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BUSINESS Tomás Garvey GARY O’DRISCOLL talks Property Market

Kerry Person of the Year

Tomás Hayes Kerry Local Enterprise Office

Kerry’s Top Golf Courses .... See inside

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EDITOR NOTE Hello and welcome to Connect Business First issue of 2019 for Connect Business so we hope you are ready and set for a busy year in your business. We are publishing bi-monthly now, alongside our monthly Connect Lifestyle and our Connect Business Club is growing with more new members this issue, so it’s all very positive here at Connect HQ. We congratulate Tomás Garvey on his Kerry Person of the Year accolade and so deserving to a man who has done so much for our county.

One of Kerry’s finest we should be very proud to have a man of that stature in our county.

We also chat to Tomás Hayes of The Local Enterprise Office and he tells us about the supports they offer and what businesses and employees can avail of through them.

Gary O'Driscoll talks property and has some tips for those thinking of selling up. We also take a look at how Kerry golf courses have fared on the national ratings. We have lots of new businesses that have opened or expanded so that is refreshing to see.

If you have a business story you would like us to cover please do get in touch and we will come and see you.

Until next time.

Margaret x

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

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THINKING OF SELLING? The property market is never an easy one to call and in particular in recent years with the slow down and the tightening up of mortgage availability, it proved harder to get a mortgage which in turn led to increased and at times unreachable rent rates, demand out passed supply and the problem of sourcing a home to rent became the way of life for many people.

There doesn’t really seem to be any even out of this problem and at present uuncertainty over the outcome of Brexit negotiations is also having a huge impact on the market, and it’s hard to see that changing anytime soon.

In the meantime there are still people on the market to buy and sell and with this in mind we ask Property Expert Gary O Driscoll for his tips should you be making that all important move.

Buying or selling a house can be one of the most stressful experiences of your life; if you’re not ready!

But what do I do to get ready?

SELLERS The time has come, decisions have been made; we’re moving! Excitement is building and the conversations start as to where you are going to move to. It is daunting when you need to sell your home first to enable you to purchase the next house – will we find the right one? we don’t see anything in the market we like at the moment! The property market has become increasingly more buoyant over the past 12 months and property is coming on the market for sale more regularly; the options will be there.

SO, WHAT SHOULD YOU DO FIRST?

1. Contact your solicitor Your solicitor is an extremely important piece of the puzzle in relation to ensuring you have as stress free a sale as possible. With the emergence of the new Pre-Contract Investigation of Title (PCIT) in January 2019, all title information and ancillary documents relating to the sale of your home must be furnished to the buyer’s solicitor before a contract for sale can be signed. Get your title documents from your bank (if you still have a mortgage); otherwise, drop them into your solicitor.

2. Organise all other documentation required You will need Local Property Tax (LPT) receipts, NPPR certificate, possibly updated certificates of identity and compliance from your engineer, BER Certificate and others which will be confirmed to you by your solicitor.

3. Valuation It is important that you have your property valued by a qualified agent, who has experience in selling in your area. Valuing a property is not an exact science, but it is 6 | Connect BUSINESS | Feb/Mar 2019

very important to be able to ‘hit the ground running’ with a marketing price which will generate interest in your home.

Too often, property is advertised at a level which deters potential buyers from coming to view it. Be reasonable, on the basis of receiving sound information, do your own research, speak to people who may have had dealings with different agents and take their experiences on board. Word-of-mouth is important – listen to it!

4. Coming to Market By now, you have spoken to a number of agents, and each have pitched for the sale of your home. What is each offering? People can become engrossed in the price charged for the services provided – what are the services offered? Will they realistically make your property more appealing, more exposure to more buyers? What type of marketing tools or mediums are being utilised by each agent? Many people don’t like to spend money on advertising their property – WHY??? Why not give it every opportunity to realise the highest price in the market?

5. The Sales Process Ok, you’re up and running! Signage is erected, the property has been marketed and your agent is pursuing leads for you. What next? For many, a first impression is everything!

Is your house presented in its best light? It should be! I’m not one for the old coffee brewing and bread baking trick myself, to be honest, but you decide on that one. Just have the property airy, bright and showing off the features it boasts. Grass cut, no clothing draped over furniture and remember…………….Clean! Clean! Clean! Don’t worry about the coffee and the bread – you’re busy enough as it is!

If you need any advice in relation to the above, don’t hesitate to contact Gary O’ Driscoll & Co. Ltd on Ivy Terrace in Tralee on 066-710 4038 or by email: info@odriscollpropertykerry.com.

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TOMÁS HAYES

Kerry Local Enterprise Office

By Marisa Reidy

In a career spanning almost 30 years, head of Kerry County Council’s Local Enterprise Office, Tomás Hayes, has worked in a number of hugely interesting roles – from an employee and business owner in the sawmilling industry, to working with the Irish Aid programme in Sudan, specialising in environmental and extension work.

His experience is as vast as it is varied, so who better then to head up the Local Enterprise Office here in Kerry, which prides itself on securing and assisting job creation in the county through its work with growing and start-up businesses.

