Kieran O’Hea, the founder of Digital Cork, says all towns in Ireland need to engage more with the digital economy.
Can you tell us about your background and how Digital Cork came about?
I’m from Cork but spent most of my career elsewhere, working in multimedia, web and digital strategy. I had some great experiences, managing Ireland’s first Apple Mac design agency, co-founding its first DVD authoring studio and being appointed the first chief digital officer of Brisbane.
I returned to Cork two years ago from Brisbane and saw opportunities to create a Cork digital strategy, promote the digital sector and develop the local digital economy. I created Digital Cork to encourage digital engagement at a strategic level both in business and in local government.
“Every region in Ireland needs more people who are driving the digital agenda.”
What are your passions? What drives you?
My passion is to develop Ireland’s digital economy across cities and towns, with Cork as the pacesetter. Digital Cork has given me a platform to voice this passion and is succeeding in building awareness. A suite of projects is ready to implement, once resources become available.
What drives me is the desire to see Cork taking its digital economy more seriously. I’ve invested a lot of my own time into Digital Cork, identifying initiatives like the need for a Cork digital strategy and am driven by the belief that one day these initiatives will be approved and funded.
“More effort is needed to engage SMEs in the digital economy, with as few as 14% currently trading online.”
What would you like to see more of in Cork?
With new developments planned across the city, Cork’s physical landscape will undergo dramatic change, but more emphasis needs to be put on its digital landscape. Vision and planning are needed to secure Cork’s share of the global digital

Are you an early stage Irish tech firm, media business or fintech startup that wants to break into the U.S. market?
The New York-based Digital Irish Angels (DIA) Syndicate, a group of angel investors, says it wants to invest $150,000 to $250,000 in four to five Irish digital companies each year.
The DIA is now an official partner of HBAN (the Halo Business Angel Network), an organisation responsible for the promotion of angel investment, and a joint initiative of Enterprise Ireland and InterTradeIreland.
“There is an affinity with, and appetite for, investing in high-potential, Irish companies.”
According to the DIA, the angels will not only provide funding but also access to their networks, to help Irish startups grow their businesses in the US and on a global scale. To date, the digital Irish group has invested in a number of Irish startups including Sytorus, Video Elephant, Brightflag, Deposify and ProVerum Medical.
“The lead angels of our New York syndicate are successful entrepreneurs who have the knowledge, contacts and expertise to help Irish companies enter the US market and grow into international success stories,” says John Phelan, national director of HBAN.
“There is an affinity with, and appetite for, investing in high-potential, Irish companies among Irish-American business angels in the US,” says Feargall Kenny, of the DIA syndicate.
The partnership between HBAN and the Digital Irish Angels was launched at an event at the residence of the Consul General in New York City. Pictured at the event are (l-r) John Phelan, national director, HBAN; Feargall Kenny, Digital Irish Angels Syndicate; and Ciarán Madden, Consul General of Ireland in New York.
About the Digital Irish Angels
The Digital Irish Angels group was formed in 2015 by David Beatty, Feargall Kenny and Shane Naughton. It is an angel syndicate that invests in Irish startups, for accredited investors. The group was formed out

Started by three transition year students, ROC Protection can prevent contact injuries in hurling and camogie. Co-founder Carl Cullen talks about creating this innovative sportswear.
How did the idea for ROC Protection come about?
We had to start a mini-company in transition year and it was our teacher who encouraged us to enter the Student Enterprise Awards which we were lucky enough to win. ROC Protection is what we came up with and since then we’ve grown from strength to strength. The function of ROC is to reduce the impact of oncoming sliotars and hurls, and we’ve done this by placing padding on areas such as the collarbones, chest, abdominal area and rib cage as these are the most threatened areas to be hit.
How did you fund and start the business?
We initially got five sample jerseys in which only cost about €100 so we all pitched in. We then sent the jerseys to stores to use as samples. When those stores placed an order they paid a deposit and we ordered more jerseys in with that. We kept doing that until we got to the stage where we could have our own stock of jerseys.

“The function of ROC is to reduce the impact of oncoming sliotars and hurls.”

Do you have plans to roll out your product in other sports?
Yes. We’d love to branch out into more globally recognisable sports. This will of course help our company grow. It’s something we’ll look to work on in the future.

