TCD students take Enactus Ireland title

‘Hope’ project aims to empower homeless people

From left: Liam Redmond, country manager of Enactus Ireland; Enactus Trinity College students Rudy O’Leary, Charlie Quirke, Daire Hennessy, Erin Kehoe, Scott Byrne, Aimee Louise Carton; Sene Naoupu Leinster Rugby star and Bank of Ireland ambassador and Terence O’Rourke, chairman of Enactus Ireland at the final in Chartered Accountants House in Dublin. Photograph: Naoise Culhane
From left: Liam Redmond, country manager of Enactus Ireland; Enactus Trinity College students Rudy O’Leary, Charlie Quirke, Daire Hennessy, Erin Kehoe, Scott Byrne, Aimee Louise Carton; Sene Naoupu Leinster Rugby star and Bank of Ireland ambassador and Terence O’Rourke, chairman of Enactus Ireland at the final in Chartered Accountants House in Dublin. Photograph: Naoise Culhane

Students from Trinity College Dublin beat off competition from the University of Limerick, Dublin City University and NUI Galway to win the Enactus Ireland National Competition in Dublin on Thursday evening.

Enactus is an international non-profit organisation that aims to inspire students to become involved in community development projects that improve the livelihoods of disadvantaged individuals and community groups. It runs a series of competitions at which students deliver presentations on the social impact of their initiatives.

On Thursday, TCD presented the impact of projects including Hope, which aims to empower homeless people to develop the skills they need to move out of homelessness and earn a wage while doing so. The team achieved this by giving people an opportunity to coach football teams of Trinity students, while at the same time helping to develop their soft skills and confidence. Enactus is supported by The Irish Times.