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Mayo student wins top prize in ATU Student Entrepreneur Awards 2026 with innovative therapeutic wheelchair concept “Bríach”
ATU student Isabella Doyle, from Ballycastle, Co Mayo, has won first place in the ATU Student Entrepreneur Awards 2026 for her concept “Bríach”, a preventative, therapeutic wheelchair designed to reduce long-term health complications caused by prolonged static sitting. Isabella is in fourth year studying a Bachelor of Arts in Product Design in ATU Galway City’s Wellpark Road campus. She was supervised on the project by lecturer Kenneth Nevin.
Describing “Bríach”, Isabella said she was inspired by her experience volunteering with a therapeutic horse-riding charity. “While working there, I saw the significant physical benefits that horse-riding therapy can provide for wheelchair users, particularly in improving core strength, balance, posture, and overall muscle engagement. However, I also noticed that many people were unable to access this therapy due to the physical requirements needed to mount and ride a horse, and limitations such as cost, travel and weather conditions.
This led me to explore the idea of designing a new, imagined wheelchair that could bring the physical benefits of therapeutic horse riding directly into the wheelchair itself.
After college, I hope to continue developing this concept through further research, iterative prototypes and refining the mechanism towards a medical-grade wheelchair standard. I would also like to continue gathering feedback from occupational therapists, physiotherapists, social carers, and wheelchair users to ensure the design responds to real needs and provides meaningful physical benefits.” added Isabella.
The competition sits under the leadership of Eve-Anne McCarron, Head of Engagement & Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in ATU with the support of Grace Latham, Student Entrepreneurship Officer. Eve-Anne McCarron said:
The ATU Student Entrepreneur Awards is a highlight of the year for us, as it shines a light on the brilliance of our students, who put forward their projects and ideas for the competition. It creates an opportunity to share the innovativeness of the students and the work being done in their programmes while helping them to see the supports available to them in Ireland if they wish to progress this into a business. The quality of ideas coming through is outstanding and encouraging for the future competitiveness of our region. We encourage all students to progress and apply for the Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneur Awards as their next step to progress their business idea. This is only the start for these future innovators and founders
Shania Tate, a former winner at the ATU Student Entrepreneur Awards and current participant on New Frontiers programme, joined the occasion as a guest speaker to share her journey from student project in 2024 to early stage start up now based in the CREW innovation centre in Wellpark Road.
A key objective of the awards is to give visibility of the wide range of supports available to those seeking to start a business, and with this in mind Sandra Regan, of Local Enterprise Office Galway, delivered an inspiring talk which highlighted the importance of these brilliant ideas and the potential impact these students can give, with the supports around them in the region. A positive end to what was a very busy Local Enterprise Week.
There were 65 entries into this year’s ATU-wide competition with students from across all disciplines in ATU’s nine campuses in Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal. Thirteen finalist teams were recognised at the awards, with students coming from the region and beyond.
Second place was awarded to Shauna Kelleher from Cork city for her product “Grá Grán Arís” (Love Grain Again), a range of upcycled craft beer pairing crisps. Shauna is a student in ATU St Angela’s campus. Sligo. She was supervised by lecturer Martin Hosey.
In third place was Patrick Brennan from Strandhill, Co Sligo, for his project “Torc Studio – Virtual Irish Heritage”, an interactive digital software that transforms real-world heritage sites into immersive, game-based experiences accessible from home or in the classroom. Patrick was supervised by Mark Campbell, lecturer in the ATU Galway city (Wellpark Road) campus and the CREW Creative Enterprise and Innovation Hub on campus.
Other winners in 10 categories are as follows:
Radka Kotulakova and Rebeka Kotulakova from Claregalway, Co Galway, won the “Solving Student Problems Award” for “UniRide”, a university-supported, community-based ride-sharing platform designed exclusively for students. They were supported by their lecturer Fearghal McHugh.
Ruth Maloney from Foxford, Co Mayo, won an award for “4keeps”, a voice-first parenting journal designed to support autism families.
Seamus Green from Letterkenny, Co Donegal, won an award for his project “Power Vector Diagnostics” which addresses the critical lack of energy transparency facing consumers, SMEs, and educators. He was supervised by lecturer Martin Bradley.
Erandi Pazos Lopez from Dublin won an award for “ONA QUEEN” described as healthy fast food concept designed to eliminate the stigma and guilt associated with chronic conditions like insulin resistance and obesity.
Emanuel Covasa from Drumkeeran, Leitrim, and Luc Dober from Sligo, won an award for “NeuroBridgeEDU“ an AI-powered educational accessibility platform that transforms university lectures into personalised learning materials for neurodivergent and multilingual students. They were supervised by lecturer Padraig Harte.
Sienna Joyce Faherty from the Aran Island won the Business Award for The Hill Cafes on Inis Mór and in Glasán Student Village which provide high quality specialty coffees and gourmet toastie and treat options. She was supervised by lecturer Jennifer Caffrey.
Lucia O’Connor from Killorglin, Co Kerry, won an award for an AgriTech device created through human centred design combating the issue of rising Bovine TB cases in Irish livestock. She was supervised by lecturer Sara Nash.
Evan Ward from Craughwell and Michael Keon from Loughrea, won the EU Green Award for PureSip business proposal, a re-useable water bottle with u.v. purification technology. They were supervised by lecturer Ivan McPhillips.
Rujuta Subhash Ekhande, Namratha Shetty, Vaidehi Doye, Ujjwal Rastogi, from Letterkenny, won the Social Enterprise Award for Campus Circular Support Network, a student-led initiative designed to strengthen the local university economy while addressing hidden financial instability among students. They were supervised by lecturer John O’Raw.
Sara Buckley, Derek Byrne and Jaz Luna from Dublin won the Creative Industries Award for their project “Wayside”, a third-person retro mystery game steeped in Irish mythology and folklore. They were supervised by Mark Campbell, lecturer in the ATU Galway city Wellpark Road campus and the CREW Creative Enterprise and Innovation Hub on campus.
Picture captions:
Photo 1 – ATU student Isabella Doyle (centre) from Ballycastle, Co Mayo, overall winner of the ATU Student Entrepreneurship Award, pictured with Dr Orla Flynn, ATU President, and Kenneth Nevin, supervisor and lecturer, ATU Galway City Wellpark Road campus.
Photo 2 – Second place Shauna Kelleher (centre) from Cork City, based in St Angela’s campus, Sligo, with ATU President Dr Orla Flynn and lecturer Martin Hosey
Photo 3 – Student Patrick Brennan (centre) from Strandhill, Sligo, third place winner, based in the ATU Galway city Wellpark Road campus, pictured with, L to R, Mark Campbell, lecturer ATU Galway city Wellpark Road and CREW iHub, EveAnne McCarron, Head of Engagement & Entrepreneurial Ecosystem , Dr Orla Flynn, ATU President, Brendan Jennings, Chief Officer for Research, Innovation and Engagement, Ainslie Peter, CREW, Wellpark Road.
Photo 4 – All the ATU finalists in the Student Entrepreneurship Competition 2026 with their lecturers, supervisors and ATU staff, guests from Local Enterprise Office, New Frontiers and Alumni.
Regina Daly, Atlantic TU Communications
Tel: +353 (0)91 742826 Mob: +353 (0)879618355
regina.daly@atu.ie
