The founder of a company that helps people with communication difficulties has been named the 2022 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year.
Martin McKay, Founder and CEO of Texthelp, was named the overall Entrepreneur Of The Year at an awards ceremony at the Powerscourt Hotel in Co Wicklow on Wednesday.
Mr McKay founded Texthelp in 1996 to help people with communication difficulties.
What started as a company focused on people with profound speech and dexterity disabilities has become a world leading assistive technology firm.
It has created smart, inclusive software that helps people read, write and share information more accurately.
Expansion
The Antrim-based company has seen a series of acquisitions that bring together the best language technologies from around the world.
This included the acquisition of Sweden-based assistive technology firm Oribi in October this year, and the education technology division of US-based Don Johnston Inc in January.
The firm now employs 350 people and has doubled its turnover since 2020.
Its goal is to advance the literacy and understanding of one billion people by 2030.
Mr Martin said he was 'blown away' by the win.
"It's kind of hard to describe," he said.
"I know the judges are all hugely successful and they're experienced people.
"For them to view my business the way that they do is really meaningful for me.
"It's a huge thing," he added.
Other winners
Tom O'Connor and Kieran Cusack, co-founders of Limerick-based Conack Construction, were named the named 2022 EY Established Entrepreneur Of The Year.
Fionn Lahart and Christoph Hennersperger of OneProjects were named the 2022 EY Emerging Entrepreneur Of The Year.
OneProjects is a privately held, venture-backed medical device company based in Dublin and Munich.
This year, for the first time, an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Sustainability Award was presented - recognising the critical importance of innovation leadership in meeting sustainability challenges.
Stephen Nolan, Managing Director of Nutritics, was named as the winner for the company's Foodprint service.
This is a carbon footprint scoring, display and reporting system that helps food businesses and their customers manage and measure their carbon impact.
This year EY received a record number of entrants and the finalists collectively have revenues in excess of €1 billion.