Speaking to Connect Business about his role within the LEO, Tomás explained that the route to his current position began in the late 90s when he returned from Sudan and secured employment in the local development sector based in Listowel, before joining the County Enterprise Board Ltd in 1999.

“I went on and did a Masters in Business Administration in University of Limerick in 2006/2007 and I assumed the role of Chief Executive of the County Enterprise Board Ltd in 2007,” he explained. “The Enterprise Board was dissolved in 2014 and all functions transferred to the County Council, where I now remain as Head of the Local Enterprise Office.”

The job is a hugely interesting and very varied one, Tomás explained, dealing specifically with what’s known as ‘microbusinesses’ – or businesses with 10 or less employees.

“The role of the LEO is to act as a one-stop-shop for business queries. We work closely with growing businesses and new start-ups through the provision of a range of financial and training supports,” he told Connect Business.

“Our work is very varied, as small businesses come in all shapes and sizes in a broad range of sectors such as food and IT. Ultimately our role is to secure and assist job creation in the county. Our office provides grant assistance, mentoring and a range of business focused training. Our role is also to signpost other sources of funding and support.”

Tomás heads up a six- member team, who not only offer advice and support to businesses, but also oversees a range of hugely important local initiatives, including delivering Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur, National Enterprise Awards, Student Enterprise Awards, Microfinance Loan Scheme, Trading Online Voucher Scheme, Export Grants and core grants such as Feasibility, Priming and Business Expansion grants.

Tomás commented “Our office has a great team with unique skills set and roles ranging from project management, financial skills, training delivery and project management. Our office is embedded within Kerry County Council and we have a strong relationship and work closely with the Economic Development Unit.”

So who exactly is it that comes to Tomás and his experienced team for support?

“Our office welcomes new products and services as it is not in the wider county’s interest to displace existing businesses. Manufacturing is key, whether food, metal fabrication or added value. Our office also encourages service business to grow, particularly internationally, and this is quite possible with new and emerging technologies,” he explained.

“Micro businesses are varied but the underlying factor is that we like to work with business owners who are ambitious

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and identify a strong market for their product or services. Growth in existing businesses or new businesses is key.”

Asked if there may be a misconception that the LEO is just about helping ‘start up’ businesses, Tomás was very clear that he and his team also work closely with existing businesses that are looking for support.

“Our office deals with established businesses too, not just about startups. Some start-ups have grown over the years and are now established and our office continues to deal with these.

There are some established businesses that our office might not have dealt with and our office would be pleased to work with these also,” he explained.

These businesses, however, must employ 10 or less people and be active in Kerry outside of the Gaeltacht areas. (Údaras na Gaeltachta is the prime agency for Gaeltacht based businesses).

And what are people looking for when they decide to seek the support of the Local Enterprise Office?

“Generally, people and businesses contact us either for advice or financial queries. There are many supports available to business, there are also regulatory issues,” he said. “Non-core work involves signposting to other potential supports. Some businesses are manufacturing, some are food, some are in the fisheries sector, other businesses might be in tourism so there are different supports available.”

Up to 100 businesses a year are approved financial support, Tomás explained, adding that this could include core grant support, trading online vouchers, export support grants and microfinance loans.

“We also redirect business to other funding sources such as Fisheries Local Area Group, Leader, Enterprise Ireland and investment sources. Over 1,000 people/businesses participate in out training events and seminars throughout the year so we are very busy.”

Asked for examples of just some of the successful projects the LEO has been involved with, Tomás was spoiled for choice.

“Over many years, our office has dealt with many businesses, examples include Walsh Colour Print in Castleisland which 10 | Connect BUSINESS | Feb/Mar 2019

has grown significantly and it is now a good employer in Castleisland. Tony and Patricia Walsh started this as a small business and it has grown,” he said.

“Other recent businesses include the hard-working Jessica Clinton of Ballyhar Foods based in the Firies Food Hub. Jessica’s business produces a range of high value desserts for the hotel market.

Another example is Fionán Murphy of Murphy Marine Services on Valentia Island which has grown over the years and is now exporting the Cygnus range of boats to mainland Europe. These individuals have shown tremendous drive and our office has supported them in their journey but the credit lies with these entrepreneurs.”

The LEO office also provides a range of training programmes from business start up right though to established business programmes, which are also hugely important. Tomás believes “Knowledge is important and knowing where to go for information is just as important,” he said. “As well as a range of training programmes, we also run sectoral programmes in areas such as food and craft. Mentoring and advisory services are an important part of our activities. There is little point in reinventing the wheel and shared knowledge through our network structures is key.”

And it seems the work of the Kerry LEO is ever-developing, with Tomás explaining that a number of new initiatives such as the trading Online Voucher and Export grants have recently been introduced

Another programme which Tomás says has received some interest lately is the “Lean for Micro” Programme, where existing business are supported in minimising wastage within their businesses whether this is overstocking, poor production layout, poor IT systems and poor use of staff skills.

The full range of services and supports available from the LEO is available at www.localenterprise.ie/kerry, with Tomás pointing out that the office charges minimum rates and all programmes are heavily subsidised.

