They are well known, they are Irish and they are entrepreneurs. What else could Mr Eddie Jordan, Mr Denis O'Brien and the creators of Riverdance - Mr John McColgan and Ms Moya Doherty - possibly have in common?

The link between all three is that they are previous winners of Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards, with Mr Jordan winning it in 2000 and Mr McColgan and Ms Doherty as overall winners in 1999. Mr O'Brien won the award in 1998.

The awards set out to identify the leading entrepreneurs on the island of Ireland as well as recognising, rewarding and encouraging entrepreneurship across the economy.

Enterprise and the existence of entrepreneurs in Ireland is not a new concept here or abroad, though. As Mr Enda Kelly, partner in charge of the awards programme at Ernst & Young, said at the launch of the 2001 awards in February: "Ireland is developing a tremendous international reputation for entrepreneurship, and our ability to encourage and reward this most vital characteristic will be critical to our continued economic development."

Businesses set up by entrepreneurs are widespread and it is Ireland's economic development that has given them the room to breathe and grow. Sandwich deliveries to offices, wraps, smoothies, juice bars, a range of telecoms companies, Internet cafes, crafts and nice things that people can adorn their homes with, clothing and accessories, the list of businesses entrepreneurs have set up in recent years is extensive. "There is a million and one things," says Mr Gerry Macken, chief executive of Dublin City Enterprise Board, adding that Ireland's new-found affluence permeates everywhere and creates opportunities for small business.

Mr Macken believes there are more and more Irish people setting up their own businesses. "There are a couple of reasons driving it. There is more confidence out there. People are generally more buoyant about the economy. Money is relatively cheap, there is access to finance, and interest rates are lower."

Also because the nature of work has changed, a job is no longer necessarily for life, and there is greater opportunity for people to turn a good idea into an enterprise.

If the idea doesn't work, people with skills can go back into the workforce, he says. He has noticed there are more women, more people in their mid-20s, recent graduates, and people with a technical background setting up a business.

Because of our increased affluence there is a strong demand for goods and services. Like the lack of affordable living space in the capital, there is also a lack of affordable office space, a problem that the board has to face. "While Dublin is the place to do business, it can be an expensive place to establish a business. It's a Catch-22," explains Mr Macken.

Some extra space for entrepreneurs to get their projects up and running in the city centre was officially opened earlier this year in the form of the £6.8 million (#8.63 million) Guinness Enterprise Centre which has 6,000 sq m divided between 77 incubator units, making it one of the largest enterprise centres in the State.

The partners in the project are Guinness Ireland Group, Dublin Corporation, Dublin Business Innovation Centre, Dublin City Enterprise Board, Enterprise Ireland and the Guinness Workers' Employment Fund, which were all generous in the funding and expertise required to get the show on the road.

When it comes to giving entrepreneurs a helping hand, it seems everyone has their arm extended. Funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Dublin City Enterprise Board is just one of 35 city and county enterprise boards, distributed between the electoral areas, whose function it is to foster micro-enterprises and start-ups. There are four in Dublin, four in Cork and two each in Tipperary, Limerick and Waterford and one in each of the other counties. Established in 1993, they are all companies limited by guarantee, but subject to the control of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The boards are funded from the Exchequer and can also draw down funding from the two regional operational programmes - the Border, Midlands and West and the South and East.

According to the Local Enterprise Section in the Department, enterprise boards promote an enterprise culture by running a lot of training courses and providing counselling and mentoring to entrepreneurs in order to develop expertise. Because there is almost full employment in some areas, the boards are refocusing the kind of work they are doing in order to ensure they are investing in the entrepreneurial base and enhancing the capacity of companies to be competitive; it's not all about counting jobs.

The enterprise boards focus on companies of 10 employees or less or on start-ups. Enterprise Ireland focuses on small to medium industry and supports the development of new fast-growth businesses, for example, in manufacturing or internationally traded services that would have credible projected sales of at least £750,000 and 10 jobs by year three. Community groups can avail of the FAS-run Community Enterprise Programme, which was established by the State to support local economic initiatives. The programme aims to help communities help themselves and provides advice, training and some financial assistance to assist them in turning an idea into a viable business.

And that's what being an entrepreneur is all about - turning a good idea into a good business.