EY Entrepreneur of the Year profiles: From baby wipes to catheters and mechanical engineering

We profile four of the finalists chosen in the international category for this year’s EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards

The winner of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award will be announced later this year.
The winner of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award will be announced later this year.

Edward McCloskey, WaterWipes

Every pack of WaterWipes is manufactured in two cleanroom production sites in Drogheda. Photograph: Naoise Culhane
Every pack of WaterWipes is manufactured in two cleanroom production sites in Drogheda. Photograph: Naoise Culhane

Louth-based Edward McCloskey founded a company called Irish Breeze in 1993, which produced cotton wool, soaps and skincare products. Sixteen years later, after spending many years researching a gentler, chemicals-free alternative to conventional baby wipes, he launched WaterWipes.

Its products are on sale in 50 countries, and it is the number three brand in North America, the number two on Amazon globally and the brand leader in the UK.

Three million packs per week are manufactured in two cleanroom production sites in Drogheda. It has employees in Europe, the US, Australia as well as nearly 400 employees in Ireland.

What light bulb moment prompted you to start up in business?

I was lucky enough to have a very entrepreneurial father. Watching and listening to my dad (Malachy) discussing the start of businesses, around our kitchen table, was very formative and meant a light bulb moment wasn’t so critical.

For my own business, a realisation that, all around the world, parents are advised by health professionals not to use conventional chemical-based baby wipes because of their adverse health impacts, and to use just water with cotton wool or cloths instead. But the advice was being mostly ignored because of the huge convenience of baby wipe packs. There had to be a market opportunity there.

What was your back-to-the-wall moment and how did you overcome it?

My worst back-to-the-wall moment was coincidentally the year that our first packs of WaterWipes were made.

At the time, our core cotton wool business came under intolerable stress due to wild increases in the global price of cotton, costs we struggled to recover from our retailer customers. The business was lucky to survive that period of turmoil and losses.

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What moment or deal would you say was a turning point for the company?

One of them was during the early months of Covid in 2020, when some of our competitors in the US market had difficulty supplying Walmart, Target, Walgreens, Amazon and other customers.

Our superb manufacturing and logistics teams were able to maintain uninterrupted supply to those and many other customers, resulting in a surge in sales and profits.

To what extent does your business trade internationally?

Although WaterWipes is brand leader in Ireland, the vast majority of our sales are international, across about 50 countries around the globe.

Describe your growth funding path.

Our growth has been predominantly internally funded. A policy of no dividends or shareholder liquidity has, over many years, been useful in building capital.

Irish Breeze, the precursor to WaterWipes, did avail of EIIS (Employment Investment Incentive Scheme) funding in the past. A liquidity event in late 2024 introduced the business’s first external shareholder, helping to continue the growth journey.

How will your market look in three years and where would you like your business to be?

We are on track for WaterWipes to become a billion dollar brand at retail sales over the next five years, which is hugely exciting. Hardly any Irish consumer brands attain that milestone.

Our market will continue to grow, driven by awareness of the skincare benefits compared to other brands. And there are lots of other applications for our WaterWipes technology beyond our current core market of babies and newborns.

What are you doing to disrupt, innovate and improve your products?

We are constantly focused on innovating and improving the products we offer our consumers. We have cross-functional teams, facilitated by consumer and market research of numerous forms, to develop and launch our products for the years ahead.

How are you deploying AI in your business and what impact has it had on your performance?

We are beginning to use AI in some of our internal planning, forecasting and business management. Still early days.

What is the most common mistake you see entrepreneurs make?

A mistake that some entrepreneurs make, in their early days, is not appreciating the value of committing to a detailed business plan, and also not appreciating the importance of robust financial and especially cash flow planning.

What piece of advice would you offer to a young entrepreneur?

Spend time and effort truly and exhaustively working out what you want, and what you don’t want.

Only when that exercise has been completed over time should you then focus on how you’re going to get it, who will help you get there, when things need to happen, etc. The clarity, focus, and energy to be harnessed by following this methodology should not be underestimated, in my opinion.

Brian McGrath, MSL Engineering

Since 2018, MSL Engineering has been led by Brian McGrath. Photograph: Naoise Culhane
Since 2018, MSL Engineering has been led by Brian McGrath. Photograph: Naoise Culhane

MSL Engineering is a second-generation family business founded in 1979. Since 2018, it has been led by Brian McGrath, following in the footsteps of his father Maurice, who co-founded the company alongside his brother David and their partner Francis Galvin.

MSL is a specialist mechanical engineering contractor serving clients across the pharmaceutical, biopharma, semiconductor, power, oil, gas, food and beverage industries. The company has multinational clients in Ireland, Europe, and the United States.

What vision prompted you to start-up in business?

In my early twenties, during a trip away with friends, I began reflecting on my career path. Encouraged by advice and inspired by the potential of my father’s business, I decided to fully commit to it, choosing to build something meaningful rather than pursue a traditional finance role in London.

How is your business model unique?

Our model focuses on delivering best-in-class mechanical and modular construction solutions. What sets us apart is our ability to scale, adapt and deliver complex projects with precision.