How have you marketed it?
Just a lot of Facebook and Instagram. You can’t get any better than targeted Facebook ads or Instagram influencers. We have also made a promo video which you can see on our website and our social media channels @ROCProtection. We also featured on the Late Late Show with Ryan Tubridy

What a great name for a design company – Red Lemonade Creative. Here John Cleere, the founder, talks about starting a business in the South East and the rise of Kilkenny as a major hub for the design, creative and tech industries.
Tell us about your background and what you are working on at the moment?
I am a native of Kilkenny and returned to the city 15 years ago, after a spell working in Dublin, to set up the design agency Red Lemonade Creative. Kilkenny is the perfect location for a healthy work-life balance.
At Red Lemonade we help clients design better products and services. Currently, we are finding opportunities to develop beyond our design and production services to including the growing need for business design strategy. We are now working with client teams on Design Sprints, a process of design that rapidly tests new business ideas and features, and finds problems and solutions, creating real, constant progress.
The projects we work on are always varied, engaging with new industries on a continuous basis. Right now, for example, we are designing websites for a new Kilkenny festival and a biotech company. We are also midway through a corporate brand and digital strategy for a new business innovating in off-site construction.
“Design is one of the largest growing industries creating value in the economy.”
What are your passions? What drives you?
Design is obviously my passion, and I see tremendous possibilities here for industry, communities and employment. This inspired me to set up ‘Tech Thursday Kilkenny’ which has now been running for two years. It’s a monthly meetup of business people and curious locals interested in the new industries of tech, design and innovation. The meetups have more than 200 people attending and are growing in strength.
Can you tell us more about ‘Tech Thursday Kilkenny’?
Tech Thursday Kilkenny

Imagine a business that captures and preserves local stories from all over Ireland. StoryTracks does this and its ambitions are huge. 

The telling of stories has always been integral to Irish life and it’s this rich vein of talent that Fergal Nealon’s, StoryTracks app aims to preserve. Collecting and recalling authentic stories of a locality can spawn that sense of belonging and connection for both native and visitor alike. In 2016, the Sligo man began researching the market and outlines below, his hopes and aspirations for StoryTracks, a new storytelling audio-guide.
Capturing stories 
The first real exposure, I had to collect tales, was during my time back home in Sligo, when my parents needed caring. At that time, I worked alongside my late father, Ted Nealon on the compilation and editing of ‘Tales from the Dail Bar’, his collection of yarns and anecdotes, from his career in broadcasting and politics. When he passed away four years ago, so many great tales went with him. Such is the case, multiplied across the country, where stories lay dormant, gathering dust, perhaps lost to local memory forever. This was the initial inspiration behind StoryTracks, a user-friendly means to capture older generations’ stories in an engaging digital platform.
“Fáilte Ireland recently announced a €1.25 million fund for ‘Storytelling in Ireland’s Ancient East’.”
It was time for something more sensible
My background and training were in visual storytelling, working in the TV and film industries. After my parents became unwell, I decided to leave the industry and moved back to Sligo 10 years ago, to care for them. During my free time, I discovered the game of poker and was fascinated by the strategy and game theory involved. I threw myself into studying the game, and within two years I was playing at the highest levels in both online as well

Vanessa Tierney’s business Abodoo finds jobs for remote workers and smart workers. Currently, there are three forms of remote working, and it’s quickly becoming ‘the norm’. 

Following a spell in the UK, serial entrepreneur and recruitment specialist, Vanessa Tierney, became aware of a growing gap in the recruitment market. In 2014, she returned home with her husband and two years later co-founded Abodoo. The business makes it easier for people who don’t want to commute long distances to work and to intuitively match them to firms looking for new talent.
It’s a platform for professionals and skilled workers who would like the option to either work from home, hub, office or a hybrid of these. She reveals the inspiration behind starting the business, along with her future ambitions in this blossoming sector. Abodoo launched recently and is located in the Hatch Lab, in Gorey, Co Wexford, with a team of 13 people and growing, spread across the UK and Ireland.
“What was missing was a national database for remote and flexible workers. It has become our mission to work with the IDA and build that database.”
The inspiration came easily
The name Abodoo derives from ‘abode’ meaning home and ‘do’ meaning work. Some years ago, I moved to the UK for medical treatment, and at the time I needed to recuperate from my former home there. Despite the disruption, I was able to work remotely from home, while successfully managing my team in Dublin via Skype. It showed me you could hire people from any location. My team also worked remotely and carried out recruitment globally for the IDA. More and more FDI companies were arriving in Ireland.What was missing was a national database for remote and flexible workers. It has become our mission to work with the IDA and build that database – a

