Dublin City company has success at the National Enterprise Awards

ExamRevision who are supported by Local Enterprise Office Dublin City were winners at this year’s National Enterprise Awards. The awards, which took place at the Round Room in the Mansion House, were in their 26th year and run annually by the Local Enterprise Offices.
 
ExamRevision, an EdTech company founded by three secondary school teachers, extending highly-effective, technology-enabled learning beyond the classroom took home the Dublin Regional award at the event.
 
ExamRevision is an internationally scalable SaaS platform providing curriculum-aligned resources, interactive tools and progress tracking. Trusted by one in three secondary schools, independent research shows measurable improvements in students’ academic performance and confidence.
 
Accepting the award on behalf of ExamRevision, co-founder Paddy Ward said: “'It is a tremendous honour to receive the Dublin Regional Award. We are incredibly proud of the journey ExamRevision has taken, what began as a simple idea between three teachers has grown into Ireland’s ‘21st Century Textbook’, trusted by more than one in three secondary schools nationwide. As a teaching and learning platform, our mission is to Simplify Revision, Empower Teachers and Elevate Learning. We are delighted that the National Enterprise Awards has recognised our vision and this recognition provides great encouragement as we continue to grow and innovate.
 
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Dublin City Local Enterprise Office for its support, guidance and encouragement throughout this process. We are honoured to be recognised alongside so many outstanding businesses and entrepreneurs. This award is a testament to the dedication of our team, the trust placed in us by the schools we work with and our ongoing commitment to making high-quality teaching and learning resources more accessible to secondary schools across Ireland.'
 
Speaking after the event Warren Cray, Head of Enterprise, Dublin City Council also said: “It’s great to see ExamRevision come away with the Dublin Regional award this evening. There were a lot of great companies put forward both in the Dublin Region and across the country. It’s been a pleasure working with the guys over the last few months and wish them all the best in building and expanding their business in the future.”
 
The overall winner at the National Enterprise Awards was Sugar Plum Sweetery who are supported by Local Enterprise Office Westmeath.  The self styled “Irish Willy Wonka” business set up by Denise Buckley and David Quirke established the destination sweet and chocolate store in 2022 but it’s been their ability to monetise trends that saw them increase revenue from 2024 to 2025 by 815%.  
 
With two spectacular stores in Mullingar and Kildare Village they plan expansion across Ireland and the UK in the next 18 months to complement their online business and their spot as the top Irish retailer on the TikTok Shop.
 
Announcing the award winners at the Mansion House, Peter Burke, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment said; “The National Enterprise Awards are the highlight of the small business and enterprise calendar, with a growing diversity of businesses and an increasingly high standard among the companies progressing through the process year on year.   We have some exceptional winners, but the finalists overall have been outstanding, reflecting the remarkable quality of small businesses right across the country.
 
Several other companies won across a range of categories at the Awards, which were established by the Local Enterprise Offices to celebrate the impact and quality of small businesses across the country.  Those award winners were -
 
The Best Export Award
The winner of the Best Export Business was the The Smooth Company supported by Local Enterprise Office South Dublin.  The company, set up by EY Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year in 2025 Aine Kennedy, has taken the beauty world by storm with their range of hair products aimed at taking the stress out of hair care, including their record breaking launch product The Smooth Stick now exporting to over 90 countries.
 
Innovation Award 
The winner of the Innovation Award was I/O Agri, supported by Local Enterprise Office Cavan.   As pressure increases on the agriculture industry to reduce emissions, I/O Agri founders Sandra Thompson and Shane O’Reilly  have created a system for trapping emissions for farmers and converting these emissions into by-products that can be used for renewable energy production, lowering emissions and creating a new income stream.
 
Best Start Up Award
The winner of the Best Start-Up Award was RYSE Chocolate supported by Local Enterprise Office Meath.   The company set up by brothers in-law Ian O’Rourke and David Stone put a new twist on the energy market creating Europe’s first caffeinated chocolate bar and will soon be launching into the UK and US.
 
Green Award 
The winner of the Green Award was Accelerating Change Together (ACT) supported by Local Enterprise Office Mayo.  Founded by James McConville, ACT brings together architects, urban designers and policy specialists to help reimage how Ireland designs its towns, buildings and communities for a more sustainable future.
 
Digital Award 
The winner of the Digital Award was Photo Experience supported by Local Enterprise Office Offaly.   Dean Kelly, founder of Photo Experience, works with theme parks, zoos, museums and visitor attractions to captures guests experiences and deliver photos straight to their phones.   
 
Female Entrepreneur Award
The winner of the Female Entrepreneur Award was Therese Murphy from Equi-Ed supported by Local Enterprise Office Kildare.  Based at the National Equine Innovation Centre at the National Stud, Equi-Ed provides professional equine therapy training, certifications and specialist courses for horse owners and equine professionals.
 
This year’s winners share a €80,000 investment fund and nine regional winners were also announced on the night and the overall winner was chosen from these regional awards.  
 
Those winners were –
 

• ExamRevision in the Dublin Region (backed by LEO Dublin City)
• The Cultured Food Company in the South West Region (backed by LEO Cork North & West)
• SiSu Juice Company in the Mid East Region (backed by LEO Wicklow)
• Sugar Plum Sweetery in the Midlands Region (backed by LEO Westmeath)
• Huwmo in the South East Region (backed by LEO Kilkenny)
• Niche Specialist Staffing Partners in the North West Region (backed by LEO Donegal)
• The Rug Rack in the North East Region (backed by LEO Monaghan)
• Eventmaster in the Mid West Region (backed by LEO Limerick)
• Celtic Dynamics Engineering in the West Region (backed by LEO Galway)

 
Also honoured on the night were EngDoc who won the Outstanding Achievement Award.  An example of a company who began with their Local Enterprise Office and then accessed support from Enterprise Ireland to grow their business globally.  The company, established in 2006 by David Mullen and Tim King, originally began by producing operation and maintenance manuals and drawings for mechanical and electrical contractors.
 
As construction became more digital, the business evolved too, embracing new technologies and becoming a specialist in Building Information Modelling (BIM).  Now employing 35 people at their headquarters in Sligo, they are involved in some of the most complex international construction projects from schools and hospitals to pharmaceutical facilities and major international data centres.  
 
Previous winners of the National Enterprise Awards include Irish Yoghurts (1998), Obelisk (2000), Simtech Aviation (2008), Digiweb (2004) and Design Pro (2013), Terra NutriTech (2018), Pestle & Mortar (2019), Bevcraft (2021), Aqualicence in 2022, Advanced Cosmetics in 2023 and DreamDev Technologies in 2024.  
 
Last year’s winners were SPRYT, supported by Local Enterprise Office Monaghan.  The Irish health‑tech startup uses AI to improve how patients access and attend medical appointments and since their win in 2025 have gone on to secure significant international investment which has helped them expand with new partnerships in the UK and the US.
 
The National Enterprise Awards are one of a number of initiatives that the Local Enterprise Offices run, to foster entrepreneurship across the country. Others include Local Enterprise Week, the Student Enterprise Programme, National Women’s Enterprise Day and Local Enterprise Showcase. The Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities are funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland. 
 
 Established in 2014, the Local Enterprise Offices are the essential resource for any entrepreneur looking to start a business or any small business that is looking for support or advice to help them grow. Since their inception eight years ago, the Local Enterprise Offices have helped create over 80,000 jobs across the country. The LEOs work with thousands of client companies across Ireland in a diverse range of sectors offering mentoring, training, expert advice and financial supports to small businesses. For more information see www.LocalEnterprise.ie
 
 
ENDS