As Tomás emphasises “Talk to us if you are serious about developing or growing your business, we can explore options on available supports whether financial or advisory supports, our office is open for business”.

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Tomás Garvey

Kerry Person of the Year

By Marisa Reidy In the 50 plus years that Dingle man Tomás Garvey has worked to grow and develop the now hugely successful Garvey Group, never did he imagine that his contribution to business and the community would be rewarded with a Kerry Person of the Year accolade.

Still humbled by receiving the Kerry Association in Dublin’s highest honour for 2019, the renowned businessman says he is absolutely thrilled – but still isn’t sure if he’s worthy of such an award.

“The whole thing came as a huge surprise to me. I certainly didn’t expect it nor did I ever have any notions of expecting it either,” he told CONNECT. “I was humbled by the whole thing really.

I mean when I looked at the list of the people who got this award before me, I just said I really wouldn’t lace their shoes.”

Asked what it meant to be chosen, Tomás said it was a privilege and an honour. ”When something like this happens, you feel very privileged and honoured, of course. Honoured that someone thought you were worthy of such an award. We don’t do what we do for accolades and rewards but it is lovely to be recognised of course.”

Tomás Garvey founded the Garvey Group back in 1965 from humble beginnings in a corner shop in Dingle.

Now, the family-owned company owns nine stores across Munster (seven SuperValu and two Centra), employing over 800 people. It also owns two hotels in Dingle - The Skellig and Benners Hotel.

While Tomás is still chairman of the owning company, he told CONNECT that he has taken somewhat of a back seat, leaving his son Jim Garvey and Managing Director Kevin McCarthy to drive the business he has built.

Asked what he was most proud of, looking back on a career spanning over 12 | Connect BUSINESS | Feb/Mar 2019

50 years, Tomás said it was being able to see the success of the company in his lifetime.

“What I’m most proud of is that we have a good solid business built up, employing over 800 people,” he said. “All that is taken over now by the next generation, but it’s great that we achieved that in my own lifetime.”

Also hugely important of Tomás and indeed the entire Garvey Group team is the support of local community, be it through sports sponsorship or charitable support. It’s a two-way street, Tomás says, insisting that The Garvey Group is nothing without the local community.

“We saw that as part of the business we were in, supporting the local community was going to be very important. We saw our business as very community-driven and obviously we depend a lot on the community, so while it was a way of us developing our business, it was also

something we really wanted to do in return - and something we enjoy doing as well.”

Cathaoirleach of the Kerry Association in Dublin, Keelin Kissane explained that The Kerry Person of the Year award recognises an individual who has shown leadership, brought honour to the county, and performed services for the county to such an extent that could be described as being beyond the norm of everyday life.

Tomás Garvey, she said, is a very worthy winner on the 40th anniversary of the award.

“This award is being presented to Tomás in recognition of the valuable contribution he has made to Kerry through the business he has grown and the positive effect of the Garvey Group business in the communities in which it operates and in particular for his support of charities and community initiatives and his support and sponsorship of Kerry GAA and basketball in Kerry,” she said. “We are delighted to honour Tomás for all that he has done for the people of Kerry.”

Tomás will receive his award at the Association’s annual Oiche Chiarraí which will be held in the iconic Croke Park on Saturday, March 30th.

“I’ve no doubt it’s going to be a great night, and we’ll certainly enjoy it,” Tomás said.

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APPOINTMENTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

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... in the County

THREE KERRY DOCTORS AWARDED A FELLOWSHIP OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF GENERAL PRACTITIONERS (RCGP) IN LONDON

Dr David Buckley, Dr John Casey and Dr Bartholomew Daly who received their Fellowship of the Royal College of General Practitioners at a ceremony in London.

Prof. Mayur Lakhani, the president of the RCGP, recently presented three Kerry doctors with a Fellowship of the RCGP in recognition of their contribution to medicine in general and general practice in particular. Fellowship is the highest grade of membership of the RCGP. It is an honour and mark of achievement awarded to members who have made a significant contribution to the health and welfare of the community, to the science or practice of medicine in general, or to general practice in particular. The new Fellows included: Dr David Buckley, who has been promoting primary care dermatology for almost 30 years. He is a founding member and on the board of directors of the Kerry Hospice Foundation for the past 28 years. Dr John Casey, joint founder and senior assistant programme director of the South West General Practitioner Training scheme and Dr Bartholomew Daly, Programme Director of the South West General Practitioner Training scheme, were also awarded a fellowship.

