Connect Business August/September 2020

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The Business Magazine for Kerry

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BUSINESS Rock Street MARK DALY Life in Politics

All to offer on Rock Street.

Safety Matters

Kerry Business celebrates 15 years in business.

Philly McMahon

Dublin footballer talks mental health and protecting yourself.

News From Your Local Chamber Alliance .... See inside

2 | Connect BUSINESS | Aug 2020

EDITOR NOTE Hi all We are back!!, like all business our business magazine came to a grinding halt in March, but thankfully with the support of some wonderful local businesses booking adverts once again it has afforded us the opportunity to bring you a very interesting issue, We chat to Patricia Casey of Absolute Safety Matters celebrating 15 years in business. Mark Daly tells us about life in the Seanad and the great dublin footballer talks about his drive for supporting mental health We visit rock street in Tralee one of the vibrant streets in the town.

We have some great advice from experts on looking after your body and health through all these stressful times.

We are also delighted to announce some great new things in the pipelines for Connect Business check out inside for full details.

As we are bi monthly our next issue will be October so please do get in touch if you have a good news story you want to share In the meantime stay safe and mind each other.

Margaret x

Editor: Margaret Kissane Design: Yevgen Kalynin For Advertising Enquiries: Margaret: 086 2408237 sales@connectpublications.ie For Editorial Enquiries: info@connectpublications.ie

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PATRICIA CASEY SAFETY MATTERS

By Marisa Reidy IT’S been a year that no business owner is likely to forget in a hurry, but for Traleebased Safety Matters, 2020 marks a very significant milestone as the company celebrates its 15th anniversary.

At the forefront of this renowned safety consultancy business is founder and Ballyheigue native Patricia Casey, who set up the company in 2005 having moved home to her native Kerry after spending a number of years studying and Working in Limerick and Clare.

As humble a company boss as you’re likely to find, Patricia insists that the success of Safety Matters would not have been possible without the amazing team of professional she has around her today, and says her business could not have built up such a stellar reputation without them.

Interestingly, Patricia recalls exactly when she realised she wanted to work in health

and safety – when her own father fell victim to an illness picked up while working on the family farm.

“Many years ago, my dad developed a zoonotic disease picked up from a farm animal [a blood infection caused by the bacteria] and spent many weeks in hospital. That was exactly the moment I realised I wanted to do something in health and safety because even as a young child I remember thinking ‘I cannot believe a person’s job or livelihood could injure you so seriously or even kill you,” she recalls.

“Dad spent many weeks in hospital while my mother kept the farm going milking cows and minding us four children until my dad was strong enough again to come back to work. It’s just something that could have been avoided and to this day I always advise farmers and those in construction or outdoor work to get vaccinated.”

After a number of years of working with multinational companies across Munster in the food manufacturing, health care,

construction and wood processing sectors, Patricia dreamt of starting her own business in Kerry where she and her now husband Noel Fitzgerald wanted to settle.

With no jobs on the horizon in the area in which she was qualified, Patricia took the brave move to set up on her own. Thankfully, she has never looked back.

“Ireland was booming in 2005 and I could see there was an opportunity for a professional health and Safety Company to be established in the Kerry region, so I decided to set up myself and see how it went, so I started out training and helping small companies and large organisations to draft safety statements, risk assessments, emergency procedures specific to their own individual entities, as that’s what I had been doing in my previous workplaces and had expertise from many different sectors including manufacturing, construction, food production and healthcare as I had started out my career initially studying Microbiology and chemistry and had worked in laboratories in both healthcare and food processing. I later studied Environmental Science at UL which subsequently led me to do a Post Graduate Masters in Safety & Ergonomics also at UL on a part time basis so I was studying and learning the trade at the same time as I worked at Wyeths Nutritionals in Askeaton and also Finsa Forest Products later on working as an EHS Manager and I just loved the fact of being able to help employees and employers prevent injuries and illness in the workplace just by making a few simple alterations to a workstation for example could prevent years of future back pain and injury. Employers and employees in turn were much happier and felt looked after in their workplace each day. This is what I wanted to bring to as many companies as I could in

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Kerry, changing the safety culture – Safety doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming in fact it all comes down to peoples attitude towards safety if there is a positive attitude safety standards will thrive and this is the key to success you need a very good communicator and I believe this is what my colleagues and I bring to the success of working with our clients for many many years. ” Patricia explained “It was nerve wracking because I left a job to go out on my own, but it was a very busy time in Ireland and everything was going well in the country. Over time, I began to do more in terms of health and safety consultancy and training – everything from safety statements and risk assessments to manual handling, DSE Assessments, Ergonomic assessments, food hygiene and first aid training.”

Fast forward 15 years and Patrica takes huge pride in the fact that she still has the same clients that she had from day one – a impressive portfolio that began by offering training at what was FÁS at the time, to now overseeing the health and safety contracts for many prestigious companies in Munster Despite her immense success, Patricia insists that while she is still hands-on as she was 15 years ago, she always shies away from the limelight – again crediting her colleagues for making Safety Matters the success it is today.

“Everyone who works with me is a health and safety professional, I invest in all my employees educational needs, we are constantly upskilling and I truly believe this is what makes our company so successful we have the most up to date information and training and this in turn is reliad to our customers. All my staff have their own professional backgrounds too – for example we have two staff who are microbiology graduates, an ergonomist, an engineering, an environmental scientist, emergency medical technicians, and 6

fire officer. These amazing people who work with me all have their own specialised area and even though I set up the company, they are central to what we do here. The team I have around me now is what really contributed to our success and upped my game.” Thank you to Tanya, Noel, Lynda, John ,Charlie and our newest member Ellen who has a background in web development and web design as well as health and safety and has spent a year in New York working in a construction company as a health and safety officer.

Since Covid19, Patricia says her company has been inundated with companies eager to be as compliant as much as possible with all regulations – but her dealings with these businesses has brought to light a huge area of concern which she is anxious to warn people about: “Since Covid, we have been inundated with people wanting to do the right thing, looking for reassurance and wanting to be compliant, but what I’ve noticed, particularly in the past 6 months or so, is that there is a large number of irrelevant documents out there which are not at all specific to the businesses they seem to be completely generic documents, and, honestly, not worth the paper they’re written on,” she warned.

“Of course, you’ll always have people who say they can get a cheaper deal, but there are also so many others who genuinely don’t realise that their documents are simply inadequate. When you do safety statements and risk assessments for companies they have to be completely and utterly site specific, so we have to go out and audit the workplace. You can’t do a safety statement without carrying out an audit of their work processes. And of course, this takes times and attention.

The thing is, if it comes to a compensation claim or something happens or something goes wrong, these generic documents are not worth the paper they’re written on. So they’re just going to pay through the nose anyway.

‘We actually meet all the staff and take on board what they say, but unfortunately, from what I’ve seen, not all companies do that. So my advice is to always ask for up to seven or eight references from a company before you commit to anything.”

Despite her reluctance to take credit for the thriving business she took a risk on 15 years ago, Patricia does concede that it took a huge amount of hard work on

her part to build her dream. That is something she is extremely proud of.

“It took blood, sweat and tears....and hard work. I had four children while I was self-employed and I remember being up at night working on documents with a baby in a sling in front of a laptop doing this, thinking ‘I hope people actually appreciate what I’m doing,” she laughs. “But, genuinely, I had some great support so I was very lucky.”

Again insisting that her role was never driven by money or the limelight, you need only speak with Patricia for a few minutes to know that when she says she is passionate about people in the workforce, she truly means it!

“I’m still very much hands-on and I love to go out and meet the people and assess their needs and they know I’m at the end of the phone if there are any issues,” she says. “I am very passionate about people and I’m very people centred. Ergonomics is a big part of my background – helping people to prevent injuries happening over years. Money or limelight does not motivate me at all. When someone asks me to do a job, I feel honoured and I want to deliver the best I can and that’s how we operate. We want to help the person so as to prevent future long-term suffering and so to be healthy and pain free at the end of their working career. Our key is keeping people safe and healthy for the present time, but also for the future.”

“Ní neart go chur le chéile!”

