STEM Professional Branch Winner, Joan McCann of The Code Lab at the Network Ireland Louth Businesswoman of The Year Awards 2025 at The Fairways Hotel, Dundalk.  Photo: Jenny Callanan Photography.
I am so thrilled and immensely proud to share that I won the Louth Businesswoman of the Year STEM Professional Award at the Network Ireland Louth Awards 2025.
This award means so much to me and to The Code Lab. What began as a passion to spark creativity and confidence in kids through coding has grown into something truly special, and this recognition felt like an acknowledgement of every step of that journey. The judges’ words describing me as a “quintessential role model for STEM who is using STEM skills to educate others and share knowledge” were incredibly humbling.
A huge thank you to Network Ireland Louth, to judges Niamh Shaw, Fionnuala Rogers, and Sarah Boylan, to the organisers, and to award sponsors FACE Credit Consultancy, AIB, and Local Enterprise Office Louth for this honour. Their support for women in business and women in STEM means a great deal.
To all the finalists and fellow Network Louth members on the night, it was a privilege to stand beside such a powerhouse of talent from across the Wee County and celebrate everyone’s businesses together. Thank you to Network Louth president Nicola Connolly Byrne, awards coordinator Niamh Pentony, and the full Network Louth Committee for organising such a wonderful night at The Fairways Hotel, Dundalk.
This win isn’t just for me. It’s for the parents who tried something different for their sons and daughters. It’s for the schools who empowered their pupils with digital skills. It’s for our collaborators, who gave us opportunities to grow, and our mentors, who encouraged and supported us along the way. And most of all, it’s for the kids, the curious young minds who came on a journey of discovery with code and emerged as the creative, confident digital thinkers of the future. It’s all about the kids. They are our why.
Winning this award at Louth level also opened the door to representing the branch at the Network Ireland National Awards later that year, where I went on to win the Judges Recognition Award in the STEM Category, a proud follow-on from this first win.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey so far. The Code Lab is only getting started, and I’m excited to see how far we can take it.
