Gráinne Mullins, founder of Grá Chocolates, has been named as one of Europe’s brightest stars in the art and culture sphere as she was named on the 2023 Forbes 30 under 30 list.

Mullins (28), a native of Galway, was already an established pastry chef in fine-dining restaurants before she launched Grá Chocolates from her parents' shed in 2020.

Three years’ later and the chocolate business, which features local Irish ingredients and hand-painted designs, has won more than six awards and has stockists including Brown Thomas and members of the Leading Hotels of the World group.

"OH MY GOD. Wow! I have just been named on Forbes 30 Under 30! This feels so surreal! I want to thank everyone for your support from Day 1. Grá Chocolates has made my dreams come true,” was Mullins’ reaction online upon finding out she had made the 2023 edition of the list.

Less than three years into the journey of Grá, Mullins’ business had its own factory in the Galway suburb of Ballybrit and according to Forbes, had a revenue of approximately €1m in 2022.

She was joined on the list by Athlone native Jack O’Meara, co-founder of Oxford-based biotech startup, Ochre Bio.

O’Meara (29) co-founded Ochre Bio in 2019 with business partner Quin Wills.

Ochre Bio uses a type of RNA technology that has been used in the development of Covid-19 vaccines by firms such as Pfizer and Moderna, as well as other methods in its work to improve the condition of livers donated for transplants, as well as the outcomes of such transplants.

Ochre Bio is developing new RNA therapies to treat liver disease and uses genomics data to identify targets and test them in donor livers rejected for transplants rather than mice. He's raised €40m from investors including Khosla Ventures and Y Combinator.

O’Meara obtained a science degree from NUIG before doing a masters in Notre Dame in the US.

Also on the list was  Aisling Byrne who founded re-commerce app Nuw. It aims to cut down on the impact of disposable fashion by using an exchange system for clothing.

“Our innovative token system allows Nuw members to give away items you no longer want and get items that are 'new to you', according to the company. Nuw has raised more than €2m in venture capital funding.

Ruth Williams is the fourth Irish talent to make the list, this time in the finance sphere.

Ruth (24) is senior VP of Blockchain and Digital Assets at BNY Mellon. She promotes diversity and has partnerships with the University of Dublin's Centre of Research Training in AI. “She also mentors job-seekers, refugees and asylum-seekers with Upwardly Global,” her Forbes profile states.

Co-founders of Irish founded Protex AI, Ciarán O’Meara and Dan Hobbs, who are 26 and 28, also feature on the prestigious list for this year.

Protex AI uses computer vision to “detect and predict risks to employee safety in manufacturing facilities, warehouses and ports”. Through 24/7 camera integration, events logs and safety audit reports, it can spot dangers and suggest safety corrections when needed. The company works with clients such as M&S and Proctor and Gamble.