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Welcome

To

Our Street

Over the coming months we will be looking at different streets and towns through out the county to see what is on offer and where better to start than on one of Tralee’s famous streets…

Rock Street, fondly known as the street of champions amongst other things it has a variety of services available to the shopper.

How vibrant Rock Street is with the bustle of people going about their business on a fine day. Nervously businesses are becoming accustomed to covid regulations and we all strive to adapt to this new normal for the moment. Kirby’s Brogue Inn is a hive of activity. Open seven days and greatly popular by loyal customers and passing trade alike. Fiona is proud to continue the legacy of forty years at the bottom of the Rock.

Businesses on Rock Street are accustomed to supporting each other. In 1958 Rock Street was badly flooded and again in the 1980s. During the siege of Tralee in 1920 the black and tans forced all the Businesses to close and left no food provisions for an entire week. This is part of the foundation Rock Street business has developed from.

Matt the Butcher is new to the area. The open glass frontage to the shop is very welcoming. Once inside, all the activity on the street is mesmerising with people and vehicles passing by. Matt the butcher offers a wide range of their own fresh produce in the meat and deli range. Homemade foods include salads, quiche and lasagne to name a few. Matt and his daughter testify that they have received a huge welcome from the local Businesses. It is great to have such life on the street again this side of quarantine measures. Going forward Matt the butcher and family will be introducing a new range of vegetarian and ve-

gan products to their existing range of home produced goods.

Garvey’s Super Valu have been tirelessly providing quality service to its customers on Rock Street for 27 years. Fresh quality products are a given and Garvey’s have a longstanding tradition of supporting and sponsorship of local industries. They have recently introduced their latest initiative. Two one hundred euro vouchers to be won by customers in each Garvey’s super Valu store for a five week period. Customers that win, nominate any business in the county where they would like to shop. Garvey’s will give them a voucher for that shop. What a fantastic concept that not only benefits the customer but the business in this a time of recovery. Garvey’s are involved in frontline Friday where there is free fruit for frontline workers.

M. Kelliher and sons were established in Rock Street in 1935. We know it today as Kelliher’s Hardware, incorporating the Kerry Bookshop. Trading in Rock Street spans over 150 years.

Going back in time there was a gasworks at the rear of Kellihers that operated the gas lighting throughout the town. The original fire station in Tralee was situated at this site and a red brick building. The evidence of which can be seen at the rear carpark of Garvey’s and is preserved.

Kellihers is family owned and today they offer a wide variety of quality goods. Toymaster is the range of toys upstairs and there currently is a fantastic range of paints and wallcoverings as their speciality.

Corcoran’s 99 Rock Street bright store has an array of beautiful pastels in pinks, blues and greys on the walls .The concept helps the customer to imagine the furnishings in their own homes with the back drop of colours. It is hard to imagine that this building was once a car garage specialising in Morris Minors.

O’ Flynn’s furniture and interiors has been in Rock Street since 1987 and is going from strength to strength, says Malachy.

To upper Rock Street and Kevin Barrys. Barry’s Bakery was established in 1925 by Patrick Barry. It closed in 2017 and was a Tralee institution for generations. Today Barry’s grocery and deli is run by Kevin Patrick’s grandson. There is a great sense of pride from Kevin for his family Business and indeed Rock Street. Austin Stack himself lived in a building next door, an Irish revolutionary and captain of the all-Ireland winning team in 1904. From the top of the Rock talented Players are abundant. Mikey Sheehy, Ger Power, John O’ Keefe and Kieran Donaghy. The much admired Martin Bracker O’ Regan was a part of the auld stock from

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the Rock, a charismatic personality. Tralee town council named the link road in his honour. It’s no wonder that it’s called the street of champs with All Ireland medals galore.

Rock Street is a close supportive community with something for everybody. Dairy Master provides a reliable service stocking equipment for farming requirements. The road that is Rock Street itself was the main access road uniting all of North Kerry to market square in the centre of the town. Tralee is historically a thriving medieval port even importing exotic goods. Self-sufficiency is a notable trait of Tralee. Evidence of old railway tracks at the side entrance of Horan’s Fruit and Veg links Rock Street trading to the ships at Tralee port. The building that is Horan’s fruit and veg today is according to records of Architectural Artistic importance. Horan’s is one hundred percent Irish owned selling fruit and vegetables with best quality guaranteed. Rock Street’s Post Office has a logo saying “The heart of the community” and they certainly are. Providing essential services to all customers including banking services and updates. Bringing the community together throughout these difficult months we have all been through.

Heaney Corner

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Celebrating 1 Year On Rock Street FURNITURE OUTLET STORE

Visit Us On: 99 Rock Street Telephone: (066) 712 6779 WWW.THEHRSUITEONLINE.COM 12

At the top of the Rock, a video store was the last to become a victim of modern technology. “Top of the Rock’’ video shop was an institution in the dawn of rental days in the 1980s. The pubs on Rock Street have yet to return to full capacity and the hairdressers and beauty people are alive and well with an aray of services including Paradise Beauty, Hairworks Hair and Beauty and Sun Factory who are tentatively looking after their customers.

Weathering floods, war famine and pandemic. Rock Street is open for Business.

So for friendly, professional and Quality service coming from a solid tradition in trading.

Shop in Rock Street and Shop Local.

124 Lower Rock Street

PROUD TO BE PART OF ROCK STREET

Ph: 083 897 9410 Email: info@paradisehairandbeauty.ie www.paradisehairandbeauty.ie Established in 2018 - our business has gone from Strength to strength and it's all thanks to our wonderful customers! Why not visit us in our new look salon and take a snap in front of our wings!

In Paradise

ive s u l c x E nt Discou

This year we were over the moon to win not one but 2 Connect Kerry Awards! So why not treat yourself to some Lash Extensions with Rachel or Makeup with Romy!

We've had some amazing h air Transform a r ti o ns in Paradise!

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Advertising |Connect

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Senator Mark Daly Talks Political Life, His Love of Kenmare and Making Granny Proud

By Marisa Reidy If you went in search of a more proud Kenmare man, you’d be hard pushed to find someone more passionate than Senator Mark Daly.

Local issues and campaigns have forged his political career since his late teens, but his love of his home town stems from something much more than politics – rather a real sense of belonging and pride in what he calls one of the real gems of Kerry.

Back in June, Mark was appointed Cathoirleach of Seanad Éireann – becoming the first ever Kerry politician and the youngest ever Fianna Fáil Senator to hold the office. Some might say it was just reward for 13 diligent years in the Senate and it’s a role Mark says he is honoured to accept.

“It’s a great honour, being the first person from Kerry and the youngest of my party to ever hold the office, but I am well aware it’s a daunting task because it’s one of the few jobs described in the Constitution,” he tells Connect. “On a day to day basis, it involves a lot of setting legislation and the business of making laws in parliament, so that’s very important. The Senate basically acts as a safety check on legislation that gets through the Dáil.”

He is well aware that his role and decision making at such a high level impacts on the lives of the ordinary people, with Mark outlining the Senate’s key functions: “You’re basically deciding whether or not amendments being submitted fall within the rules of the House and with-

in the Constitution,” he explained. “People are putting amendments into legislation and you have to decide whether or not to allow those to go forward. Making laws which affect and impact people’s lives is the important work of the Dail and the Senate so that’s a role that requires the scrutiny that it deserves.

Those amendments can have a huge impact on people so you need to make sure the laws that are passed are done so in a way that benefit the wider community.”

Mark was first elected to Seanad Éireann in 2007, but his political interest began much, much earlier than that – again with Kenmare very much to the forefront of his career, as he explains: “I suppose it started off as early as my Leaving Cert year when I was involved in the 75th anniversary celebrations of the 1916 Rising. We also established a Fianna Fáil Cumann in Kenmare in or around 1992, which was involved in a number of local campaigns – so my political career started a long way back really.”

He then went on to work with former MEP Brian Crowley on various campaigns for several years, before eventually deciding to run for the Senate himself in 2007.

Asked why he chose the Senate and not the Dáil, Mark said it was all about timing – and of course political party decisions.

“Back in 2007, the candidates on the ticket for the party were Tom Fleming and John O’Donoghue, so quite simply there was no space there,” he explained. “But I felt there was space for a Fianna Fail Senator for Kerry and it’s just the way things worked out in terms of the party decision in how they were going to select candidates.”

