Finalists for the celebrated EY Entrepreneur of the 12 months programme embody Manna’s Bobby Healy, Neurent Medical’s Brian Shields and Sisterly’s three co-founders.
It’s a listing that all the time catches the attention. The EY Entrepreneur of the 12 months (EOY) programme finalists for 2026 have been introduced at this time and there’re some very acquainted faces to our readers. In line with EOY, the 24 corporations featured collectively make use of greater than 3,000 folks, producing revenues of near €1bn.
Scorching on the heels of Manna’s $50m funding and jobs announcement yesterday (1 April), its founder Bobby Healy has earned his place within the ’rising’ class, as has Brian Shields, whose Galway medtech start-up Neurent Medical closed an oversubscribed $62.5m Sequence C financing spherical for its Neuromark medical gadget to deal with persistent rhinitis again in February.
It’s little shock additionally to see the inclusion of Sisterly and its three co-founders Aoife Matthews, Jennifer O’Connell and Louise O’Riordan. The three appear to have captured the ladies’s well being zeitgeist with their easy-to-use, science-backed ‘The Elevator’ complement, which is designed particularly for girls and was endorsed early by some huge names like former star athlete Sonia O’Sullivan.
In whole, there are 31 entrepreneurs representing 24 corporations from throughout the island of Eire shortlisted over three classes.
EOY Finalists – Rising
- Aoife Matthews, Jennifer O’Connell & Louise O’Riordan of Sisterly
- Bobby Healy of Manna Air Supply
- Brian Shields of Neurent Medical
- Danny Buckley of ADHDNow
- Dr Harriet Tracey of Beyondbmi
- Jennifer Rock of Skingredients Ltd
- Laura McCarthy of Drink Botanicals Eire
- Liam Kearney of The Revive Group
EOY Finalists – Established
- Tommy Kearns of Xtremepush
- John Corley of Spanish Level Applied sciences
- John Lunn of Lunn’s
- Karl Zimmerer of Glanua
- Oltian Dervishi of Forte Pespa
- Paul Vallely and Clare Walsh of Kukoon
- Robin Jones of Golden Bake
- Trevor Casey of EPH Controls
EOY Finalists – Worldwide
- Brian Moloney of StormHarvester
- Chris Horgan of Dexgreen
- David Brennan of Eastgate Engineering
- Dermot O’Shea of Taoglas
- Ian Morgan and Sanjay Abraham of XPress Healthcare Ltd
- Maire Claire Reid of TST Group
- Paul, Gary & Mike Martin of Martin Group
- Ronan and Conor Burke of Inscribe
“Entrepreneurship in 2026 appears to be like very completely different to even a couple of years in the past,” mentioned Roger Wallace, head of assurance & EY Entrepreneur of the 12 months, Eire.
“We’re working in a world formed by geopolitical instability, speedy advances in AI and a stage of financial uncertainty that calls for creativity as a lot as resilience. Our finalists this yr haven’t solely tailored to this surroundings, however are shaping it.”
This yr’s finalists have been shortlisted by an unbiased judging panel of earlier winners chaired by Harry Hughes, who’s CEO of Portwest.
“Deciding on simply 24 finalists was an exceptionally troublesome process,” Hughes mentioned. “The entrepreneurs we met symbolize each lengthy‑established sectors and quick‑rising fields, however all of them are reshaping their industries with new concepts and new methods of working, and are turning challenges into alternative.”
The EY Entrepreneur of the 12 months Eire programme is supported by Julius Baer, Enterprise Eire and Make investments Northern Eire.
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