Girl Guides cook up perfect batch

Carrigaline has taken the biscuit after being named as the country's top cookie-sellers.

The Carrigdhoun Guides and Carrigaline Senior Branch sold a total of 1,536 packets of Irish Girl Guides (IGG) cookies during last year’s IGG National Cookie selling month, raising €1,536 for the unit funds, which they spent on fun day trips.

Following this, the girls got a special visit recently from Dragon’s Den investor Alison Cowzer to congratulate them on their big achievement.

Carrigdhoun Guides Leader Aisling Claffey said they managed to sell so many because the girls became very passionate about the initiative.

“They all believed in it and worked really hard,” she said.

“The guide unit became the Carrigaline Cookie Company with all the guides as employees working in different departments – management, marketing, HR, sales and distribution and finance.

“We continued the company after Cookie Month and into the New Year when they continued to work in their departments and earned a number of more guide badges, including Money Matters, Healthy Mind and Online Safety.”

Ms Cowzer commented: “It could take centuries to achieve equality without serious efforts to bring women into male-dominated spheres such as business and politics.

“No other organisation in Ireland is specifically working with girls to tackle the gender imbalance in business and so I am very happy to be a part of this project, which is helping foster a spirit of entrepreneurship among Irish girls and young women,” she added.