Congratulations: Mayo student wins top award

ATU student Isabella Doyle, from Ballycastle, Co Mayo, has won first place in the ATU Student Entrepreneur Awards 2026 for her concept “Bríach”, a preventative, therapeutic wheelchair designed to reduce long-term health complications caused by prolonged static sitting. 

Isabella is in fourth year studying a Bachelor of Arts in Product Design in ATU Galway City’s Wellpark Road campus. She was supervised on the project by lecturer Kenneth Nevin.

Describing “Bríach”, Isabella said she was inspired by her experience volunteering with a therapeutic horse-riding charity. “While working there, I saw the significant physical benefits that horse-riding therapy can provide for wheelchair users, particularly in improving core strength, balance, posture, and overall muscle engagement. However, I also noticed that many people were unable to access this therapy due to the physical requirements needed to mount and ride a horse, and limitations such as cost, travel and weather conditions.

"This led me to explore the idea of designing a new, imagined wheelchair that could bring the physical benefits of therapeutic horse riding directly into the wheelchair itself.

"After college, I hope to continue developing this concept through further research, iterative prototypes and refining the mechanism towards a medical-grade wheelchair standard. I would also like to continue gathering feedback from occupational therapists, physiotherapists, social carers, and wheelchair users to ensure the design responds to real needs and provides meaningful physical benefits." added Isabella.