It was a decision that he would never look back on, and 13 years later Mark says he is very proud of the work he has done and the committees and campaigns he has been involved in and spearheaded.

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Among these, he says, was the launch of the first ever report in the history of the Dáil or the Senate of uniting Ireland.

On a more local level, Kenmare and south Kerry has of course been to the forefront: “On a Kerry basis, being involved in the Kenmare Hospital Action Group and finally getting that over the line after numerous decades of promises was a standout moment,” Mark said. “And Valentia Coastguard Station, of course. Twice the government tried to close it and twice, along with the community, we fought to keep it and succeeded and now it’s bringing badly needed employment into the area.”

But Mark did dabble in other careers before committing to a life in politics – none more notable than his stint in reality TV. He laughs when he is reminded of his appearance on Treasure Island in 2002 – but reveals it brought untold, and quite unexpected joy to his nan, Peg Daly in Tralee.

“Ah yes, that was quite something, but it was the very early days of reality TV,” he reluctantly recalls. “But I have to say, there

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were two standout highlights that came from that - the first was making the front cover of RTE Guide, which was BIG. My granny used to buy the RTE guide every week for her grandson to make the cover was just huge.

“But nearly as big as that – in fact bigger I’d say – was in that year, and because we’d just finished the show, I was invited to the Rose Ball and I brought with winner and other competitor with me. I got my granny into the VIP viewing stand for the parade and myself and the other two led the parade. While none of her granddaughters were ever contestants in the festival, the fact that her grandson led the parade was one of those interesting highlights of the reality TV days.”

Mark also spent some time working with his father Sean in the family’s auctioneering firm after college, but was always drawn to politics and committed himself fulltime following his election in 2007.

“I did work in auctioneering with my father for a while, but if I’m honest I spent more time involved in football back then and was chairman of Kenmare GAA Club at the age of 26, so that was a good lesson in the art of politics,” he laughs.

But despite his impressive rise in political life in the capital, home is undoubtedly where Mark heart still lies...and always will.

He has the fondest memories of growing up in Kenmare and is quite proud of his family’s ties there, and indeed Tralee.

“My father’s side, the Dalys, are from Traee and my mother’s side, the O’Connors, are from Kenmare. So O’Connor’s Bar in the town was started by my great grandfather many years ago and my uncle Tim and cousin Jimmy run it now. It’s one of the oldest bars in Kenmare in terms of being established and run by the same family,” he explained.

“My uncle Denis, who has passed away since, was the local doctor for many years and lived on the top of Main Street. My father Sean and mother Eileen were, and still are, very involved in Kenmare - from Tidy Towns, sport, the chamber of commerce and other community activities and campaigns, which is how I got involved. We don’t always succeed we definitely always try.”

Mark says he loves to come home every weekend and can usually be found at some local sports club or another cheering on the next generation!

“I get home every weekend and more often than not go straight to the football field,” he admits. “I love to watch all my nieces and nephews in action – they play all sorts of sports from Gaelic to soccer or some level of sport and I love being there to see that. I love to come home to Kenmare. It is still a relatively a small town but it’s one of the real gems of not only Kerry and not only Ireland.”

In his new role as chair of the Senate, Mark says that laws and amendments relating to Covid19 are obviously taking centre stage, but during his tenure he is

also very committed to creating a greater understanding of how the Senate works and its vital function.

As Cathaoirleach, my ambition is to open it up to the people and see what it does and what its function is. If any errors are made in the first drafting they can be caught in the Senate. That’s one of the key elements, but it also raises issues of concern to people. Its purpose is to act as a second chamber - a second opinion on legislation if you like – and I’d like to focus on that. Basically, to explain the job public representatives are doing for the public and make them understand.”

Asked finally if he had any Dáil ambitions down the line, Mark was remarkable forthright: “Well yes, if an opportunity comes along - and hopefully at some stage that might happen,” he admits. “But more often than not, especially with a political party, that’s beyond your control.”

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What’s New

in Business

A Killarney based business has achieved a quality mark signifying it meets the highest standards of service and trust.

Killarney HR and Payroll, a Human Resource Management and Payroll outsourcing service, was awarded the coveted Business All-Star accreditation.

This is an independently verified standard mark for indigenous businesses, based on rigorous selection criteria.

The accreditation is overseen by the prestigious All-Ireland Business Foundation, whose adjudication panel is chaired by Dr Briga Hynes of the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick and Kieran Ring, CEO of the Global Institute of Logistics.

Dr Hynes said the accreditation, which is now held by over 350 firms, is needed by the thousands of small and medium businesses which operate to their own standards, but have nothing to measure them by.

“We evaluate a company’s background, trustworthiness and performance, and we speak to customers, employees and vendors,” she said.

“We also anonymously approach the company as a customer and report back on the experience.

“The business goes through at least two interviews and is scored on every part of the process against set metrics.”

Damien McCarthy of Killarney HR & Payroll said that they “were delighted to be accredited a Business All Star and that it was a mark of the companies continued dedication and support as a HR & Payroll service provider to Businesses in their home county and nationwide”.

“We will attend an online ceremony on the 30th of July and look forward to a trip to Croke Park later in the year to receive our presentation.”

The All-Ireland Business Foundation is responsible for overseeing the All-Ireland Business Summit and All-Star awards, ongoing All-Star accreditation, Thought Leader awards and promoting peer dialogue among members.

The process to select the next group of Business All-Star accredited companies has begun and further information is available at businessallstars.ie 20

NeighbourFood is an online community of food producers and farmers who sell direct to the public by means of a weekly collection point. A local food hero, who we call a Host, builds a selection of the best of local produce and promotes to the community around them to shop directly from these producers.

NeighbourFood pay's producers 80% with the remainder being spilt between NeighbourFood, the Host and payment processing meaning producers get a much fairer price for their hard work.

We are currently live at neighbourfood.ie/dingle and soon to be live at neighbourfood.ie/tralee and neighbourfood.ie/killarney.

SoulSaol Holistics

My name is Ella. I’m a holistic therapist with a passion for helping others feel alive and healthy in the most natural ways possible.

After extensive research I have recently created my own unique, hand blended range of aromatherapy oils. I am so delighted about the positive feedback I have received.

These oils are such an easy and effective form of self-care.

Whether you have trouble sleeping, suffer from tense or sore muscles, headaches, menstrual issues, or generally just want a pick me up boost for your body and mind I have the oils for you!

With roller tops the oils are so easy and quick to apply. Wrists and temples are the popular spots but just roll the oil on to any part of your skin and the oils will immediately start to have wonderful therapeutic effects, plus they also smell amazing!

So, if you would like a special little treat for yourself or perhaps a unique and thoughtful gift for someone you know then just visit my new website soulsaolholistics.com. There along with my oils you will find other hand-crafted items I have designed and made. I’m sure you’ll see something to brighten your day.

Check out my Instagram profile @soulsaolholistics where I consistently post about holistic healing and ways to uplift your body, mind, and soul.

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ViClarity is an award-winning provider of audit, risk and compliance systems headquartered in Tralee, Co Kerry with an office in Boston Massachusetts and a new office in Des Moines, Iowa.

Neil O’Sullivan

ViClarity provides software solutions that enables organisations across financial services and healthcare to automate their manual processes enabling them to remain compliant with their regulatory obligations.

We speak to Sarah O’Mahoney, Marketing Assistant, and Neil O’Sullivan, Business Development Manager, who both work in ViClarity. We speak about what they do and learn more about the system that is behind their business.

Sarah, who is studying business and marketing in IT Tralee says that a lot of her role revolves around daily marketing tasks including “Lead generation, social media management, public relations, blog writing and assisting with implementing ViClarity’s marketing plan” The ViClarity system is modular based allowing organisations to start small, solving one pain point and growing over time.

Neil explains that “ViClarity is modular based, this enables us to implement and solve a specific pain point for an organisation.