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A man who has devoted so much time and energy to community and commercial life in Killarney over the past 20 years has been named the new President of Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce. Paul Sherry, manager of the Killarney Outlet Centre, will succeed Paul O’Neill having served as Vice President for the past two Paul Sherry years. He was elected at the Chamber’s annual general meeting in the Killarney Avenue Hotel. A native of Dublin who has spent the last two decades living and working in Killarney, Paul has demonstrated great dedication and stamina in his commitment to Chamber. He is currently the driving force behind the hugely successful St Patrick’s Day Festival and he has also been very actively involved with the Christmas in Killarney and July 4th Festival committees. He said he is very honoured and excited to accept the chain of office but he knows he has a hard act to follow given the dynamic performance and successful tenure of his immediate predecessor Paul O’Neill. “My priority is to continue to build on the great work that has been done by Chamber down through the years and to work closely with the team, with Kerry County Council and with all other bodies to ensure Killarney remains a wonderful town to live in, to work in and to visit,” he said. Paul is married to Liz and they have three children, Hannah (19), Joshua (17) and William (12). In addition to his busy role in the Killarney Outlet Centre, he is very actively involved in community life and devotes an enormous amount of time to clubs and organisations on a voluntary basis. A long-serving member and former President of Killarney Rotary Club, he is the current Chairman of Killarney Celtic FC who are the reigning league and cup champions and he also serves on the board of management at Gaelscoil Faithleann in Killarney. The new Vice President of Chamber is Niall Kelleher, a native of Rathmore whose business is headquartered in Killarney.

An elected member of Killarney Municipal District Council since 2014, he continues a long association between the Chamber and the Council with the late Cllr Maurice O’Donoghue, Senator Paul Coghlan and former councillor Niall O’Callaghan also very actively involved at executive level in the Chamber down through the years.

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KILLARNEY CHAMBER ELECTS NEW PRESIDENT

If you have an appointment in your company we would be delighted to hear about it.

Contact Margaret: 086 2408237 info@connectpublications.ie

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SEAN TAAFFE ANNOUNCED AS NEW PRESIDENT OF THE HAIRDRESSING COUNCIL OF IRELAND

Newly appointed as President of the Hairdressing Council of Ireland, Sean Taaffe from Killarney is honored and fully committed to fulfilling the promise of change and further development of the Hairdressing Industry. The Hairdressing Council is the largest and leading industry body in the country and represents the totality of the Industry. Sean is one of the Council members on the Apprenticeship Steering Group for the New Hairdressing Apprenticeship to be launched later this year.

In his own Business, he started out as a one person operator and now currently has a team of 65 people in his 5 businesses in

Co Kerry. Never one to stand still, Sean is currently completing his second year in Professional Business Development at University of Limerick to further enhance his salon & educational company.

In Competition, The Sean Taaffe Salon Group is no stranger to winning awards having won Munster Salon of the Year and Salon of the Year in the Alfaparf & Schwarzkopf Business Awards. Sean has represented Ireland many times at world level bringing home Bronze medals from the OMC World Championships in Frankfurt and the OMC Asia Cup Open in Malaysia in the fashion Cut&Colour categories. Last year he became a Juror for OMC World Hairdressing Championships in Paris.

He is also proud to be a Trainer for the Alfaparf Hair Company in Precision Haircutting

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TRALEE COMES UP TRUMPS IN TRIPADVISOR AWARDS Four hotels in Tralee are celebrating this week as they make the Irish Top 25 list in the latest Tripadvisor Travellers Choice Awards.

Ballygarry House Hotel made the Top 10, The Manor West Hotel was in 16th position, with The Rose Hotel at 22nd and The Meadowlands Hotel at 23rd.

The annual Travellers’ Choice Awards are eagerly awaited each year by the hospitality industry owing to the fact that they are determined based on millions of reviews and opinions collected globally on TripAdvisor over the past year.

“We are thrilled to make the top 10 for our fourth year in a row and it is a testament to the hard work and customer focus of our team. We have worked hard as a town to position Tralee as a key destination and this further enhances the towns offering”, said Padraig McGillicuddy, Proprietor of Ballygarry House.

Mark Sullivan, General Manager at The Rose Hotel said “We are delighted to make the Top 25 list along with our friends in the other Tralee hotels. We’re very proud of Tralee as a location and this listing really demonstrates the excellent experience that

visitors are having when they come here.”

Tralee offers visitors an abundance of top quality hotels all within a few kilometers from the most beautiful beaches in Ireland, surrounded by five championship links golf courses, and scenery from the Wild Atlantic Way including the Dingle Peninsula. It enjoys a wonderful location near all major road networks and is also accessible by rail and air at Kerry Airport.

Pictured from: The Rose Hotel: Mark Sullivan, David Fitzgerald and Michele King.

Ballygarry House Hotel & Spa: Padraig McGillicuddy, Thys Vogels and Marie Galvin.

Manor West Hotel: Ruth O’Sullivan, Aoife Hickey and Annette Gavin. Meadowlands Hotel: Brid Ní Mhathuna and Heather MacIver.

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KERRY FEATURED HIGHLY IN THE WORLD’S TOP 100 GOLF COURSES Golfscape has been working with the expertise of industry leaders to put together our first World’s Top 100 Golf Courses, 2019. The golf courses that have been selected to feature in the ranking are those that offer unique, memorable, and luxury experiences worldwide. From the enchanting fairways of traditional links in Ireland to the Mediterranean greens at the glamorous destination of Marbella, we have traveled far and wide to bring you the world’s greatest golf.

Join us on the countdown from 100 to 1 and find out who we have selected as a Top 100 golf course and what course managed to make it to our top spot.

