The March Blarney & District Person of the Month is Robert Gabriel
26 year old Robert Gabriel, from Blarney, has been included in Forbes’ prestigious ‘30 under 30’ list of Europe’s leading young innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders. The Forbes list, which is published annually, includes young people who are seen as transforming business, technology, finance, media, healthcare, science, policy, social entrepreneurship, retail and the arts and entertainment, and totals 300 people from 32 European countries. Robert is in good company as the list includes several well-known names including climate change activist Greta Thunberg, chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen and diver Tom Daley. Robert, 26, appears in the social entrepreneurs category and is the founder of Helperbird, which is a tool for people with dyslexia. He set up the company after years of struggling in school with the condition before being diagnosed at the age of 16. After obtaining a degree in computer science, he built a browser extension that customizes text to make it easier for individuals with dyslexia. The company now supports an incredible 150,000 daily users from more than 28 countries.