We then find that clients see the benefit of the system, add on new modules and the system then becomes a centralised platform for all areas of audit, risk & compliance. Our customers are generally heavily regulated by organisations such as The Central Bank Of Ireland in Financial Services and HIQA in the Healthcare sector so they face a real burden of trying to collect and collate compliance information across their organisation, we help them reduce and remove that burden” Neil spoke about how traditional manual based processes for managing audit, risk & compliance are time-consuming and cumbersome. ViClarity streamlines processes through automation, allowing organisations to spend more time analysing their data rather than chasing and gathering information. He said, “What we find in a lot of organisations is that they manage their audit, risk and compliance processes on multiple Excel sheets or Word documents. Organisations who manage their processes manually find themselves sending out multiple documents to colleagues, trying to get them to fill in their data, they then must get all these documents 22

Risk, Compliance & Auditing Made Easy

back and try to collate compliance figures manually. Our tool removes this process allowing management to see compliance and risk issues in real time.”

Automation is at the centre of ViClarity’s design philosophy, maximising customisation for the end-user enabling them to automate data collection so they can view compliance results in real time. ViClarity are able to tailor their system to match the needs of each of their clients that they are working with. “A lot of our competitors have technology but they don’t have our support or the customisation that our system provides. Our Clients don’t need to change their processes to match our system, we’ll build them a customised version of the system to ensure that they have all they need in terms of gathering the data, and being able to create the exact reports that they need out of it.”

ViClarity recently merged with a US based company PolicyWorks LLC, a leading regulatory consultancy and services firm who service over 1200 clients in the US. The strategic merger will allow ViClarity to expand their business on an international level and further grow the company on a global scale. “[The merger] is going to be fantastic for the company. When I started here there was five of us, we’ve grown organically and we now have 14 people in the Tom Crean Centre and we are currently recruiting for three more positions. The merger is after doubling that again, so now we have 28 to 30 employees between here and our new office in Des Moines, Iowa.”

Growing in the American market, is one strategic goal for the company but they make a point to show that their European business will continue to flourish from their Tralee headquarters, “In terms of the Irish and European business, it will be business as usual. We had a very successful period in Ireland and the UK. Our goal is to replicate this in the US market and in PolicyWorks we have gained a team of resources that will help us reach our goal.

The merger has provided a significant opportunity for the business on a global scale. The company will continue to be headquartered in Tralee Co Kerry where they are currently operating from. Neil said, “Our plan is to always stay headquartered down here in Tralee, County Kerry, our CEO is a proud Kerry man so long term we’re going to be headquartered here. In terms of our Irish operation, we have 14 at the moment and we have job openings as well so I’d envision that it hits 20 very soon. By the end of 2020 we’ll have 20 [in Tralee] and probably 20 again on the other side in the US.” Their commitment to creating, supplying, and maintaining jobs to educated workers in Tralee is visible and honest. Through their expansion into new markets in the US and the rest of Europe, ViClarity could quickly become a leading global business from their base in Tralee.

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For Better or Worse The unimaginable has happened and businesses not only in Kerry but worldwide has been lost or reshaped in ways that we never dreamed of. The worst has happened and now we need to see how we can grow and evolve our business from this so that there can be better times ahead.

In any crisis, the one thing that speaks is cash. Having a cash reserve will allow you space to think clearly and not panic into making irreversible decisions. As business reopens and cash reserves are been depleted it is important that you look at how you can increase the cash to allow you to trade through this and be ready for the rebound.

Increase cashflow

o Avail of all the grants that are available:

• Local enterprise office

• Enterprise Ireland

o Avail of the Temporary Wage Subsidy where the business meets the criteria.

• A rebate of up to 85% of employee wages next day.

• Your business did not have to close to

avail of this. Check out www.Revenue.ie

o Look for additional finance

• Micro finance • SBCI

o Avail of the Revenue Warehousing Scheme for Taxes that were due during Covid-19.

• Interest free for 12 months from date of normal trading ie for most businesses when they opened up again.

Increase sales

o Increase your presence online.

• Avail of the Local Enterprise Online Voucher o Implement the procedures in your business which makes the customer feel safe. o Increase your online marketing • Facebook • Instagram

• Twitter o Consider implementing a delivery service. o Communicate with your customers as to what you are doing and how they will feel safe either coming into your premises or receiving products from you.

· Online accounting – from as little as €12 a month, consider online accounting tool to ensure you have the figures from your business at your fingers to be able to seek finance quickly. · Streamline unnecessary costs and ask yourself if that cost will help the business grow. · Think outside the box – you almost have a blank canvas to do things that perhaps you were once afraid to do. Now is that chance.

Remember, Covid-19 will either break or reshape businesses. For the businesses fortunate to reopen, it has given them a chance to take stock and re-think and re-shape. This is a time where your business can evolve and grow for the better, focusing on the customer, the product, the environment for a better future for us all. Things can only get better.

If you have financial queries contact the experts at PSC on: TRALEE 2nd Floor Riverside House, Dan Spring Road, Fels Point, Tralee, Co. Kerry, V92 DYP7 T: +353 66 7126333 E: tralee@psc.ie www.psc.ie

Advertising |Connect

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HEALTH AFTER LOCKDOWN: An Opportunity To Change.

While those weeks of lockdown are, hopefully, forever behind us there are some things we may now reflect upon in how we lead our lives in the future.

Most of us were thrown into a sudden stage of “go slow” in March and it was pretty alien to most people.

Confined to home and a 2km limit that gradually extended, what did we learn?

For me as a healthcare professional, there were some interesting revelations.

It is very likely that our busy, BUSY and stressful lifestyles have been affecting health without us really thinking about it.

A study from University Hospital Limerick showed a clear reduction in the incidence of preterm labour among pregnant women during lockdown- this statistic is now being replicated in other countries. The number of premature babies born went down. Were women less stressed? Were their lifestyles healthier?

We will probably never really know why this happened.

Anecdotal evidence among my own patients showed that my pregnant diabetic patients had significant improvements in health. These women say they were after slowing down, had time to cook healthy food and exercise. No more rushing, eating erratically and collapsing on the sofa after work in the evening.

Because of lockdown fertility services were shut down. Amazingly some of our couples were pregnant after the restrictions were lifted when we rang them to start treatment.

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It makes one wonder what we should be doing in our future lives to try and replicate these facts.

We know people still have to work and earn a living. But many people are now saying that they will never again get back on the hamster wheel of “Pre-Covid”. Yet we could all slip back.

And for many people it has been an exceedingly stressful and difficult time.

Can we change our lifestyles, even marginally?

Stress Being stressed on a constant basis impacts our health hugely. Constantly high cortisol (the stress hormone) affects our blood sugars, our blood pressure, our physical and mental health. It hugely affects fertility.

Finding balance in our lives is important.

Find a small amount of time every day as “me time”.

Technology allowed people to do online classes such as Yoga or mindfulness.

People learned to walk the dog, spend time with their families and incorporate exercises such as walking / running / cycling into their lives. We learned that the Irish weather shouldn’t stop that.

We need to continue this “Me Time” going forward.

Sleep and Work Life Balance Getting adequate sleep is extremely important for everyone. It is when our bodies repair themselves.

Again, modifying our lives is necessary.

No “pings” of notifications or emails at midnight is vital. Limiting screen time and coffee or other stimulants is necessary.

Pacing ourselves is important. Talking to people who have returned to work recently I think we know this. No matter what their profession, people feel they are providing a better quality service to clients because things are less rushed.

Working from Home: The Good and The Bad There were many people who were allowed to work from home as lockdown started; it was perceived as a temporary measure. Working from home takes some discipline and does not suit everybody or every job.

If this is something you plan to continue, make sure you can structure it into your day / week.

It is crucial to ensure your workstation is safe and appropriate. We met many people working off kitchen tables etc. who developed soft tissue problems. There are a number of physiotherapists in our County who specialise in ergonomic assessments, then ensuring you are supplied with the correct work station is important. Employers have been amazed

at how productive people have been while working from home.

But there is a sociable aspect to workmeeting people for coffee, catching up on news and networking These are also important and ZOOM meetings do not cut it. So getting out and about might mean looking at splitting your week between home and your workplace.

Changes in How We Now Deliver Healthcare In an effort to make our hospitals and clinics safer during COVID most non-urgent procedures and appointments were postponed.

Now that this phase has passed it is important that people touch base with their doctors to ensure a medical condition is not allowed to worsen.

COVID has catapulted the concept of “Virtual Consultations” into healthcare.

