Fourteen businesses celebrated at the Donegal Enterprise awards

The resilience and brilliance demonstrated by Donegal businesses were celebrated at the Donegal Enterprise Awards which took place in Rockhill House on Friday.  

Organised by Local Enterprise Office Donegal, the awards celebrate the achievements of Donegal’s small business community as they grappled with a host of challenges. This year’s overall county winner and the winner of the Best-Established Business Award was Silver Strand Rope Works Ltd, a rope, string and strapping manufacturing business run by Patrick McLaughlin which offers a wide range of products to both local and international markets. Judges were impressed with Patrick’s success to date and the business’s global ambition to scale and grow.

Irish Gap Year was the runner up in the Best-Established Business category. Eugene Gallen of Bon Appetit was awarded Best Start-Up and James Grant’s Northfox Facilities Services Ltd. won the runner up award in this category. Niche SSP Ltd. won the Best Donegal Enterprise Export Award while Caroline Friel from Ample won Best Donegal Enterprise Innovation Award. MOSAIC was awarded runner up in this category.

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Thomas Ellis and Áine Curran of Donegal Bees won Best Donegal Enterprise Green Award, while Diorite won the Donegal Engineering Cluster Enterprise Award.

Little Mamma’s won The Food Coast Enterprise Award, while Shannon Porter of The Milk Bar was named runner up.

Molloy and Sons Weaving Ltd won The Creative Coast Enterprise Award. Caitlín Nic Gabhann won Best Donegal Enterprise Digital Award and Jenni Timony’s Fit Pink was named runner up in the Digital category.

Speaking about the awards, Chief Executive of Donegal County Council, John McLaughlin, said: “Congratulations to everyone who put themselves forward for the Donegal Enterprise Awards this year, and to the overall county winner, Patrick McLaughlin of Silver Strand Rope Works Ltd. The Donegal Enterprise Awards are about showcasing the innovation, creativity, and development potential across the micro and small business sectors in Donegal. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and it's the businesspeople of Donegal who have the vision, strength, and determination to build scalable enterprises that make our local economy thrive. I wish the finalists and winners continued success for the future.”

Head of Enterprise Donegal, Brenda Hegarty said the awards celebrate the strength, resilience and innovation of the small business community in Donegal and the role they play in our local economy, she said: "It was great to see such a high standard of applications coming through this year, and it’s a very positive indicator for the future of business in the county. Congratulations to everyone who put themselves forward for the awards, and to our overall county winner, Patrick McLaughlin of Silver Strand Rope Works Ltd. We wish them all the best as they go forward now to represent Donegal in the National Enterprise Awards.”