A common problem for Gaelic footballers and a concern for farm safety has led to a school in Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim, being in the unusual position of representing their county at both junior and senior level in the up-coming National Student Enterprise Awards competition.
A group of first year students and a team of 4 Transition Year (TY) students at Drumshanbo Vocational School won the Leitrim finals recently and with that, the honour of representing their county at the national finals to be held in Croke Park on Friday 6 May.
The idea for the TY business project called Pocket Socks came about when Rosie McGreevy and some of her TY friends decided they had to solve the problem of how to manage your gumshield when you are warming up or at half-time.
She explained the usual place people put the gumshield is in your sock, but that's uncomfortable, insecure and unhygienic.
The solution they came up with is Pocket Socks.
They buy regular football socks from Michael Murphy sports in Donegal and have a seamstress sew little pockets inside them which keep the gumshields secure and clean, said Aoife McGovern.
Clodagh Daly said they have had a great response to the Pocket Socks locally at club and county level with both Roscommon and Leitrim GAA and LGFA supporting them.
They have sold over 450 pairs and have a website ready to go for Pocket Socks Eire.
Ruth McLoughlin said they have put huge work into developing their product and hope to continue with the business after the national competition whether they win or not.
"We have put huge work into it," she said and added that they are really proud of what they have achieved.
Grasper
Equally proud are the team of first year students who will also represent Leitrim at the national finals next week.
Alex O'Looney wanted to find a solution to a problem faced by farmers including her grandfather.
She became concerned when she saw him having difficulty opening a slurry tank lid and was afraid he would hurt his back or fall in.
Together with Freya Whitney and Amy Keaveney, they came up with a product they call a grasper which easily lifts lids without a person having to bend.
They say it is an important farm safety product which is going down well with farmers including Alex's grandfather.
Handled With Hearts is the name they go by because theirs is a product which has caring at its core.
They have already sold over 80 graspers, and like the TYs, they plan to continue with their business, selling from their social media platforms and at marts and fairs.
In the meantime, both teams are focusing on the national finals, preparing their presentations and products for the event which will see enterprise teams from every county in Ireland compete for the national titles.