At The Scotia Clinic we had a trial of new software, T-PRO, to carry out as many consultations as possible that were suitable. Our biggest impasse was the poor broadband in Kerry. Virtual consultations are here to stay and must be facilitated.

We can carry our assessments face to face and put a care plan in place.

My Take Home Message is that if some good will come out of the last few months it is that we know that we should make some sustainable changes to our lives to improve our health.

Our life expectancy in Ireland is now 84 years for women and 80 years for men.

So let’s make these healthy years!!!!

We have been delighted to see how interested people are in now attending, virtually or otherwise, for health checks since lockdown. This period of reflection has seen an increase in people attending for checks on all aspects of their health.

Who needs a heath check? It is often good to look back on the health of your parents to see if there is a condition such as osteoporosis, diabetes or a hereditary condition. Putting a health plan in place sooner rather than later is a great idea.

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Neck and Shoulder dysfunction and pain - A Covid and 20th Century problem.

Excessive forward head posture and rounding of the shoulders from spending too much time looking down or peering at the computer or tablet has led to a common dysfunction of the neck and shoulders with secondary pain referral into the shoulder blade area.

Often this can lead to severe headaches and possibly also pins and needles into the arms and fingers. Fortunately, once diagnosed correctly it is very treatable and responds successfully to manual therapy combined with active strengthening and stretching of both neck and shoulders. However, it is not as straight forward as reminding yourself to sit straight and pull your shoulders back.

For someone to progressively improve this dysfunction the individual needs to address the cause ie. the tablet or the computer.

Identify the structures that are tight and weak and with the help of your physio, improve the deficits to take the load off of the already overworked muscles which typically include your levator scapulae, SCM and scalenes and help realign your posture. There is no quick fix but improvements should be noticed within 6-8 weeks.

Image: https://www.physio-pedia.com/Forward_Head_Posture accessed: 07/07/20 References: Fathollahnejad et al. 2019. The effect of manual therapy and stabilizing exercises on forward head and rounded shoulder postures: a six-week intervention with a one-month follow-up study. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. Sheikhhoseini R, et al. 2018 Effectiveness of Therapeutic Exercise on Forward Head Posture: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. ;41(6):530-539. doi:10.1016/j.jmpt.2018.02.002

Ger Keane & Julia Buest, The Physical Therapy Clinic. Kerry GAA Center of Excellence, Currans, Co. Kerry. 087 756 4844.

We're temporarily working out of a different venue as the center of Excellence will remain close for the foreseeable future until inter county can resume.

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Explore the beauty of Kerry with a walking weekend at

The Rose Hotel Escape, discover and explore the Kerry landscape on our annual walking weekend at The Rose Hotel, Tralee this September.

Taking place over the weekend of September 25th and 26th, check in on Friday evening, after a delicious breakfast on Saturday morning guests will join Wild Water Adventures on a guided walk through the Loch a Duin Valley, meaning “the lake of the fort”. If you enjoy walking and history then you’re most certainly in for a treat.

Take in the fascinating landscape across valleys and waterfalls and archaeological trails with stories aplenty from the expert guides. There’s even a packed lunch from the hotel for a meal with a truly spectacular view.

On your return to the hotel, hang your coats and walking gear in the hotel’s drying room before enjoying a drink in the warm and welcoming Dott’s Bar and dinner in the Park Restaurant with seasonal menus reflecting the best of Kerry from executive head chef Odran Lucey.

The Walking Weekend package costs €170 per person and includes two nights’ accommodation, breakfast each morning with dinner on one evening or your choice, guided walk, packed lunch and transport to and from hotel. To book or for further information please contact The Rose Hotel, on 066 7199100 or visit www.therosehotel.com

Fitness

Getting back to work

As i'm writing this, we as a community are getting back to some bit of normality. Businesses are opening back up and we are able to travel a bit more. Among those are gyms and fitness centres.

Depending on what your situation was during lockdown, this may be your first time doing anything strenuous in a very long time. You may be one of the lucky ones who had a decent home gym and was able to keep relatively fit during lockdown, but for the majority of people, the reopening of gyms is something of a relief. People can get back into their routine and return to what they were doing prior to lockdown. Here is the thing, you probably won't be at the same level that you were before the gyms closed. You might not be able to lift as much weight as you did before, you might not be able to run/cycle/row at the same intensity as before, and you will definitely feel more sore after your sessions. But that’s OK. This can be expected to a certain degree. Here I will give you some tips to get back into the swing of things and not feel like you’re miles away from where you once were.

1) Focus that bit more on your warm-up/cooldown. This is really important as a good warm-up increases blood flow to working muscles, mobilizes the joints, increases body temperature, elevates heart rate, and as a result, reduces your chances of getting injured during your session. Cooling down properly and not just running out of the gym is essential especially when you’re restarting after a long time away. Cooling-down through stretching and mobility exercises allows for the heart rate to lower while also reducing the effects of DOMS (that soreness in the muscles you get after a workout).

2) Don't do what you did before. It’s easy to think that you can just return to the gym after 3 months away and start where you left off. Depending on what type of exercise you do, you may have to reduce the volume and frequency of your work. This might sound strange for someone just getting back into the gym after so long away, but you don’t want to overdo it your first week back. This could lead to increased muscle soreness and even injury. Gradually ease your way back into it.

3) Have a Plan. This is the best bit of advice I can give. Make sure that you plan your week before returning to the gym. This could

look something like getting in contact with your gym buddy and organising what time/day is suitable for your session, or, choosing which fitness classes you should attend. Again, you don't want to overdo it so 3 classes a day should not be an option!

Another option is to invest in a coach/personal trainer. He/she will plan your sessions for you and make the transition that bit easier.

4) Focus on recovery. Take a longer rest period in between your sets of weights or interval runs. Again, you are not at the same level you once were. Also, what you do outside your gym sessions is important. Your gym sessions in a week will account for anything between 3-8hrs of your time. That leaves 160hrs of non-gym time. Use this time to recover properly. This recovery should include eating nutritious wholesome food, drinking an adequate amount of water and getting between 7-9 hours of sleep.

5) Don’t let previous expectations affect you. On your return to the gym it's easy to think that you can do what you did prior to lockdown. This more than likely will not be the case. Don't lose motivation because you can't do what you did before, it will take time. Be patient. Don't let your ego get the better of you.

Follow the previous steps and enjoy the process all over again.

Shane Guthrie Resident PT at The Arena Gym, Tralee Instagram- shane_g_fitness

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Philly McMahon

passionate mental health & addiction activist

By Marisa Reidy He’s the man that most loyal Kerry football supporters love to hate, but behind the dogged, aggressive competitor we have come to know on the field of play, Dublin star Philly McMahon knows exactly how fortunate he is - and how life could have turned out so, so differently.

A passionate mental health and addiction activist, the seven-time All Ireland winner admits that had he not addressed his own personal issues and traumas when he did, there’s no doubt his life would have taken him down an entirely different route Philly was speaking to Connect at the launch of the ‘Look After Yourself’ campaign by the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP) at which street artist, Joe Caslin, unveiled a stunning mural in Dublin in a bid to encourage males aged 25-34 to normalise therapy .

The latest IACP figures revealed that only 3 in 10 Irish men said they would attend counselling or psychotherapy – a figure that Philly says is quite worrying : “I knew the figures were bad, but not that bad, and you have to ask why only 3 in 10 are willing to go for help when you have 4,500 qualified therapists available in Ireland to reach out to that audience,” he said. “I want to help bridge that gap so we need to normalise this. The reality is that everyone is going to suffer in their life with their mental health – adversity and pain and suffering is inevitable – so let’s make this a norm.”

Philly - who now runs a number of gyms and is part owner in a food production company - has been extremely open about his own struggles with mental health and trauma, stemming from the death of his brother John of a heroin overdose at just 31 years of age. He revealed that he never intended to speak about it publically, but did so ‘by accident’ after an opponent jeered him on the pitch about his ‘junkie brother’ “When I spoke about it – accidentally - it had a huge impact and for me it really came from the fact that I wasn’t ashamed anymore,” he reveals. “I knew straight away that there is something here I can do to create awareness about addiction. When I started to educate myself I realised that we are doing very little. The problem is there’s a huge amount we are not doing and that’s the exciting part for me – and I say exciting in that there is so much change to happen and I can possibly have an impact on that change.”

