Limerick entrepreneur, 16, invents sliotar to facilitate hurling in the dark

A TEENAGE entrepreneur has come up with a smart way to continue to enjoy playing hurling in the dark.

Cathal Sweeney, 16, a student at Mungret Community College, has created what he describes as a “glo speed ball”.

“I created this as I play hurling myself, and anyone who does play hurling knows the struggle for nearly half the year with it getting dark from 5pm to 6pm. All I want to do is go outside and puck a ball but due to light I couldn’t,” he explained.

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Off the back of this, he looked at ways of making the famous sliotar visible in the dark.

He researched several methods and approached a number of suppliers, before agreeing to combine the leather of a hurling ball with a powder, which makes the ball luminous.

“They are in the same mould as a standard ball, but mixed with a phosphorescent powder,” he explained.

The youngster, who plays both hurling and football for Mungret St Pauls, took around three months to develop the product.

And his efforts have been worthwhile, with an initial supply sold out ahead of the festive season.

“I’ve sold more than 1,000 of these balls across the country,” he told Limerick Live.

“It’s a good feeling - it doesn’t really feel real. I’ve always enjoyed doing things like this. My main thing when I develop a product is, I would never sell something I wouldn’t buy myself. When I develop products and services, I’d develop something I’d use myself and at a price point I’d pay. It’s the same with this.”

It’s for this reason Cathal is selling the sliotars for just €7.80 a unit, despite his saying he could probably retail it for more.

His product won the Limerick leg of the Local Enterprise Office Student Enterprise Awards competition, and he will represent Limerick at the Dublin final in spring as a result.

Cathal has a background in entrepreneurial activity, going back to his time in primary school.

Here, he initially sold sweets, and when older, sold trainers online.

By 14, he was going door-to-door cleaning cars, and developing websites for local businesses.