Many winners have graced Croke Park over the decades. But yesterday it wasn't the turn of the footballers of Kerry or the hurlers of Kilkenny to walk away with some silverware - that honour belonged to second-level students.

The famous GAA ground played host to the finals of the BUPA Ireland Company of the Year 2001. The competition encourages students to set up and run small enterprises and is open to all students aged between 15 and 18 years in second level schools.

Minister for Education & Science, Dr Michael Woods must have been somewhat surprised to find himself beside a bride and some well-dressed young men in a wedding photograph when he turned up to present the awards.

But the Minister did not get his appointments mixed up - the bride was a mannequin and the young men in tuxedos were the team behind Corkweddings.com, the overall winners of the competition.

The company is an advertising medium for wedding businesses on the Internet and its website consists of a comprehensive list of wedding services, such as stationary, florists and caterers. The company, which designed, produced and marketed the website, was set up by transition year students James Northridge, Stephen Ryan, Shane O'Mahony, Sean Flannery and William Murphy from CBS Midleton, Co Cork. It also scooped the marketing and sales award at the ceremony.

Managing director Stephen Ryan said "People spend a lot of money on weddings - the average is £9,000, so we thought we'd get a bit of that."

Already, the young entrepreneurs are planning to expand the business. "I'd say we'll cash in on this victory. We have already bought the domain name irelandweddings.com."

It was a back-to back victory for CBS Midleton which also picked up the top award in last year's competition. The company will represent the school and Ireland at the Young Enterprise Europe final to be held in Moscow in August.