NUMBER 29 Waterville Golf Links, Ireland

NUMBER 17 THE OLD COURSE, BALLYBUNION GOLF CLUB, IRELAND The earliest structured golf at Waterville dates back to 1889 and the course is just as popular today. Waterville Golf Links underwent a revamp with the assistance of international golf architect, Tom Fazio. The Fazio Renovation and ongoing Coastal Management Program is an important feature to the entire Links and it’s perimeter, keeping Waterville a premier golf destination in Ireland.

NUMBER 69 TRALEE GOLF CLUB, IRELAND

Ballybunion Golf Club is located on the northwest coast of County Kerry, on a beautiful stretch of sand dunes complete with spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean. The Old Course exudes a majestic feel that simply cannot be compared to any other course on Earth.

Tralee Golf Club was designed by Arnold Palmer in 1984. The stunning 1st and 2nd holes of the course were the locations of the beach scenes in the 1970 movie Ryan’s Daughter, which won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

The golf course setting represents a true paradise for those willing to take on the challenge, at what is widely acclaimed as one of the most famous links courses in the world.

CREDIT: HTTPS://GOLFSCAPE.COM/SOUTHWEST-IRELAND-GOLF-COURSES

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What’s New

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BY: JACK JOY

in Business KILKENNY GROUP CONTINUE GROWTH

with Sammy’s Restaurant and Retail Store in Inch, Co. Kerry It has been formally announced that Kilkenny Group, the home of Irish craft and design has agreed to acquire Sammy’s Restaurant and Retail Store in Inch, Kerry. Located directly beside Inch beach, Sammy’s will join Kilkenny Group’s existing 16 nationwide stores which include Christy’s and the recently acquired Kilkenny Design Centre. The eatery and retail business, situated between Killarney and Dingle is a popular destination for locals and international visitors to the Peninsula.

Sammy’s is a welcomed addition to Kilkenny’s awardwinning restaurants in Nassau Street, Dublin, Shanagarry, Cork and Kilkenny Design Centre and will continue its amazing reputation for supplying delicious meals using locally sourced ingredients.

Speaking of the takeover, Marian O’Gorman, Kilkenny Group CEO said, “This is a fantastic and exciting opportunity for Kilkenny to further develop our authentic food, culture and tradition of Irish craft and design. We look forward to welcoming our new colleagues and working with them to uphold the strong reputation of the location.”

Previous owners, Mahmood and Iris Hussain commented, “We would like to wish Kilkenny every success in Sammy’s and we’re confident they’ll make a great addition to the local area. We would also like to thank our loyal customers and visitors for supporting us throughout the years.”

Marian O’Gorman

This announcement comes just 8 weeks after Kilkenny Group’s purchase of Kilkenny Design Centre bringing the organisation’s outlet count from 15 to 17 premium stores further securing Kilkenny’s place as a leading employer in and promoter of Irish craft and design.

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TIPPTOP NOW

AVAILABLE IN ALDI Tipptop is co owned by Tony ‘Neill (originally from Carrick on Suir) and Claira Weigt. we have been working on a small scale and after many years of research, red tape and wrong routes. we decided we would try and set up on Valentia island, where you cant get much greener to be fair. (I moved here originally from newtownstewart in 86 as a child but left between 97 and 2008 to study hotel management in cork. Where i met tony in 2005, we are partners in life and business. When we returned to Valentia we had been maintaining holiday homes and while doing so found it extremely hard to source environmentally safe and affordable cleaning products. So this is where grannies old recipes came to mind, and that is when we started our research on our products that are both safe to use for you and the environment All our products are ECO FRIENDLY and formulated from natural sustainable sources of plant and herb extract they are NON TOXIC, BIODEGRADABLE and leave NO HARMFUL RESIDUE on cleaned surfaces as is the case with common household chemical cleaners produced by multinationals. Our Ingredients have been proven to kill 99% of bacteria, 82% of mould and germs that cause viruses such as the flu. It also kills Pathogens which are infectious agents that cause disease and illness.

Tipptop Ecoelite is 100% Irish and we source LOCAL INGREDIENTS where feasible. Our products are 100% natural.

Child Pet and Marine friendly. All our bottles and jars are 100% RECYCLABLE or REFILLABLE. We are the Irish solution to keeping our country Green.

All our products are available in Aldi Ireland nation wide from Sunday the 3rd of February and online at our website http://tipptopecoelite.com/. We really want to thank all our family and friends that pulled together in so many ways to make this happen.

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ONE STOP SWEET SHOP opens its doors in Listowel

The Woollen Market are to open their newest store on Ashe Street, Tralee in the coming months, hoping to open their doors between March and early April.

The Tralee store will be the Woollen Markets’ fifth retail store along with their stores in Ennis, Liscannor, Westport and Sligo city. Managing-Director Ronan Cahir says that Kerry was the “natural choice” for their next store location, in keeping with the companies west coast locations and the strong tourism links in County Kerry.

Listowel native Caroline finished a business degree from UL last September and, after noticing a gap in the market, went on to complete a start your own business course in Kerry ETB. Bringing her expertise in business as well as over 10 years’ experience in retail to the store, One Stop Sweet Shop features a wide selection of sweets and treats, many of which you may have a hard time finding elsewhere.

