Aoibheann Walsh was born to run... her own business. As a youngster, she exhibited entrepreneurial skills beyond her years when she set up a stall on ­Kerrykeel’s main street to sell lemonade to thirsty spectators who had gathered to watch the ­Donegal International Rally.

The annual event was a source of huge excitement for the residents of the quiet little town overlooking Mulroy Bay on the Fanad Peninsula. But for Aoibheann, it was a chance to sell some fizz and make a bit of money.

‘My mum told me that when I was really young, she asked me what I wanted to do with my life and I replied, “I’m going to have a business one day, but I don’t know yet what it’s going to be”,’ says Aoibheann, speaking after her shock exit from BBC series The Apprentice.

‘My grandparents on my mum’s side were in business. My granddad was a cattle dealer, and my granny, who passed away last year, was such an incredible, inspiring woman and hard worker. I have so much admiration for her.

‘They had an appliance company first and then ran a furniture company, so business is in my blood.

‘As well as selling lemonade at my stand in Kerrykeel, I also ran a soccer academy for my peers when I was about 10ten. I was always looking at ways to ­generate income.’

That business acumen came to the fore again when Aoibheann was studying beauty therapy at college and toying with the idea of setting up her own mobile tanning ­service. She could have turned to her parents for help to fund the purchase of a new spray-tanning gun but instead, the fiercely independent and resourceful Aoibheann went on Amazon and bought herself a fence spray gun online instead.

She also contacted various ­tanning companies throughout Ireland which sent samples of their products to her Donegal home. Aoibheann was then able to launch her mobile ­tanning service and, within a year, had made enough money to open her hair and beauty salon, G&G in Letterkenny. She was just 24.

‘I really hit the ground running with the business and within six months, we had won Best Business Start-Up,’ says Aoibheann.

‘We were coming out of a ­recession, and it was a challenging time. I remember thinking, “If I can make it through this, I can make it through anything.”

‘Mum had always said to me that when you’re running a business, you must be able to adapt and evolve to survive.’

Taking those words on board, Aoibheann continued to grow both her skills setand her salon, winning Best Wedding Hair and Makeup Artist for four consecutive years. She travels the country with her clinics and has built G&G into a hugely successful business. But it wasn’t investment for the salon that she was after when she decided to apply for the current series of The Apprentice.

Recognising similarities between her own journey and that of self-made billionaire Alan Sugar – who set up his company Amstrad at the age of 21 with £100 (€120) of Post Office savings – Aoibheann thought he would be a good fit for her new business plan.

After noticing a gap in the hair and beauty business for an ­ergonomic, easy-to-wear utility belt for ­stylists, make-up artists and ­costume designers on the go, ­Aoibheann designed and patented her own.

And it was with this product, SashSó – along with her passion and drive – that she hoped to win over Lord Sugar. Not surprisingly then, she was stunnedsurprised and disappointed to be the second contestant this series to hear those infamous words ‘You’re fired’ from The Apprentice boss.

‘Honestly, I think I was hard done by,’ says Aoibheann, who was ­ultimately pulled up by Lord Sugar for not speaking up enough during the first two weeks.

‘I did contribute a lot to the tasks. In the first episode, our team won the first challenge, and it was my final sales that got us that win.

‘But they didn’t even feature that! You didn’t get to see the sales I made because of the way the ­programme was edited.’

In the second episode, Lord Sugar set the two teams of contestants to work on creating a new virtual popstar. The teams were tasked with recording a single and ­making a music video as well as securing sponsorship from ­several big‑name brands.

Dubliner Jordan Dargan, an ­animation entrepreneur, put himself forward for Project Manager of one of the teams but was dismissed by Amber-Rose Badrudin, who took on the job herself. This team, which included Aoibheann, came up with a rap music concept with lyrics about making money.

Fearing the song was musically and lyrically too harsh, Aoibheann suggested using AI technology over part of the rap. However, the song and video failed to impress the potential backers, and the team lost the task.

Amber-Rose brought arch-rival Nadia Suliaman and Aoibheann back to face Lord  Sugar, who told the Kerrykeel businesswoman that he hadn’t heard enough from her before sending her packing.

‘I was so shocked to be brought back into the boardroom, and even when I was sitting there, I was thinking that there was no way I was going home,’ admits Aoibheann.

‘I just didn’t think I’d be fired because of an AI voiceover when I had made other contributions to the task.

‘One of the key roles of a project manager is to delegate to your team but I feel that Amber-Rose took full control of the project. She chose the rap genre and the theme of cash, and neither suited the brands we were trying to get on board.

‘I put the AI voice over the rap because I thought it might soften it, and that was to my detriment because I ended up going home. But I genuinely didn’t think that would happen.’

Aoibheann’s not alone in thinking Lord Sugar chose the wrong person to fire. ‘Not at all,’ laughs Aoibheann. ‘I’m a larger-than-life personality. I love being the centre of attention.

‘I used to watch The Apprentice every year but lately, I haven’t been watching much TV because I’m so busy at work and because I live in the most beautiful place in the world – so I spend a lot of my time outdoors.

‘Before I went on the show, I thought about watching it again and maybe coming up with a ­strategy but then I decided that no, I wouldn’t – I was going to be ­unequivocally myself.

‘I’ve never had to stand on heads in business over the years. I just don’t feel you need that approach and I’ve done very well without having to do that. But obviously my approach wasn’t good enough for AlanLord  Sugar, which is a pity as my product is patented and he’s missed out there.’

Despite her disappointment, Aoibheann says she still has a great deal of respect and admiration for the business tycoon and intends to keep in touch with the other ­contestants. She also says she was buoyed by the support from her parents and three siblings as well as the communities of Kerrykeel and Letterkenny.

‘The first night The Apprentice was airing, I was driving down home to Kerrykeel to watch it with my parents and every house that I passed, I could see into their living rooms, and it was on the TV screens,’ she says.

‘I got so much support from everyone at home who all remember me as this wee girl selling ­lemonade on the main street.’

For the past ten years or so, ­Letterkenny was home to ­Aoibheann as she built up her business, but she has recently bought a cottage in Donegal town and is ­currently in the process of moving in with her dog, Ken.

She is in a relationship with an architect-turned-actor called James Hissey, who lives in London and has appeared in Bridgerton and Game Of Thrones, but at present, she has no plans to leave Donegal.

‘We do the long-distance thing,’ she says. ‘But I can’t see myself ever leaving Donegal. I mean, why would I? It’s stunning here.’

Aoibheann studied fine arts initially, making money on the side as a catwalk model. While travelling in Australia, she met a makeup ­artist who offered her work, and she enjoyed it so much, she decided to train to be a film and television makeup artist when she returned to Ireland.

She kept herself up to date with the ever-evolving industry by doing different courses in makeup and beauty in Donegal, Dublin, London and France before finally opening her own salon.

But the next strand of her business is to grow SashSó, sadly without Lord Sugar’s £250,000 (€300,000) cash injection. At present there are two products, the cross-body utility belt for creatives, and a makeup bag for beauty lovers. The belts and bags are manufactured in Italy and Holland and will be available to buy online.

Now that The Apprentice is behind her, does she have any regrets about her brief time on the show?

‘No, no regrets. I’m happy because I stayed true to myself. I know I contributed what I needed to and, overall, it was an incredible experience,’ says Aoibheann.

‘Obviously it was a bit of a kick in the gut to hear AlanLord Sugar tell me “You’re fired” but every setback I get just pushes me that much harder to succeed. I walked out of that boardroom and straight back to SashSó thinking, “I’m going to make this a multi-million-pound company now”. The Apprentice was my leverage to make that happen and that’s the plan now.’