Girls game for real Irish success story

Three Leaving Certificate pals who are juggling their studies with running a business are hoping to play their cards right when they represent Ireland at a global entrepreneur competition.

Jennifer Chadwick, 18, Alex Whelan, 18, and Lauren Burke, 17, from Cork, founded the Irish-language game Focail Iontacha as part of a school project two years ago. They will pitch the product at the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards in Washington DC next week.

They were selected to represent Ireland, having overcome competition in the national heats from companies, run by college students, focusing on technology and apps.

“We’re still getting over the shock of winning,” said Jennifer, from Passage West. “We were the only secondary school students, and the only all-girls team in the Irish finals.

“And it’s really hectic now preparing for the trip, but we’re going to give it our best shot. I hope we’ll show that Ireland is a great place for enterprise and young entrepreneurs.”

The girls, students of Regina Mundi College in Douglas, were partnered together in transition year for a business studies project.

They devised and designed the card game, Focail Iontacha, which uses the Irish language to promote literacy and numeracy in a fun and competitive way. The card game can be played by anyone from the age of six up, whether they are fluent or just have the “cúpla focail”.

Even though they never saw it as a long-term business venture, they went on to win a €2,000 bursary on RTÉ’s Junior Dragons’ Den to develop the idea.

Despite it being cheaper to make the game in China, they opted to keep production in Ireland and, with grant aid from Foras na Gaeilge and the endorsement of Gael Taca, the game took off.

The trio clinched a deal with Eason last year and their game has been flying off shelves ever since. “We have moved quite a few units all right. To be honest, we almost can’t keep up with the demand,” Jennifer said.

Jennifer and Alex, who will be jetting out to the US next week, will be squeezing the trip in between their Irish and French oral exams. They even plan to bring schoolbooks with them to catch up on study.

Their principal, Margaret O’Donovan, praised the team for their dedication. “They are very passionate about their product and I know they’ll represent Ireland with great aplomb,” she said.

Once the Leaving Certificate is out of the way and college places are secured, the three girls plan to take their business to the next level.

They hope to capitalise on its global potential by adapting it for other languages, and they are also planning to devise an app for smartphone users.

You can buy their game online from www.focailiontacha.ie  for €24.99. Postage and packaging is extra.

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