We’ve built a strong reputation for reliability and excellence, particularly in modular delivery, which has become a core differentiator.

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What is your greatest business achievement to date?

Redeeming a significant element of my father’s shareholding and enabling him to retire comfortably was a proud milestone. It reflected not just a business success, but also a personal commitment to honouring the trust he placed in me and the legacy he helped build.

Achieving this without onboarding private equity and while funding our growth independently with the same key personnel was hugely satisfying.

What was your back-to-the-wall moment and how did you overcome it?

One major challenge came during a critical project in north Cork when Covid-19 hit. With no pause allowed, we faced immense pressure.

We navigated the crisis by holding firm, renegotiating commercial terms, and ultimately securing a workable solution directly with the client representative.

What moment or deal would you say was a turning point for the company?

Relocating to Ringport in Ringaskiddy in 2020 was transformative.

Amidst Covid-19 uncertainty, we expanded our fabrication facility tenfold, enabling us to reposition the business as a leader in modular project delivery. It was a bold move that fundamentally changed our trajectory.

To what extent does your business trade internationally?

We’ve delivered several projects across Europe, including Sweden, Scotland, England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Denmark.

In 2025, we successfully completed our first US project: a semiconductor plant for Intel in Ohio. Our goal is to establish a permanent US presence and grow our international footprint further.

What is your growth funding path?

Growth has been funded through a mix of retained earnings, and support from our banking partner. We’ve taken a conservative, sustainable approach, building strong cash reserves to support future expansion.

How will your market look in three years and where would you like your business to be?

While global trade policies, especially in the US, present some level of unpredictability, we aim to establish a strong pipeline there.

Our goal is to capitalise on major US infrastructure projects by leveraging our modular expertise and client relationships.

What are your annual revenues and profits?

Our annual turnover stands at €115 million with an anticipated healthy net margin.

What are you doing to disrupt, innovate and improve the products or services you offer?

While we don’t aim to reinvent the wheel. Our focus is on continuous excellence in mechanical project execution by investing in our processes, off-site manufacturing facilities, and most importantly our people.

How are you deploying AI in your business?

We’ve developed in-house software that integrates AI to streamline pricing, reporting, procurement and project delivery.

This has significantly improved accuracy, reduced inefficiencies and freed up resources for higher-value tasks.

What impact have Donald Trump’s tariffs had on your business?

The tariffs have reshaped the global landscape, making the US a more attractive base for investment. We’ve seen planned European FDI shift stateside, reinforcing our decision to pursue a competitive, compliant presence in the US market.

What is the most common mistake you see entrepreneurs make?

Scaling too quickly without solid fundamentals. Chasing top-line growth at the expense of profitability often leads to working capital issues, which can destabilise an otherwise promising business.

Martin Tierney, Seating Matters

Martin Tierney is managing director of Seating Matters. Photograph: Naoise Culhane
Martin Tierney is managing director of Seating Matters. Photograph: Naoise Culhane

Business has always run in the family for Martin Tierney, who is managing director of Seating Matters. It provides clinical seating products for high-dependency patients in hospitals, care homes and home settings.

It also offers bathing and showering products, rental services, and clinical training. With a team of around 200 people, it has operations in Ireland, Britain, Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

What light bulb moment prompted you to start up in business?

Our mother couldn’t find suitable chairs for her patients, so our father built one, then another and then more. That’s when we realised there were many others who needed the same kind of support our mother’s patients did. This insight led us to start Seating Matters in 2008.

What began with one patient has grown into a global business, rooted in the mission of providing the best equipment for people with complex disabilities.

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Describe your business model and what makes your business unique.

We combine deep clinical expertise with world-class lean manufacturing. We have partnerships with universities to test and validate the clinical efficacy of our products, and our Toyota-based production model sets us apart from a manufacturing point of view.

We serve customers through distributors, rental services and direct channels but always with one goal: empowering caregivers through highly effective, clinically appropriate products.

What is your greatest business achievement to date?

Helping the most vulnerable: from children with disabilities to people in palliative care, is our greatest honour. Seeing the product of our research and labour change lives is humbling.

Every day in our factory we set our production target by asking, “how many life-changing products are we dispatching today?” as opposed to having a financial or production metric. That focus on the patient drives everything.

What was your back-to-the-wall moment and how did you overcome it?

Starting in 2008 gave us a crash course in resilience. We were frugal, sleeping in the warehouse and driving day and night across England, Canada and America to secure our first sale. We worked tirelessly.

That survival instinct still shapes us today. We invest for long-term, stable growth and every decision we make is guided by one question: How can we best serve the patient who is suffering and in pain because we haven’t yet reached them?

To what extent does your business trade internationally?

The vast majority of our business is export-driven. We are actively expanding in the US, Canada and mainland Europe, building teams on the ground to support customers and grow our global impact.

Describe your growth funding path.

We’ve remained family-owned, with no outside equity investors.

This long-term view keeps us focused on sustainable growth, supporting our local communities and building a business our children will be proud to inherit.

How will your market look in three years and where would you like your business to be?

We’ll continue growing through innovation and acquisition, helping more patients, in more ways, across more countries. Our focus on research, clinical excellence and manufacturing will remain central.

