Rather impressively, ten Irish people have landed themselves a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list.
A very prestigious competition: over 20k entries are submitted each year. Many young entrepreneurs, scientists, and actors are making a difference in the world, but few stand out from the crowd.
From a well-known Irish actor to the founder of an entrepreneurial venture into the world of health foods, meet the young Irish people proving their worth on a global stage.
Éanna Hardwicke
Hazel Doupe
Hazel Doupe is a 24-year-old actress who hails from Dublin.
She made her breakthrough in the coming-of-age film Float Like a Butterfly in 2018, and has since gone on to appear in films such as You Are Not My Mother and The Miracle Club.
On TV, she’s known for her role in Say Nothing, starring alongside Lola Petticrew and Anthony Boyle.
Aghogho Okpara
Self-described as ‘a very ambitious woman’, Aghogho Okpara is a medical student and social media influencer known for her advocacy and educational equity.
In 2023, she was awarded the title of Gold Medal Winner for Research Excellence at UCD School of Medicine. She founded Achieve with Aghogho, which ‘helps ambitious students turn potential into success’.
Áine Murphy
Áine Murphy, 28, is the brains behind Young Irish Budgeter (YIB), which focuses on ‘promoting accessible financial literacy for the next generation’.
On Instagram, she’s garnered 261,000 followers thus far.
‘I feel so grateful to be included alongside such incredible people, so many of whom I’ve looked up to and admired for a long time,’ she said of being recognised by Forbes. ‘I truly believe social media can be a force for good. I’ve always seen it as a powerful tool to create positive impact.’
Billy O’Hora
At 29 years old, Billy O’Hora is the youngest Director of Partnerships ever at the ATP Tour, the global governing body of men’s professional tennis.
There, he works across 58 tournaments in 29 markets, overseeing $100 million in annual partnership revenue with a portfolio that includes Emirates, PIF, Rolex, Lacoste, Infosys, and Stella Artois.
Laura Murphy
Laura Murphy, founder of Oatco Superfuel, has also been recognised by Forbes.
She said: ‘This has been an absolute dream of mine for as long as I can remember, and to get this news this morning means the absolute world!!!
‘When I started Oatco, I had such a vision and big dreams for what this could become, and without all of you supporting me, my family, my team, our retailers, none of these crazy moments would have happened.’
Jack Cregan
Jack Cregan is the founder of Paymend, a Dublin-based revenue recovery platform that helps businesses convert failed card payments into completed sales. It does this by acting as a merchant of record and assuming transaction risk.
In 2025, the bootstrapped company recovered $53 million in failed payments with a 25-person team across six countries.
Donnacha Fitzgerald
Donnacha Fitzgerald is the founder of Origenity. The brand uses AI to build new cells with desired traits, and ‘precisely steer the genome’ in the field of genetics.
Currently, he’s designing tougher T-cells that resist exhaustion during cancer therapy. The company is supported by Emergent Ventures, Fifty Years, and Boost VC and is finalising a $3 million funding round.
Rachel Beatty
Rachel Beatty, a lecturer at the Royal College of Surgeons, is the final of ten Irish people to have been recognised in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
In collaboration with researchers at MIT, Rachel solved a challenge in her field by developing a first-of-its-kind implant that can detect immune attacks and adjust to overcome them. Groundbreaking!
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