The store also specialises in hand-made hampers and gifts to cater for all occasions and budgets, such as a hand-made range of gifts for baby showers which are proving a big hit amongst customers.

Trading for the last 4 years, The Woollen Market deals in high quality woollen goods such as hats, scarves and Aran sweaters which are all produced by family mills and weavers across Ireland. Managing Director Ronan Cahir describes the company’s products as premium goods. “We personally source a luxurious Woollen yarn and select smaller artisan mills or individual talented weavers to work with us so that we can ensure our exclusive own brand collections would be worthy of telling our companies slogan, which is the best of Ireland.”

One Stop Sweet Shop is open 9:15am to 6pm Monday to Saturday. You can contact the store through the One Stop Sweet Shop Facebook page.

As with all other locations the store in Tralee will be open 10am to 8pm, 7 days a week, all year round. You can find out more at www.thewoollenmarket.com

One Stop Sweet Shop recently opened its doors in Listowel. Located on 46 Church Street Listowel, the shop opened in early December and store owner Caroline Nolan hopes that business will continue to flourish after a hectic Christmas.

A recently launched website, ‘Tralee My Love’, is aiming to build awareness of artistic and cultural events taking place in Tralee.

The website is the creation of Ash Maguire, of Maddens Café, Tralee. After recently moving from Dublin to Tralee, Ash was surprised with the lack of promotion the arts and culture scene received in Kerry’s capital and set about using her background in marketing and design to create a clear-cut, one-stop shop website which would showcase the many cultural events taking place throughout Tralee.

Ash hopes to build awareness of the thriving art and culture scene in Tralee among locals and tourists by promoting and providing information on events, no matter how small or alternative, through the ‘Tralee My Love’ website and Instagram.

As well as promotion of the arts, ‘Tralee My Love’ will kickstart a number of creative events and projects in Tralee such as its new photo project. The project is based around photographs which showcase the charm of Tralee and everyone is encouraged to submit their photographs, whether it be a snap of their favourite shop or a secluded corner of town, by using the #traleemylove hashtag on Instagram. The project will give selected entrants the opportunity to have their work showcased in an upcoming photo exhibit to be held in Maddens Café.

You can find out more at www.traleemylove.com

JJ’S FRUIT & VEG opens in Listowel JJ’s Fruit & Veg opened its doors to the people of Kerry on the 14th of January this year. The store is located at 16 Convent Street, Listowel, on the former Horan’s Fruit & Veg premise. The store specialises in fresh fruit and veg, with produce being home-grown from summer onwards.

New store owner Jerry O’Halloran, brings a considerable knowledge of fruit & veg to Listowel. The Ballyheigue man has over 20 years’ experience working in the fruit and veg business and grows much of the store’s produce, such as fresh carrots, cabbage and cauliflowers himself.

Business has increased week upon week since opening and the store’s future looks bright under Jerry’s management.

JJ’s Fruit & Veg is open Monday to Saturday from 08:00 to 18:00 every week. You can contact Jerry for further information on 0879443078.

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BUDGETING - A way forward for 2019 Whether for your business needs or personal needs you need to know where your money is going if you want to have a handle on your finances.

Unlike what you might believe, budgeting isn’t all about restricting what you spend money on and cutting out all the fun in your life. It’s really about understanding how much money you have, where it goes, and then planning how to best allocate those funds.

Even where you think your finances are in good order, you often will be surprised at the level of money you are spending in certain areas. Adequate planning can keep your spending on track and allow you to plan for certain events or financial goals. There isn’t anyone in this world that doesn’t want something and by actually sitting down and seeing how much money is needed to obtain it, that in itself will give you the push you need to plan your finances.

Some wishes are small, others are large but doing a budget will help you decide if they are attainable or not.

The times of withdrawing cash and knowing you have a certain amount to spend in your pocket are slipping away. We are in a time where funds are there at the touch of a button, be it mobile phones, debit cards, credit cards etc. The old dilemma, have I enough money with me is gone and impulse buying is on the increase. Many of you will see that in your recent credit card statement from Christmas! We are a nation of generous people, but generous doesn’t have to mean careless. So knowledge is everything and preparing a budget is a vital step in securing your financial goals for the year ahead.

HOW TO MAKE A BUDGET The following is a step-by-step guide to making an accurate and helpful budget.

1. ESTABLISH THE AMOUNT OF MONTHLY INCOME THAT YOU HAVE. This can be done by reviewing your bank statements for all your accounts including savings.

Where your income is not set, use last years as a basis and adapt it to your work plan for this year. Eg. If you are going to work longer hours, increase the income, if you are going to work less, decrease it accordingly. Where you are self-employed make sure you plan for the appropriate taxes.

2. CREATE A LIST OF YOUR MONTHLY EXPENSES. This is often the hardest part of a budget and the one area which creates surprise. This list would include the obvious ones such as mortgage payments, car loan payments, other loans, health insurance, car insurance & taxes, Local property tax, child care costs, groceries, utilities, entertainment and the list goes on!