Here are five very different businesses that are showing strong growth. 
The Little Milk Co.
Its business is making organic cheese. The organic sector in Ireland is worth about €140 million while the organic market in Germany is worth €10 billion. From start to now, the business has grown tenfold. “Looking five years down the road, we’d like the business to be four times the size it is today. Most of our growth will come from exports because the markets for organic products abroad are ‘ginormous’,” says CEO, Conor Mulhall. Read more here.
Child Paths
Child Paths developed a web responsive app to support, assist and educate parents in understanding what they can do at different stages of their child’s early development years. The app helps early years educators to work quicker and smarter cutting down on the amount of time spent reporting with pen and paper and in turn giving them more time to spend on what’s most important, the children. The business already has thousands of paying customers and is looking to expand outside of Ireland. www.childpaths.ie. 
Fund Recs
Fund Recs provides reconciliation software to the global funds industry. If you’ve studied any accounting in school, you’ve probably completed a bank rec from your accounts to a bank statement. Fund Recs provides software that automates that same process but on a much larger scale and with a lot more complexity. The firm’s clients typically use Fund Recs software to free people up from time-intensive data processing like filling in Excel spreadsheets with manual data. The business was started in early 2014 and is expanding to serve its enterprise clients locally and internationally.
HUB Controls
HUB Controls, a Tallaght-based company which makes a device that regulates temperatures in the home, is a leader in the Cleantech industry. The word “cleantech” spans all sectors – from energy to transport and

Graham Burns is a regional director with CPL, one of Ireland’s leading recruitment agencies based in Limerick, with a responsibility on business development and operations.
What are you most interested in?
I’m always interested in seeking new opportunities to grow, both on a personal level and professionally.
What are your ambitions?
Challenge the status quo to create a path that others will grow from, and to always be learning.
What drives you?
I’m mostly driven by seeing my family, friends and colleagues achieve their full potential.

“Challenge the status quo to create a path that others will grow from”

 
Who do you admire in business?
So many to choose from, but locally, Margot Slattery, a proud Limerick woman who has consistently conquered the challenges that were in front of her. She has a great story.
What are we doing well in Limerick?
Limerick is emerging as a truly attractive destination for diverse sectors from technology to medical device and from financial services to professional services. The combination of our educated workforce powered by first class educational institutes and a comfortable lifestyle is our unique selling point.

“Limerick is emerging as a truly attractive destination for diverse sectors ”

What way could the city improve?
More pedestrianisation in the city and more quality accommodation within the city and make it far easier for better access for shoppers, commuters, workers to get in and out of the city.
What makes Limerick unique?
The people in Limerick make this place truly unique. Without their creativity and risk taking we would not be on the upward curve we’re currently on.

Is this the most innovative farm in Ireland? If not, it’s undoubtedly one of the most adventurous.
Over 30 years ago, Pat and Miriam Mulcahy purchased Ballinwillin House, a historic building with 14 acres of land, located close to the town of Mitchelstown in Co. Cork. Their dream was to reintroduce wild boar back into Ireland, and Ballinwillin farm has since become a specialist breeder of organic deer, wild boar and goats. It’s a tale of how a farming family, with limited land resources, pioneered and developed a unique and award-winning artisan food and agritourism business.
“The reintroduction of wild boar to Ireland is something we are quite proud of and passionate about.”
Thinking differently
We started off with a dry stock enterprise at Ballinwillin in 1985. I had a real passion to do something different with the land, and after the first year, we sold off the cattle and began sourcing and importing deer from abroad. The reintroduction of wild boar to Ireland is something we are quite proud of and passionate about. We had succeeded in bringing together on our farm, the first two animals initially consumed as food, by our ancient ancestors; and what’s also unique about our enterprise is that we are – the only organic deer and wild boar farm, across the whole of Britain and Ireland.

Deer and wild boar farming
We went around the world researching deer carcase sizes. We initially bought deer in England and Scotland, but the carcase sizes were too small to be commercially viable. We then travelled to New Zealand and discovered that they had sourced all their deer in Hungary – and that’s what took us to Hungary. The deer we sourced in Hungary in 1985 were the breeding stock for the herd of Hungarian Red deer that we have today on our farm

Vanessa Liston from CivicQ was the recent winner of the Enterprise Ireland HPSU Sprint Programme pitch competition held at the Guinness Enterprise Centre. The aim of SPRINT is to help founders develop the skills needed to build a successful business.
CivicQ is a startup that looks at new ways to structure and visualise public opinion. The service can improve engagement between voters, governments and organisations on public issues.
Vanessa Liston holds a PhD in Political Science from Trinity College Dublin. Her research interests are democratic theory, Web 2.0 and emerging technologies for enabling innovations in political systems. 
CiviQ’s products and services are based on “recent ground-breaking innovations in deliberative democratic theory”.
Clients of CivicQ include the European Commission; Cork City Council; the Department of Health; Innovate Dublin and Irish Water.
Below is a video of Vanessa Liston presenting to the World Forum for Democracy.

Related Resource

To find out more about the HPSU SPRINT programme go here.