Actor Paul Mescal among at least 10 Irish people on Forbes ‘30 under 30’ list

Individuals across arts, media, science, finance and industry on prestigious ranking

Normal People star Paul Mescal, Olympic rowing champion Paul O'Donovan and Apis Protect co-founder Fiona Edwards Murphy are among at least a dozen Irish people included in Forbes's prestigious "30 under 30" list of leading young innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders.

Other Irish people to make the list this year include Change Donations co-founder William Conaghan and artist Jack Coulter.

The Forbes list includes young innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders who are aged under 30 and who are seen as transforming business, technology, finance, media, healthcare, science, policy, social entrepreneurship, retail and the arts and entertainment.

Mr Mescal (24) is included in the list this year following his breakout performance in the TV adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel, Normal People. His English co-star, Daisy Edgar-Jones (22), also makes the cut.

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Other Irish people to be included in the entertainment category are Neil Dunne (25), co-founder of audio analysis company Andrson, and musician Joy Crookes (22), a Bangladeshi-Irish singer-songwriter who has been garnering comparisons to Amy Winehouse and Lauryn Hill.

In the finance category, Paul Allen (25) a partner within JP Morgan's technology investment banking division in London is included.

William Conaghan (29), who co-founded Dublin-based company Change Donations with Lizzy Hayashida, makes the social impact list. The start-up is a micro-donation company helping charities and non-profits connect with a younger generation of donors.

Also included in the same category is Ireland-based Ralf Alwani (29), co-founder of Urban Scale Interventions, which is heavily involved in the £25 million Our Future Foyle project to transform Derry's riverfront.

Beekeeper data

In the manufacturing and industry list is Fiona Edwards Murphy (29), co-founder and chief executive of Apis Protect, which uses sensors and internet of things technology to enable beekeepers to remotely track data from their hives. She is joined in this category by Elizabeth Gilligan (29), co-founder of Material Evolution, a company that has developed “algorithmic concrete”, which is five times more durable than traditional concrete.

Jack Coulter (26), a Belfast-based abstract expressionist artist whose works are owned by the likes of Anne Hathaway, Paul McCartney and Patti Smith, is included in the arts and culture section.

In media and marketing, Kieran Guilbert (29), an editor with Thomson Reuters Foundation in London makes the list, while in sport, Paul O'Donovan, who along with his brother Gary won silver at the 2016 Olympics, is also included.

In science and technology, west Cork's Fionn Ferreira (20), the founder of Fionn & Co is included. A scientist, engineer and inventor, he was named grand prize global winner at the 2019 Google Science Fair for devising a non-harmful way to extract microplastics from water.

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor is a former Irish Times business journalist