Offaly LEO 'bread winner'

A 17-year-old representing Offaly won the national Student Enterprise Awards with a hundred year-old bread recipe.

Manus Heenan of Cistercian Colleg, Roscrea won the overall prize and the Social Media Award. He entered with his local Enterprise Office, who supported him when he started his own bakery business called Abbey Bread and it now already on shelves in supermarkets.

The resurrection of a 100-year-old monks’ yeast bread recipe, as well as his business plan, marketing, health and safety protocol and social media plan, helped the teenager to rise above his competitors to become the senior winner announced in Croke Park on Wednesday.

Inspired by the bread made at Mount St Joseph Abbey from 1896 up to 2010, Manus Keenan's product is a wholemeal yeast bread mix, with its own unique taste and flavour.

For €10, customers can get two packs of bread mix, or a bread mix and fresh loaf.

80 student enterprises run by 230 teenagers competed at the Student Enterprise Programme National Finals, after being selected from among the 23,600 participants.lture.