Over the years, Philly has seen firsthand the struggles and traumas of young men, primarily through his charity Half Time Talk; which he explained aims to help at risk and high risk youths ‘re30

alise that it can be one voice that can bring them in the opposite direction.’ He himself was that soldier, and therefore knows how important it is to seek help ...something he has also documented in his book ‘The Choice’ “For me, it stemmed from the experience of my brother John’s situation and my own situation because of that. We have to understand that our communities, regardless of social class, have a lot of trauma that has been generational,” he said. “Mine would have come from my brother’s addiction and through my brother and father’s bereavement, so that can happen to everybody.

Bereavement is not a unique situation that I found myself in but everybody’s circumstances are very unique.

“Like a lot of people, it stems from things that bring out emotions in you – it could be something to remind you of somebody or something or your past and makes you ask questions. It makes you ask what is going on, why am I thinking or feeling this way?

Whether that’s anger or sadness, aggression or you just wanting to cry. You have to realise that it’s coming from the trauma or a psychological need that you have to sort out and if you don’t have the tools to overcome that, that’s when you need to go and look towards getting support from an expert.”

Philly doesn’t hold back when asked how his life could have turned out had he not realised he needed help to deal with his own traumas, admitting that he too could very easily have gone down a very dark road...

“I definitely could have. There are studies to show that if you have certain amount of adverse childhood experiences (ACES) you are highly likely to go down that same route. So if you have a family member who struggled with alcohol or drug abuse you get a certain amt of ACES and most people with high ACES end up in prison or on drugs or with mental health issues. So, me having a sibling as a drug addict, the figures would show I was more likely to end up like him than not.”

So what saved him from a life of crime or addiction as a teenager growing up in Ballymun?

Football was huge factor, he said, as was the professional help he received: “Only when I reflect back now, I see that sport has been a saviour for me because the negative energy and trauma I had would have come out in sport. That’s probably why I’m the type of player I am and if I didn’t have sport as a way of venting, what would I have done or where would I have vented that energy?,” he said “Also, seeking therapy made me

understand bereavement more and made me become a person who loves life. When you learn to understand death more, you love life. My brother John died at the age of 31 so it would be very selfish of me not to take the opportunity of life and to go after things that I want and that maybe a lot of people think I can’t do. And that’s the exciting thing about life.

“Part for me too is when you go through it and come out the other side you can pass on that information onto others. That’s why I’ve become an activist for mental health and addition because I’ve been through it.”

Philly is adamant that society has a huge part to play in breaking the stigma around mental health and addiction, as does our government: “The stigma and shame has been generational. I was the same.

You feel weak even walking into the premises of a therapist and think, ‘Hold on, if anyone sees me they’ll think m not right.’ It’s something that we need to change now and for me the more people, especially with profiles, that come out and talk about it, the more it’s going to help,” he said.

“We need to realise there is a huge amount of people in this country who will use drugs and alcohol and the problem is not the drugs, it’s the abuse of drugs. We need to get to the root cause of why we have addiction. If you look at someone like John, who suffered with schizophrenia, you see that the reason he became an addict was because of the long term psychological pain he suffered. If we treated John for his mental health issues ahead of the addiction that we could have ultimately helped him go into recovery.

“Unless we change the criminal laws we’ll always think of those people as the lowest of the low. To us, they’re criminals who rob and steal, not knowing their background or story. We don’t look at them as a human being or as someone’s sister, brother, father.

We look at them and don’t give a sh*t. If you don’t change the policy, society will always have a negative stigma around drug addicts, especially heroin addicts because they’re the ones that end up on the streets a lot more.”

Philiy is hoping that we as society can really impact the country by changing generational cycles, saying that changing just one person can impact their family and the wider community.

“I’m a prime example of that. I had sport and an inspirational role model in Paddy Christy and those things have essentially saved me. While the story behind a person’s mental health can be very unique, I guarantee you if you had a young lad in a community like Ballynum who said he struggled with anxiety, you could probably get another 10 lads struggling with the same thing, if not more,” he said.

feel they are the only ones experience this, but the reality is they’re not. They need to realise that every single person in this world is going to have psychological pain and suffering at some stage in their life and that it’s ok to go and ask for help.”

Philly feels blessed that he has been able to use his football profile to help – and despite winning a staggering seven all Ireland titles with Dublin he says the sporting acclaim is secondary.

“I’ve been very lucky. To be born at a time when you can be successful and be able to help others through addiction and mental health is amazing,” he said. “The 7 All Irelands and the football profile is the contributing factor to helping others, which has been incredible. For me, sport has become something much more than winning and being successful –it has become a platform to help others and for that to happen that’s a miracle.”

We had to ask about last year’s heartbreaking All Ireland final – when Philly and his teammates needed a second date at Croke Park to claim their five in a row at the expense of Kerry. Like his attitude to daily life, he admitted that he and the team never gave up.

“Did I think we had lost the first game? No definitely not. And that’s the attitude of all the squad. We never give up until it’s actually up and we’ve shown that on many games when we probably had no right to win or draw but we’ve come back,” he said. “Last year, we didn’t have a good day on the first game. In many ways we were fortunate to get another chance and in another way you could say we needed two days to get going.”

But despite the unbelievable rivalry that has existed between Dublin and Kerry through the generations, Philly insists that there is nothing but mutual respect between players: “For me, you get to a certain point in career you respect all county teams and players – because you’re putting in 30-40 hours a week and so are they, and at the end of the day when you go head to head and go to battle on the pitch you have to have a respect for that,” he said “This game is about giving it your all on the day for your team, county, club and when you finish the game you shake hands and that’s it and you move on, At the end of the day when we all retire, every player has given a huge amount to this special sport.”

Looking to this year’s championship, Philly insists that no one is looking to the much talked about six-in-a-row. It’s not an option this early in the season: “We’re not even thinking about that – it’s all club at the minute so we have to focus on that. There’s no point looking ahead because I’m sure the management team are only looking at the club championship. If you don’t have a good club championship you might be in a bt of trouble – so I think now is the time to focus on club and then focus on Dublin.”

When naively suggested that he and his teammates might consider taking it a little easy on our still relatively young Kerry team this year, Philly wasn’t giving an inch: “Ha ha, we’ll see. We’ll see.”

And let’s be honest, we’d have been disappointed with anything less!

“The big issue I see is that these young males 31

In crisis comes opportunity:

How the Kerry Diaspora can help accelerate the County’s entrepreneurial spirit at this time.

There is little doubt that COVID-19 will fundamentally change how Kerry businesses operate over the coming years, not-a-mind months, and there's no time like a crisis or a recession to force a business to look very frankly at its future strategy and consider where it's going to be when the storm has passed.

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended nearly every aspect of life, from the personal (how people live and work) to the professional (how companies interact with their customers, how customers choose and purchase products and services, how supply chains deliver them). Necessity is the mother of invention and some businesses can weather this pandemic by diversifying their offering to cater for new consumer demands or refocusing their enterprise in order to survive.

One tactic that should not be underestimated at this time is cultivating your network and relationships. Irish people have this natural networking ability to connect with many people. Indeed, we in Kerry are leaders in networking and there is a strong and successful diaspora around the country and the world who are willing and equipped to support entrepreneurs in Kerry during this challenging time.

Prosper Kerry, an initiative that was set up in 2017, was formed to bring together a group of like-minded individuals, all of whom had a passion and a desire to see Kerry and its businesses prosper. It’s goal is to develop a network of support among Kerry’s business diaspora to enhance prosperity in the county through co-operation, knowledge-sharing, creativity, inspiration and a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Our focus in the group in particular is to help support budding entrepreneurs, start-ups and scale-ups in the county to lean into the Prosper Kerry group for support and guidance, whether that’s support on how to scale up or how to enter a new market for example.

Knowing that innovation and creativity thrives in a crisis, it’s possibly even more important now for relevant companies to leverage this global network of Kerry business supporters and we’d love to hear from you. We’re keen to connect you with experts in our network who can provide advice and mentoring on your key business challenges, whether it’s re-evaluating your business strategy due to the current circumstances or connecting you with potential investors for example.

