Last night at The Mansion House Dublin we celebrated another crop of amazing Irish entrepreneurs as planned and managed the National Enterprise Awards 2019 in conjunction with Breda Fox and the network of Local Enterprise Offices around Ireland.

The gala black tie event started with a red carpet entrance from Dublin’s beautiful Dawson Street. Finalists were cheered on by photographers and supporters as one by one they were announced into the room by our guest MC RTE’s Bryan Dobson. Each finalist received their National Enterprise Awards Certificate from Head of the Local Enterprise Office Network Oisín Geoghegan.

A delightful banquet was followed by the award ceremony. Bryan Dobson announced the 8 Regional Winners, all of whom were presented with beautiful handcrafted trophies by Minister Pat Breen. Winners spanned the country from MMG Welding in Donegal to Harte Outdoor Lighting in Wexford to Gym+Coffee in Dublin to Skillko in Mayo.

Minister Breen delivered an inspiring speech, celebrating the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation across the country before moving to the announcement of the category winners.

• Best Start-Up: Clean Cut Meals (Galway)
• Best Export: Mechanical Modular Solutions (Kilkenny)
• Innovation Award: Ice Cream Treats (Cavan)

Finally, we reached the Overall Winner. Sonia Deasy of Pestle and Mortar from Kildare, was named the National Enterprise Award winner for 2019. She joined Bryan Dobson on stage and explained how her business has a global footprint and how she has used her family heritage and tradition that is loved the world over.

It’s been a pleasure for the WhiteLight Consulting team to work alongside the Local Enterprise Office network in the planning and management of this event since 2017. There is no doubt, Enterprise is the backbone of Irish society. The innovation, ingenuity, inventiveness and determination of Irish entrepreneurs is always inspiring to see and it is our very great honour to be part of this event that showcases and celebrates them. Well done one and all!