3. SPLIT THESES MONTHLY COSTS INTO FIXED AND VARIABLE. Fixed expenses are those that stay relatively the same each month and are a necessary expense in your daily life . They include expenses such as your mortgage or rent, car payments, TV and/or internet service, Bin charges, Local property tax and so on. These expenses for the most part are essential yet not likely to change in the budget. Variable expenses are the type that will change from month to month and include items such as groceries, petrol/diesel, entertainment, eating out, and gifts, to name a few. Its very important to review your credit card for the prior year to see where impulse buying might occur! This category will be important when making adjustments. For the selfemployed please don’t forget your tax that will be due in October/ November. Maybe you may consider starting a direct debit with Revenue which will allow you to manage your cashflow better.

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Also, watch out for the local property tax and how you have opted to pay, monthly direct debit, a deduction from payroll or a once off payment in March. You need to ensure the funds are available.

4. COMPARE YOUR INCOME TO YOUR EXPENDITURE. For most people, money is spent far easier and quicker than it is earned, so if your expenditure outweighs your income, then preparing this budget has been a success. You now have the knowledge at hand to make some necessary adjustments to ensure that you are not entering difficult financial times. However, review your figures for any oversight, e.g childcare could be reduced in September where a child avails of the free preschool year, or a loan could be fully repaid. Where you are confident in the figures then this is the time you make some adjustments. Again, budgeting is not about eliminating the fun out of your life, it’s about how you allocate your funds. Small changes can have very positive effects. Where you are fortunate enough to have surplus income over expenditure, well you are off to a very good start. You can certainly now think about your financial wish list, be it increasing your pension fund, paying off debt quicker etc. So include this in your budget under expenses with an appropriate title. However, it’s not as simple as that. It makes very good financial planning to review this expenditure and identify areas that can change, is there a need for certain expenditure, remove any unnecessary expenditure and replace it with necessary expenditure, this will ensure that you will have extra funds for your financial goals.

5. PUT PLAN INTO ACTION. Like with most things, people are great at making a plan, but acting on it is something else. How many times have you left a meeting and said yes that was great and we must do this and that and 6 months down the line its, oh yes we talked about that! So this is where you have to be different.

This is your plan and your dream, so make it happen.

Surplus Funds Where you have surplus funds and for example you want to save for something, then set up an online savings account and transfer a surplus amount to it the day you get paid. For example if your surplus fluctuates over the 12 months, take the minimum and transfer it into a fixed savings account with good interest rates. Our team (Eoin: eoneill@psc.ie or Bairbre: bosullivan@psc. ie) here in PSC Financial Planning would provide guidance to you by identifying competitive saving accounts in the market. Put the balance into an access savings account where you can dip into if you need to. When this builds up transfer a good portion to a higher interest earning account. You will be amazed how your savings will grow and how close you will get to your financial goal.

High Expenditure Identify an area’s where you can curtail your spending. Your aim is to have enough surplus cash to allow you to achieve your goal. Include this goal in your expense so that ideally your income matches your expenditure. Follow step one and put it into action.

6. REVIEW. There is no point putting all this hard work in without reviewing your monthly budget against actual monthly expenditure. This is a working plan and your budget can be amended to reflect changes in circumstances. Maybe you can manage to save a bit more or you’re finding it too tight saving so much. The budget has to work for you and your goals and your goals have to be attainable. If not, its destined to fail.

In summary, this is your plan and your dream. Set attainable goals for 2019. It’s never too late to start! If you need guidance or have any questions, please contact me at srivasmay@psc.ie or any of the team at PSC. We would be happy to help and see you prosper in 2019.

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KERRY SKAL PRESIDENTS DINNER Skal is a professional organisation promoting global tourism and friendship and the only international group uniting all sectors of the travel and tourism industry. Skål International has 15,000 members across nearly 90 countries.

Leaders of the tourism family of Kerry gathered together to pay warm tributes to two wellknown industry professionals to recognise the contribution they have given to industry as they both move on to new projects. Terence Mulcahy former general manager of the International Hotel has retired to pursue his own business interests while Sean O’Driscoll, the former general manager at both The Brehon and the Muckross Park Hotel, recently moved to Cork with his role as head of operations at iNua Hospitality group. Both were honoured at the Kerry Skal President’s dinner, in association with the Kerry branch of the Irish Hotels’ Federation, in the Killarney Plaza Hotel recently PICTURES BY: EAMONN KEOGH

Bishop of Kerry Ray Browne, Bernadette Randles and Michael Rosney at the Skal International Club of Kerry annual President's Dinner in The Killarney Plaza Hotel.

Marie and Sean O'Driscoll, Geraldine and Michael Rosney at the Skal International Club of Kerry annual President's Dinner in The Killarney Plaza Hotel.

