni community.

Recognising the best and brightest

Now in it’s 24^th year, the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year ™ Ireland programme operates across the entire island representing all 32 counties on the island of Ireland.

By participating in the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ programme, entrepreneurs can connect with their peers, access relevant insights to help navigate their growth journey and raise the profile of their companies and teams. Each programme culminates in the announcement of an overall winner who the competes for the prestigious EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award.

Winner testimonials

**2020 Overall Winner – Nicola Mitchell, Life Scientific**

“Entrepreneurs are never satisfied, never feel good enough; so even though I’ve dreamed of winning all my life, it’s not about winning, it’s about the (at times difficult) journey (who likes being judged!) and all the courageous entrepreneurs I’ve met along the way – all of whom inspire me to do better, and especially those unable to do what they do and be who they are, because of COVID.”

**2019 Overall Winner – Richard Kennedy, Devenish**

“EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ is the most valuable and enjoyable business network I have ever been part of. To anyone considering getting involved, I would say – go for it! The people you meet, friends you make and experiences you have are truly enriching - it is a unique opportunity to grow, both professionally and personally.”

The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2021 Calendar

27 January	Nominations Open
February	Nominee interviews begin
16 March	Nominations Close
March	Nominee interviews continue
April	Judging Round 1: New 24 Finalists Selected
May	Finalists Induction Ceremony & Dinner
June	EY World Entrepreneur of the Year 2021
July - September	Finalists Entrepreneurial Evolution Sessions and Finalists Filming
September	CEO Retreat
October	Judging Round 2: Finalists undertake individual interviews with Judging Panel
11 November	2021 EOY Gala Awards Night

Nominations For The 2021 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Programme Are Now Open

Read more about the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Programme on The Irish Times.

2020

Name	Company
Brendan McDowell	BPerfect Cosmetics
Devan Hughes	Buymie
Gary Wickham	MagGrow
John Goulding; Joe Lennon	Workvivo
Leonora O’Brien	Pharmapod
Matt Cooper	Inflazome
Ríona Ní Ghriallais; Conor Harkin	Proverum
Dr. Sinéad B. Bleiel	AnaBio Technologies Ltd
Antonia Hendron	M50 Truck and Van Centre
Cormac McCloskey	Errigal Contracts Ltd
Ed Donovan	Advanced Medical Services
Frank & Dolores Kiernan	Kiernan Structural Steel Ltd
John O’Connell	West Cork Distillers
Kevin O’Connor	General Paints Group
Paul & Neil Fitzgibbon	Ard Ri Marble
Seamus O’Hara	Carlow Brewing Company
Andrew Mackin	Mackin
Andrew O’Shaughnessy	Poppulo
Cathal Friel	Open Orphan Plc
Conor O’Loughlin	Glofox
Nicola Mitchell	Life Scientific
Pat Lucey	Aspira
Rodney Lowry	Lowe Rental Ltd
Tim Houstoun	Global Shares

2019

Name	Company
Una Kearns; Peter Kearns	The Institute Of Education
Triona Mullane	mAdme Technologies
Tom Cronin	Rye River Brewing Company
Timothy McElroy; James McElroy	HouseMyDog
Sonia Deasy	Pestle & Mortar
Simon Murray; Mervyn O'Callaghan	Provision Cameramatics
Shane Evans	Scrapinghub
Richard Kennedy	Devenish
Philip Noone	Aalto Bio
Paul McKenna	mac-group
Patrick Derry	DRT (NI) Limited
Pat McDonagh	Supermacs (Holdings) Ltd
Matt Ryan	Press Up Entertainment Group
Mark Dowds	Trov
Mark Whitaker	Johnson & Perrott Ltd
Lulu O'Sullivan	GiftsDirect.com/TheIrishStore.com
Lily Holmes	PB Machine Tech
Laurence O'Kane	IMED Healthcare
John Mullins	Amarenco Solar
Ian Nolan; Alex Kelly	Brightflag
Donnacha Hurley	Motor Mania Limited
Brian Leslie	Seaquest Systems
Ashley McCulla	McCulla (Ireland) Ltd
Andrew Day	Keywords Studios