We’re also calling the Kerry diaspora to join our network and find out how they can help their county. Even though we may not be in our county anymore, our friends, family and home is always Kerry. If you believe you can contribute to our goal of supporting new businesses in Kerry or you have friends or family abroad or working outside the county who would like to support Kerry to prosper, please contact us.

As a final note of optimism, the slower pace of life we are all forced to live and the opportunity to work remotely where possible has made many re-assess their lifestyle and what they want for themselves and their families, in the longer-term. This re-setting of priorities is a huge opportunity for our county: we can revitalize our county with new talent and businesses who are willing to move and develop outside urban areas. We look forward to working with you to embed this new way of thinking and promoting Kerry as a viable option for workers and their families to live and new businesses to thrive.

Contact – Julianne at prosper@gec.ie 32

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Connecting Businesses

in Kerry

There are lots of exciting things in store for Connect Business going forward and we are delighted to announce our next issue will launch a new partnership in October in association with Tralee Chamber. The publication produced by Margaret Kissane of Connect Kerry has just announced a new agreement with Tralee Chamber which will see the publication bring on board considerable expertise and business insights.

Ken Tobin, Chief Executive of Tralee Chamber said “Recognising that much of what we do here in the Chamber can be very bespoke to the interests of our business community, including events, policy and industry updates, as well as bringing businesses up to date on developments around Kerry; we knew that much of this cannot be communicated through e-zines, email updates or other media. Feedback we have received is that over the past few months businesses really benefitted from the support and information we provided, much of which isn’t mainstream.

Mags has been successfully producing the Connect Business publication for quite a while now, and its target audience perfectly aligned with our communication needs and we know we need to reach out to engage with more businesses. Connect Business will form an important part of our membership service going forward as it connects our businesses to each other and informs them about major issues facing the region, such as what we need from the Government to grow our economy and support job creation in the county. We are delighted to be working with Connect Kerry in what is already a dynamic publication to develop a stronger business community in Kerry.”

Margaret Kissane outlined “For Connect this opens our publication up to a new stream of highly relevant business content. The Connect Business publication differs from our long-running lifestyle publication Connect, in that it is very much focused on the business reader. Tralee Chamber are at the cold-face of relevant business news, and through their work nationally and locally will be able to inform and advise the readers of Connect Business on highly topical issues.

Since we launched our Business publication, we have worked closely with the Chambers in Kerry to gain a unique insight into the local and wider economic landscape, and we are now relishing the opportunity to present their expertise in both the print magazine and the digital platforms. We are already working on some exciting ideas to reimagine Connect Business for the Chamber's new and existing membership – and the wider Kerry business community – so watch this space!” we are a magazine for the county and we welcome the connection with Tralee Chamber and the other great Chamber networks across the county, we are also launching our brand new dedicated Connect Business website in the coming weeks which will support our Connect Business Club group facebook page offering our readers and advertisers many opportunities to further develop and promote their brand through us.

Speaking at the launch, Kevin McCarthy President of Tralee Chamber said “When Ken first proposed the idea, I spoke with Mags to gain a better understanding of where the publication fits in. We are excited to say that our strong working relationship will continue as normal with all the other media in Kerry and Nationally on current news and urgent matters, the format for the Connect Business publication has an entirely different and very relevant focus on supporting the improvement of business in Kerry and supporting business owners, which completely aligns with what we do as a Chamber.

The publication will showcase what is great about our member’s businesses, the work being undertaken by businesses and the Chamber, the incredible people behind businesses in Kerry, and the opportunities for Tralee and Kerry. Each publication will feature in depth interviews with some of our members, leading people in Irish business, as well as giving a voice to the Chamber itself on business matters.”

Margaret Kissane added “This new association comes at the perfect time for the publication when now more than every businesses need the support. The magazine will be distributed to all of the Chamber’s members as well as our usual distribution to over 400 outlets throughout the entire county.”

Connect Business, is currently produced Bi-Monthly, and distributed as a free-publication throughout county Kerry.

For more information visit: http://connectpublications.ie/ 34

Listowel Business & Community Alliance Advice to North Kerry Listowel Business & Community Alliance continues to urge the people of North Kerry to stay local and shop Listowel where possible. With businesses facing unprecedented challenges, the normal day to day operations have become mammoth tasks in some areas of business.

Every Irish town is struggling to cope with the impact of COVID–19, and Listowel is no different. We’re encouraging the local community here in North Kerry to support local businesses, whether it’s for fresh food supplies, take away meals, or any products and services. It’s vital that we put money into the local economy.

We believe that we will recover economically but it will require assistance not only from the Government but from the local community to support local business. This support will not only keep our local businesses open but it will also assist in the retention of local jobs. We have been faced with one of the biggest crisis of our time but with the level of community spirit that we have witnessed during the lockdown here in Listowel and across North Kerry we are confident that we will get through this and if anything it has made people more aware of the great community we have and the need to maintain and support it Listowel is and always has been a resilient town and will continue to fight hard, sustaining North Kerry employment. With the focus now very much on remote working, Listowel is fortunate to already have been a step ahead with the development of the HQ Listowel digital hub back in 2018 at 27 Rear Market Street. Part of the HQ Kerry group which has two further hubs in Tralee. The Listowel hub has seen a huge surge in demand over the past few weeks with many holiday makers looking to base out of the Listowel hub to extend their holidays. Pay as you go and bundle packages available for those looking to remote work from North Kerry or for those working from home who need an outlet. Get in touch with Ken or Tom at info@hqtralee.com to find out more about HQ Listowel.

Writers Week which celebrated 50 years this year digitally is now looking forward to planning a bumper 51st festival in 2021. For the remainder of 2020 the Writers Week Young Adult Festival is deep in planning a virtual event for this Autumn. The YABF has been going from strength to strength over the last few years and now has an opportunity for national promotion through delivery to a virtual audience.

Local businesses have been supporting each other and running online competitions highlighting services available. Hardware stores such as McKenna’s are seeing a significant increase in business through online and phone with both the Builders yard and town centre shop running at increased capacity. While the towns largest employer Kerry Ingredients continued at full force throughout lockdown and continues to offer security to its large number of staff. The most vulnerable are the small independent businesses who rely 100% on the support of the community and we cannot emphasise enough how important it is to spend local and #shoplistowel where possible.

It is a challenging time for North Kerry in terms of retail, tourism, agriculture and the overall recovery from the impact of COVID19.

We have a great community, but we will need help from central government and strong representation. We will also need to diversify and embrace new trends such as getting businesses set up online and end our over-reliance on walkins. Sustainable energy projects will be possible across North Kerry. A new town and village renewal strategy is on the way and we must be ready, and not be left waiting and wondering when funding is offered.

Listowel Business & Community Alliance is contactable through email at info@listowelalliance.ie 35

Starting College

By Mary Lucey Its that time of year when many of our young people are considering their future so we ask the expert for some advice.

Mary Lucey has a very well established career in Education. She has worked with thousands of new students commencing on courses in College over the years. Below are some tips that she believes will help students to settle in and cope better as they begin the next exciting phase of their lives COVID-19 Implications This year, students commencing College will more than likely have a very different college experience from their predecessors. The majority of courses will be delivered via a blended format – a mixture of face-to-face and online classes. It is wise to ensure that students have the technological equipment purchased or borrowed to ensure they can complete the required online work. It is also good advice to ensure students are comfortable using online delivery mechanisms… ie Teams, Google Classroom, Zoom etc and all their additional features available to help in every way possible. There are a large number of free tutorials and workshops online to help with this process, google them!

The normal College experience will also differ – fresher nights, house parties; bunking up with friends will be either non-existent or very restricted – because of this it is important to stay in touch online so that students all can support each other. It is important that students do not feel isolated and feel part of the College community.

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Being Anxious is Normal at this Time It is perfectly normal for both the student and their guardians to feel anxious about starting college – whether students are moving away from home for the first time to go to college or are attending a college locally. For all involved, change can bring on anxieties. It is important for guardians not to be outwardly proclaiming their worries to students, yet to accept it is a time of change. It is important for students to remember that every college understands this and they will be trying their very best to help every student to settle in and feel a part of their class group as quickly as possible. Colleges want students who start a course with them to continue and complete it successfully so will do all they can to help students settle in and stay on their course of study.

