Niall Horan   

Making the number one spot on our list  of Ireland's most influentional and aspiring teenagers is Niall Horan. He was born in Mullingar, Co Westmeath. He has one older brother, Greg. His parents divorced when he was five and he lived between homes, until he chose to live with his dad.

Niall was interested in music from a young age and started playing the guitar when he was twelve. One year later he entered the school's talent show, singing The Script's 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved.' At the age of 16, he auditioned for the television show "The X Factor" and was accepted into the competition. Although he did not make the final rounds as a solo vocalist, he joined forces with four other contestants to form the successful boy band One Direction.

Horan is the only One Direction member who was born outside England and he is the second youngest member of the band. He claims to be inspired by classic swing music and by the vocalist Michael Bublé. Horan is one of Ireland’s hottest young stars to emerge in recent years to emerge from the Irish music scene and also one of the country's richest stars with an estimated $8 million dollar net worth. The Mullingar native has a legion of loyal fans and is a firm favorite as a teenage heart throb. 

Check out the Horan's attempts to speak Spanish:

 

 Saoirse Ronan


Saoirse was born in New York City, but the family moved to Ireland when she was three. The family settled in County Carlow.  Her father is Irish actor Paul Ronan. Saoirse achieved international fame after appearing in the movie "Atonement" (2007) directed by Joe Wright. The film was successful, both critically and commercially, and Saoirse earned an Oscar nomination for her role. She became one of the youngest people ever to be nominated for an Oscar.   

After this, she continued to earn success and fame. Between 2008 and 2011 she starred in a number of successful movies including "City of Ember" (2008), which earned her a nomination for an Irish Film & Television Award, "The Lovely Bones" (2009), for which she was nominated for a BAFTA, and "The Way Back" (2010), for which she won the Irish Film & Television Award for Actress in a Supporting Role.

The down to earth Irish girl is soon to become one of Ireland’s leading ladies as her career continues to go from strength to strength. She has been compared to film icon Maureen O' Hara. 

The Collision Brothers



John and Patrick Collision, founded one of Ireland's hottest new technology companies, Stripe, which has catapulted the brothers onto the global stage.

Stripe provides a low cost method for companies to accept credit card payments online without administrative and financial hassles. The company has been valued at over $1 billion.

The Co Limerick natives revealed recently that they have no intentions of cashing out on their company anytime soon.

"Many people don't know this, but we started working on Stripe almost two years before it launched publicly. There was a long period where we were writing code to support a small handful of users, and navigating a relatively unfamiliar industry."

"We wrote the first lines of code in October 2009. Three months later, in the following January, we got our first customer. The brothers are living the dream, with the company headquarters in an old trunk factory in the Mission district of San Francisco. Patrick and John were named in The Sunday Times’s Irish Rich List with a $81m holding in Stripe.

  

The Strypes



 

The Strypes are 4-piece rhythm and blues band hailing from Cavan, formed in 2011 by Ross Farrelly (lead vocals/harmonica), Josh McClorey (lead guitar/vocals), Pete O’Hanlon (bass guitar/harmonica) and Evan Walsh (drums).

The group has spent the past 18 months launching their explosive R&B assault on the clubs and festivals of Ireland, the UK and Europe, viciously hammering out a no-nonsense blues repertoire drawing from the songbooks of Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Slim Harpo and more with the passion and venom of British blues groups such as Dr. Feelgood, The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones and The Animals.    

Having already been met with critical acclaim from greats such as Jeff Beck and Paul Weller and been tipped by NME as the No. 1 new band to watch, it seems things can only get better for The Strypes.     

Jordan Casey



Ireland has become a breeding ground for some of Europe’s youngest software development talent and Waterford native Jordan Casey became one of youngest iOS app developers after launching his game "Alien Ball Vs Humans."

The Waterford programmer who runs his own games company, Casey Games, addressed over 4,000 delegates on the topic “Things I learned the hard way as a young CEO” in 2013. Here at IrishCentral we feel 2014 is going to be another standout year for this young man.

Joanne O’ Riordain

Joanne O’Riordain is currently one of nine people who live with the condition Tetra Amelia Syndrome, a condition that meant the young Irish woman was born without any limbs. This has not stopped the courageous young woman from standing up for what she believes in and she has become one of Ireland’s youngest disability campaigners.

   

At 15, she single-handedly shamed Irish prime minister Enda Kenny into reversing budget cuts to disability allowances. On the week of her 16th birthday she spoke at a UN conference in New York on women in technology, receiving a standing ovation.

   

She was the subject of an intimate new documentary – "No Limbs, No Limits" – directed by her brother Steven, allowing the world to see the full extent of O’Riordain’s astonishing achievements to date.

 

Donal Walsh

Donal Walsh, the teenager from Co Kerry who lost his battle to cancer in May 2013, was one of the most talked about teenagers in Ireland in 2013 and he will continue to be so for many years to come. Donal was fondly remembered for the empowering message delievered not long before his death. He urged the Youth of Ireland to think twice about suicide and to ask for help. Life was precious to this young man and he wanted to spread this message.

The national broadcaster in Ireland, RTÉ, aired a documentary "Donal Walsh – My Story." in early January 2014. The program took a look at the life of the anti-suicide campaigner, who passed away aged 16 earlier this year after a four-year battle with cancer. His message caught fire on social media, and, even after his death, this inspirational young man continues to do good.