2018

Name	Company
Vicki O'Toole	JJ O'Toole Ltd.
Tony Richardson	Venn Life Sciences
Sandra Whelan; David Whelan	VR Education Holdings plc
Ray Cole	Virginia International Logistics
Rachel Doyle	Arboretum
Peter Coppinger; Daniel Mackey	Teamwork.com
Peter Keeling	Diaceutics
Pat Rigney	The Shed Distillery of P.J. Rigney
Pat Lynch; Damien McGovern	Compliance & Risks
Paddy Finn	Electricity Exchange
P.J. Flanagan	H&MV Engineering Limited
Noel O'Hanlon	Genesis Automation
Mary McKenna	Tour America/Cruise Holidays
Louise Kennedy	Louise Kennedy
Joe Wiley	Amryt Pharma plc
Gareth Chambers	Around Noon
Eoin Leonard	i3PT Certification
Elaine Sullivan	Carrick Therapeutics
Eibhlin Murphy; Áine Lecky	Major Equipment (Intl) Limited
Dominic Fitzpatrick	The Irish News
David Maxwell	Boojum
Darragh McCarthy	FinTrU
Damien McGovern	Compliance & Risks
Bill Wolsey	The Beannchor Group
Barry Napier	Cubic Telecom

2017

Name	Company
Trevor Annon	Mount Charles
Samuel Dennigan	Strong Roots
Roisin Callaghan; Jane Gallagher	Cogs & Marvel
Ramona Nicholas	Cara Pharmacy
Patrick McAliskey	Novosco
Patrick McCann	Simplyfruit (Ire) Ltd.
Niamh Sherwin-Barry; Aoife Lawler	The Irish Fairy Door Company
Niall McGarry	Maximum Media/JOE Media
Mark Barrett	APC
Louis Keating	L&M Keating Ltd.
Kevin O'Loughlin	Nostra
Jim Burke	GoBus.ie
Jack Teeling	Teeling Whiskey Company
Jack O'Connor; Declan O'Connor	BHSL
Ian McKenna	eLight
Harry Hughes	Portwest
Gary Irwin; Andrew Irwin	Bedeck
Frances McArdle; Fergus McArdle	Height for Hire
Evelyn O'Toole	CLS
Darragh Cullen	Edge Innovate
Daithi O'Connor	Revive Active
Ciara Donlon	THEYA Healthcare
Brendan Monaghan	Neueda
Alan Foy	Blueface

2016

Name	Company
Suresh Tharma; Ashok Songra	3fivetwo Group
Stephen Smith	Kitman Labs
Stephen Vernon	Green Property
Sean McAllister; Leona McAllister	PlotBox
Paul Quigley; Andrew Mullaney	NewsWhip Media
Noel Moran	Prepaid Financial Services and eCOMM Merchant Solutions
Niall Stringer; Gillian Maxwell	Tiger Stores
Maurice Healy	The Healy Group
MarkMcCloskey	Oneview Healthcare PLC
Louise Grubb	Q1 Scientific
Leslie Codd	Codd Mushrooms
Kieran O'Keeffe	MobileWebAdz
John Moore	3D4Medical
Jimmy McGee	Athlone Extrusions
Jim Wright	JMW Farms
James Leckey	Leckey
Gavan Walsh	iCabbi
Gareth Loye	M&M Contractors
Eamon Donnelly	Uform
Colin Culliton	TPI Group
Clodagh Cavanagh	Abbey Machinery
Ciara Clancy	Beats Medical
Brian Lee	Freshly Chopped
Brendan Mooney	Kainos Group plc

2015

Name	Company
Terry Knox	CD Group
Sean Brett	Steeltech Sheds
Sean O'Sullivan	SOSV
Ross Kelly; Conor Crowley	Vizor
Paul Young	Cartoon Saloon
Patrick Collison; John Collison	Stripe
Padraig McBride	Brandtone
Morgan Browne	Milner Browne
Michael Hoyne	Merlyn
Michael O'Dwyer	TyreCheck
Kenneth Greene	Greene Farm Foods
Jack Dobson	Dunbia
Graham Stubbs	Diona
Frank Madden	Crest Solutions
Eoin Goulding	Integrity360
Donald Fitzmaurice	Beechwood Consulting
Denise Tormey	PlanNet21
Dave O'Flanagan	Boxever
Darragh Richardson	Agile Networks
Catherine O'Neill	Amelio Group
Brian Thornes	X-Bolt Orthopaedics
Ben Harris	Drop
Alyson Hogg	Vita Liberata
Alan Coleman	Brite:Bill
Alan Clarke	STATSports Technologies Ltd