Irish Student Develops Glow-in-the-Dark Hurling Ball, Wins National Enterprise Award

Meet Cathal Sweeney, the 16-year-old Irish student (Image Credit: Student Enterprise Programme)

For Cathal Sweeney, a frustrating problem on the hurling pitch became the starting point for an innovative student business. A self-described hurling enthusiast, Sweeney found that training on dark winter evenings could be difficult when there was not enough light to see the sliotar clearly. Rather than accepting the problem, he developed a glow-in-the-dark ball designed to help players continue practising when daylight fades. The idea eventually became GLO Hurling and its flagship product, the Glo Ball. In 2026, GLO Hurling won the Senior Category at the Student Enterprise Programme National Finals. Sweeney, a student at Mungret Community College in Limerick, developed the product as part of his Student Enterprise project. According to the official Student Enterprise Programme, the idea arose from his frustration when trying to train during dark winter evenings.

A solution for darker evenings

The Glo Ball was designed to address a practical challenge faced by hurling and camogie players who want to continue training when natural light is limited. The ball uses phosphorescent material, which absorbs light and gradually emits it over time, creating a glow effect. The technology allows the sliotar to remain visible in darker conditions. To create a longer-lasting glow, Sweeney paired the ball with a high-strength UV light. This combination is intended to improve the ball's visibility and make it suitable for training when daylight is unavailable. According to the official Student Enterprise Programme profile, the Glo Ball was designed for both children and adults who play hurling or camogie, offering a potential solution for players training during darker periods of the year.

From an idea to a business

What began as a response to a personal frustration developed into GLO Hurling, Sweeney's student enterprise. According to RTÉ, Ireland's national public service broadcaster, the Glo Ball generated €40,000 in sales within four months of its launch. The project went on to achieve national recognition at the 2026 Student Enterprise Programme National Finals, where GLO Hurling won the Senior Category. The official winners' list identifies the business, representing Mungret Community College in Limerick, as the top entry in its category. The achievement placed Sweeney's idea among a range of student-led businesses developed through the national programme, which encourages secondary school students to create and develop their own enterprise ideas.

An everyday problem

The story behind the Glo Ball highlights how simple, everyday problems can sometimes inspire practical innovations. For Sweeney, the challenge was finding a way to continue hurling practice when winter darkness made training more difficult. His response was to rethink one of the sport's most familiar pieces of equipment and develop a sliotar that could remain visible after daylight faded. The result was a product built around a specific need: helping hurling and camogie players continue practising in low-light conditions. The idea also shows how innovation does not always begin with a complicated scientific breakthrough. Sometimes, it starts with a problem that many people encounter and a willingness to look for a different solution.

A winning idea

By turning that challenge into a working product and student business, Sweeney's GLO Hurling earned national recognition in Ireland's 2026 Student Enterprise Programme. The Glo Ball combines a traditional piece of sporting equipment with phosphorescent technology and UV charging to create a practical training tool for darker conditions. For Sweeney, the idea began with the simple frustration of trying to train on a dark winter evening. It eventually developed into an award-winning student enterprise and a reminder that useful ideas can emerge from the everyday problems people encounter in the activities they enjoy most.

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