Learn to Manage As strange as it sounds, for a lot of students, going to College may be the first time that they have not a meal prepared for them to eat or have someone to provide cash when they are broke. Students should learn to cook two or three basic meals BEFORE starting college. That will get every student through the week.

Students should learn to budget BEFORE going to college. Start this for a couple of weeks before starting College and establish how much is needed to survive for the week. Ensure enough money is left at the end of the week to get buy food for the last day of the week and/or pay the bus fare home. For guardians; an online instant cash transfer mechanism like REVOLUTE is a godsend when a guardian gets a text saying I have no money if guardians need to transfer as little as €5 in an emergency. If both students and guardians have this facility, it can offer great reassurance.

Attendance Attending induction/classes/lectures/tutorials/workshops etc is vital for success.

Students rarely fail their exams if they have very good attendance levels. It is important to realise that the onus is on each student to follow their timetables and nobody will chase them if they do not show up. This is a very new phenomenon for leaving certificate students and one that they need to be aware of so that they do not fall in to the trap of skipping classes. While the thought of this freedom sounds wonderful initially – when reality dawns, it is not so great when they realise they have fallen so far behind that they are overwhelmed with work and assignments. This year with increased and expanded online delivery of classes, ensure students log in as per the College timetable as online attendance may be recorded.

Submitting Work Work in college is self-directed – that means that the student must undertake the work themselves and will not be directed by a teacher to complete assigned work as in Secondary School. Students are also personally responsible for submitting the work. Normally an assessment schedule is issued at the beginning of the academic year, outlining dates for students upon which work must be submitted. Students must understand that they must stick to these dates and submit work on time or otherwise suffer the consequences. This is where a lot of students fall down… they do not keep on top of assigned work and do not submit assignments.

Student Cards Student ID Cards are usually issued during the first week after registration. It is important to know that these are used for entry and completion of exams etc so mind them carefully as there is a cost associated with getting them replaced.

Having a student ID Card also opens up a world of discounts and offers that can prove invaluable to a new college student; from reduced travel rates; to student meal deals to discounts in clothes shops/gyms etc… when students are living on a tight budget these can prove invaluable.

possible, to help them in any way they can and to help resolve any problems students are experiencing. If students are experiencing any difficulty; it is vital students speak to a representative in the College. This will allow students to get the answers and support needed as soon as possible.

Enjoy it all!

It is such a wonderful opportunity for a student to secure a place in a College. It should be enjoyed thoroughly and students should take every opportunity that comes their way while they are there – be it representing their college through a sport/meeting guest speakers/going on work placement/volunteering for Open Days … the list goes on. The more students engage and invest in their College, the more they will get out of the whole experience.

To Contact Mary, please email: MaryMLucey@gmail.com

Don’t be Afraid to Ask Questions Colleges know that starting college is a whole new experience for students, they want students to settle in as quickly as

Redundancy is still a termination of employment therefore a risk is attached to the same. The HR Suite can certainly guide you through the process and offer assistance in providing you with the written communication needed to make a role redundant.

To qualify for redundancy employees must have: Employees must have worked continuously for at least 104 weeks over the age of 16 and the position they hold must cease to exist.

In selecting employees for redundancy, the Company must apply selection criteria that are reasonable and are applied in a fair manner. Although a redundancy situation may exist, employees may have grounds for complaint if the manner of the selection for redundancy was deemed unfair or that a genuine redundancy situation does not exist. The Employment Equality Legislation also prohibits selection for redundancy that is based on any of the following nine grounds: gender, civil status, family status, age, disability, religious belief, race, sexual orientation or membership of the Traveller community.

The Company should consider all options including possible alternatives. If there is an alternative position available it must be put to the employees. An employee may take up an alternative on trial for up to four weeks.

The redundancy legislation states that each employee with two years continuous service is entitled to two weeks’ salary for every year of service plus one bonus week. The payments will depend on their length of service, hours of work and gross salary.

Emergency legislation was enacted by the government which temporarily prevents an employee from seeking to be made redundant potentially triggering an entitlement to a statutory redundancy lump sum payment during the "emergency period".

Employees who were on lay-off or short-time working, would have been entitled to apply for redundancy if the situation continues for more than four weeks, or for six weeks in the last 13 weeks. This emergency legislation has helped employers and employees maintain their jobs and avoid redundancy scenarios; this emergency legislation was extended until the end of August 2020.

Please do not hesitate to contact The HR Suite should you wish to discuss this matter further or if clarifications are required on 0667102877.

The HR Suite | Pier 17, Dingle Road, Tralee, Co. Kerry Tel: (066) 710 2887 Email: info@thehrsuite.com

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Appointments Alex Hoffman

PROMINENT Tralee legal firm, Pierse McCarthy Lucey LLP Solicitors, are pleased to announce the recent promotion (May 2020) of Alex Hoffman as a partner in the firm, which is situated on Ashe Street, Tralee, Co. Kerry.

Alex joined the firm in September 2018, having previously trained and worked with P.J. O’Driscoll & Sons, Solicitors in Cork City for 15 years Originally from Annascaul, County Kerry, Alex graduated from the University of Limerick in 2003 with a Bachelor of Laws in Law & European Studies and qualified as a Solicitor in 2006 Speaking on his promotion, Alex said: “I am delighted to be joining the partnership at such a well-respected and progressive law firm as Pierse McCarthy Lucey LLP. Since its establishment in 1974, the firm has earned a great reputation for the quality of service it provides to its clients and I look forward to continuing to work with the team and using my knowledge and experience to grow the firm and expand the services which we offer.”

To make an appointment with Alex Hoffman, contact Pierse McCarthy Lucey LLP Solicitors, 9 Ashe Street, Tralee, between 9:00am and 5:30pm Monday to Friday, on 066 7122900 or email alex.hoffman@pmcl.ie.

Maebh Enright

We Would like to welcome Meabh Enright To the HairWorks Team.

Meabh has 8 years experience in hairstyling. In 2019 She completed the Wella Master Colour Expert Programme, where she really developed her passion for creating bespoke highlights and balayages on clients.

Aswell as colour, She also loves cutting and upstyling.

In the last year Meabh has worked in Melbourne on a working holiday where she spent some time working in a wonderful bustling salon, but of course there was no place like home for Meabh.

“I am looking forward to joining the wonderful Hairworks team and welcoming clients old and new” For an appointment with Meabh call 066 7127260 or *New clients must be patch tested 48hours prior to their appointment *

Kerry College and Radio Kerry begin recruitment for hands on media training.

Always dreamed of working in radio or the media? Or are you a media graduate who wants hands on experience. Would you like the opportunity to train in an existing media organization while you learn.

If you have a passion for news, sports, research and production, presenting music shows, sound engineering, podcasting or mobile journalism then you may be interested in two courses which are currently recruiting.

Radio Kerry and Kerry College will be running an 8 week Introduction to Radio Broadcasting course starting on September 7th in Tralee. Places for this course are filled on a first come, first served basis and are limited to 18 only.

Radio Kerry and Kerry College are also recruiting for a longer 52 week Digital Journalism and Radio Broadcasting course. The course which will be based in Radio Kerry and the Kerry College Monavalley Campus in Tralee and is open to applicants from throughout the country.

The award winning course is led by industry practitioners, and will also include the opportunity to network with guest lecturers from media organisations.

It commences in November 2020. This course includes a two month internship in a media organization.

This course with industry practitioners gives you an introduction to the key practical skills and experience needed to work in the radio and media sector.

Applicants can apply for the Introduction to Radio Broadcasting Course, which can lead on to the longer 52 week course, or apply directly for the Digital Journalism and Radio Broadcasting Course. Apply now at www.kerrycollege.ie No fees apply for either course.

You will have access to two state of the art training centers and digital broadcasting studios both in the Kerry College Monavalley Campus and in Radio Kerry.

For further information in relation to either course contact Joe Mc Gill jmcgill@radiokerry.ie or Connie Broderick cbroderick@radiokerry.ie

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BECOME A MEMBER TODAY

Sign up as a member of Connect Business Club and Connect with other business around the county.

For details email margaret@connectpublications.ie

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