What are your annual revenues and profits?

We currently generate about £16 million (€18.5 million) in revenue, with growth expected to reach £26.5 million (€30.6 million) by year end, driven by multiple strategic projects across our global divisions.

What are you doing to disrupt, innovate and improve your products?

We practise daily kaizen: every team member contributes to two-second improvements each day.

Combined with our long-term vision, structured quarterly priorities, and patient-centred innovation, this creates a culture of continuous improvement and meaningful disruption.

How are you deploying AI and what impact has it had?

We treat AI like any essential tool, using it to reduce repetitive tasks, improve response times and free our team to focus on what matters most: helping caregivers and patients.

What makes your company a good place to work?

Our values are clear, lived daily and reinforced through our morning meetings. From monthly team lunches to everyone cleaning the bathrooms, we practise mutual respect and humility.

Inspired by Japanese philosophy, we’ve set a clear aim: to build a company our colleagues would be proud to see their children work in. Our team makes decisions through that lens.

What impact have Trump’s tariffs had and how has it affected your US view?

There have been some effects, which we continue to monitor. However, they have not deterred us from investing in the US, which remains a core market in our international strategy.

What would be your most important advice for a new entrepreneur?

Go for it. If you wait for every light to turn green, you’ll never leave the driveway. Start now, course-correct as needed, and keep moving forward.

Seamus Fahey, ICS Medical Devices

Seamus Fahey's company operates in the medtech industry, specialising in complex catheter technologies. Photograph: Naoise Culhane
Seamus Fahey's company operates in the medtech industry, specialising in complex catheter technologies. Photograph: Naoise Culhane

Seamus Fahey founded ICS Medical Devices in 2019. The company has grown to more than 130 staff, and plans to scale to 200 by 2028.

ICS is a contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) in the medtech industry, specialising in complex catheter technologies, including applications in structural heart and neurovascular therapies.

The company partners with early-stage firms that are at the forefront of new product development, helping to improve patient outcomes. ICS supports the full product development life cycle, from catheter system design, development, and testing, through to manufacturing.

What vision moment prompted you to start up in business?

The idea had been a slow-burning ember for some time. While working within a global CDMO, I saw first-hand the number of innovative, early-stage medtech companies that needed support, but were often too small to attract the attention of larger players.

That ember turned into a flame when I parted ways with that CDMO in 2018. The vision for ICS was clear: to support and grow alongside these early-stage innovators, guiding them through the development journey and into commercialisation, effectively scaling our business in tandem with our scaling customers.

Describe your business model and what makes it unique.

Our target customers to date have been early-stage, innovative medtech companies and start-ups.

Our business model is built around supporting and accelerating their product life cycle, guiding them from initial development through to commercialisation and ultimately becoming their long-term commercial manufacturing partner.

What is your greatest business achievement to date?

Securing the initial investment back in 2018/ 2019 from my investors was certainly a strong start.

Overall, reaching where we are today, with close to 140 staff and continuing to grow, is something I’m very proud of. We have a clear strategy to scale to 200 employees over the next 24–26 months.

What was your back-to-the-wall moment and how did you overcome it?

Probably like many companies finding their feet in 2019 into 2020, we were hit by the Covid-19 shutdown and slowdown, which brought a huge amount of uncertainty. Being in the medical industry, our customers suddenly lost access to the clinical environments they needed to develop and test their products.

For us, the key was not to lose what we had already built. We worked hard to retain the team we had in place and that decision served us well. As restrictions eased and our customers needed to catch up, we were in a strong position to meet that demand.

What moment or deal would you say was a game changer for the company?

In 2021, our third year in business, we had outstripped our original business plan and expectations. We were outgrowing what we were.

This forced us to rethink what ICS could become. We redrew our strategy and defined a new plan. As part of that, we secured considerable (for us) debt finance backing and implemented a scale-up: relocating to a larger facility, investing in new technology, and expanding our overall headcount.

To what extent does your business trade internationally and what are your future ambitions?

Approximately 60 per cent of our sales are currently international, with a strong focus on Europe. We do plan and expect our international revenues to grow further.

For ICS to scale within the medtech industry, having a global footprint is essential.

Describe your growth funding path.

In the early stages, we were fortunate to have excellent, industry-based investors. We quickly achieved profitability and, for the most part, have been self-funding since then.

In 2022, we secured debt finance to fast-track our expansion plans, and in 2025, we are benefiting from significant Enterprise Ireland grant supports.

How are you deploying AI in your business?

AI is, and will continue to be, a transformative force in the industry. However, medtech is a highly regulated and validated space, so change tends to be slow and meticulous, for clear patient safety reasons.

We are actively exploring opportunities to apply AI and aim to be, at the very least, an intelligent follower.

What is the most common mistake you see entrepreneurs make?

We work with a lot of start-ups, and in my view, success is heavily dependent on the focused application of effort toward the right goals at the right time. When that focus and effort are lacking, the difference is clear.

What is the single most important piece of advice you would offer to a less experienced entrepreneur?

Build the right team as early as possible, people you trust, and who can take ownership and drive the business forward.