“The geographical location of the Mid-Western region is great for us, in terms of connectivity with the United States,” Patrick says, “but the real benefit is the labour pool of highly qualified team members from universities such as UL and TUS, and multinationals such as Johnson and Johnson or Stryker.” Gillian Barry, Head of Innovation & Enterprise at TUS, understands all too well how important education, training and upskilling is to employers in the region. “We constantly engage with industry and listen to their needs, responding with a variety of solutions including apprenticeships, flexible postgrads and short advanced programmes such as microcredentials,” she says. “We’re seeing lots of innovation and new ways of learning in the educational sector to help solve companies’ problems. That’s something we can be really proud of in our region.” Gillian oversees the Limerick Chamber Regional Business Awards judging process, which is carried out under well-established codes of governance. The Chamber themselves are not involved in the judging – it’s outsourced to an independent panel of judges, to avoid any possibility of bias and ensure careful quality control. “The judges bring remarkable expertise and experience,” she says, pointing out that they tend to be drawn from the highest echelons in their industries. “They’re there from a business support perspective — they give their time for free to the Limerick Chamber to help the economic and social development in the community.” Judges of the 2021 awards included Lorna Conn, Deputy CEO of CPL Resources (Chairperson),
Liam Woulfe, CEO of Grassland Agro, and Sean Lally, Manager and CoOwner of Hotel Woodstock. Having been involved in the Awards since their inception ten years ago, Gillian has seen them develop and iterate over time. “We work hard to ensure that the categories are genuinely meaningful – the criteria brings in a national and local strategic perspective as well as aspects of company development and innovation that are relevant to the current business context. All of this
Organisations need to shape, adapt, and renew their underlying business model on a continuous basis to stay competitive. The Chamber recognised the team behind Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel & Spa for their demonstrable breakthrough success in pivoting and reinventing their long-established family business. Through agile strategy, judicious use of assets and carefully-adapted capabilities, they were able to leverage a new opportunity that led to business sustainability during COVID-19 as well as growth and job creation in the hard-hit hospitality sector. No strangers to innovation, the Fitzgerald family have seen their four-bedroomed bed and breakfast blossom over four decades into a four-star hotel with 94 rooms and a 250-strong workforce. Now led by matriarch Mary Fitzgerald and her children, David, Elaina, Conor and Richard, and daughter-in-law Orla, the Adare-based resort encompasses a spa, leisure centre, as well as 40 acres of lush woodlands and organic gardens. It was this outside space that lent the inspiration for their remarkable pivot during the
fosters an exceptional level of trust, and means the Limerick Chamber award is a respected and muchcoveted accolade.” This is echoed by Elaina Fitzgerald, Director of Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel & Spa, which won the Best Pandemic Pivot Award 2021. “To get that recognition from your peers, and the Limerick business community in particular, is a huge source of pride to us all,” Elaina recalls. “It’s an acknowledgment of our team, what they have achieved and how we overcame so many barriers during challenging times.”
pandemic. “While we were confined to a fivekilometre limit, we were conscious that we had a great space for people to safely take in some fresh air, clear their heads and enjoy the great outdoors,” Elaina recalls, “Then we thought offering a simple coffee and pastry would be an opportunity to bring back some of our team.” Over the next two years, that ‘coffee and pastry’ combination would morph into The Treehouse, an all-weather family-friendly experience that offers Scoops ice-cream, Farmhand coffee, New York-style pizza and private www.limerickchamber.ie
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