Special presentations were made to Sean O'Dri scoll (iNua Hospitality) and Terence Mulcahy (former International Hotel manager) at the Skal Inter national Club of Kerry annual President's Dinne r in The Killarney Plaza Hotel. Seated from left are Marie and Sean O'Driscoll, Niamh O'Shea (Kerr y IHF Chairperson), Sheila Casey (President Skal Club of Kerry), Margaret Cahill, (President of Skal International in Ireland), Terence and Ailish Mulcahy. Standing from left are Michael and Geraldine Rosney, Michael Lennon (IHF Presi dent) Lorna and Darren Mulcahy.

Caroline Hennigan, Geraldine and John O'Mahony and Mary O'Donoghue at the Skal International Club of Kerry annual President's Dinner in The Killarney Plaza Hotel.

Katie Fox, Denise Casey and Catriona White at the Skal International Club of Kerry annual President's Dinner in The Killarney Plaza Hotel.

Mark Culloty, Niamh O'Shea (Kerry IHF Chairperson , John Dempsey and Tracy Coyne at the Skal International Club of Kerry annual President's Dinner.

Connect BUSINESS | Feb/Mar 2019 | 21

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ACTION LESOTHO

EASING THE BURDEN OF POVERTY through the commitment of volunteers and a sharing community Action Lesotho was set up in Kerry to assist the people in the Maputsoe area close to the South African border, and in the following pages, you can see what we have achieved with an annual budget of under €130,000. Our primary goal is easing the hardship of the local poor through developing their own capacity. We achieve this by supporting them in education, farming, industrial sewing skills and health care. We also run feeding programmes for children who wouldn’t eat otherwise. We appreciate we cannot help everyone, but we can assist some and, in the process, help address the root causes of extreme poverty by sharing a little of our own good fortune. We are trying to create a model of community development that can be replicated in other areas while giving ownership of the process to the locals.

We have no political, religious or any other affiliations, just a commitment to social and economic justice for people with a wide range of backgrounds. Everybody in Ireland works on a volunteer basis, and no salaries or remuneration are involved.

They have a Board of Directors that oversees the work, and a team of supporters who offer mentoring to the community in Lesotho as well as raising funds to support the local people who run the programmes on the ground in Lesotho.

WHERE ACTION LESOTHO GET THEIR INCOME Annual budget to cover everything is €110,000 OUR INCOME DERIVES FROM 4 MAIN SOURCES: Impact Trade Union Action Lesotho Charity Bookshop Fundraising activities Donations

€50,000 per annum €30,000 per annum €12,000 €18,000

HOW THE MONEY IS SPENT As we have no paid staff in Ireland, most of our income goes directly to our projects on the ground. We only hold back enough to cover some local administration costs like accountancy fees.

OUR SPENDING IS AS FOLLOWS: Healthcare: Community care, breakfast club homework club, weekend programmes: Farming: Training for employment: Administration:

THE WEEKEND PROGRAMME This is one of the longest running programmes. In Lesotho, state schools provide a midday meal for all pupils. Often, this is the only reliable food source for these children. That means that at weekends, the children wouldn’t eat at all as there is no food in the home. We began to provide food for the children in our community centre at weekends, and it proved to be a hugely popular and important programme. We also provide a wide range of activities from sports and table games to workshops on health and wellbeing, social and development skills and volunteer work in the community supporting the elderly, providing a haven for many of these children at weekends.

HEALTH CARE PROGRAMME Lesotho is struggling to come to terms with one of the highest incidences of HIV/Aids in the world, the social impact of this is enormous. Anti-retroviral drugs are available free of charge from the government but without the required nutrition they have a limited effect as a treatment. Our healthcare programme makes monthly deliveries of food and living essentials to 40 clients, ranging in ages from 2 years to 72 years. Most are too ill to travel.

We also schedule a visit from our nurse to monitor the medications are being taken correctly. Providing seeds to the adults to grow their own food and some instruction on how to do that has proved very popular and is helping them towards some self-sufficiency.

The overall success of this health-care project is measured by the number of clients who recover and become healthy enough to be moved to one of our employment programmes where they can generate an income for themselves and their families FARMING

€35,000 €30,000 €10,000 €15,000 €5,000

We have a direct impact on the lives of over 400 people (not counting their families) making the cost of our intervention less then 90 cents a day per individual benefiting. Each individual assisted will have a knock on effect on an extended family/ community.

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THESE ARE SOME OF THE AMAZING PROJECTS THEY HELP TO FUND:

Most farm holdings in Lesotho average 2 acres in size. Many of the owners are unable to use the land productively due to age, ill health or poverty. We have entered an arrangement with 39 farmers to farm their land. We give them 25% of the produce without any cost to them and use the balance to cover the costs involved and provide food for the local poor. We have trained a skilled farm team from local people over the last 10 years to manage the project and share the knowledge gained with other interested farmers. We are currently producing maize, sorghum, wheat, beans, and a range of vegetables.

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THE BREAKFAST CLUB One of the best ways out of poverty is through education, but in Lesotho, although education is free, many children don’t benefit from it because they are hungry and unable to concentrate at school. Three young sisters, M, L and T, are typical. After their mother died, their father abandoned them. Their grandmother took them in, but on a meagre pension herself, she couldn’t afford enough food to feed them all. They were already taking part in our weekend feeding programme (see page 5), but during the week were going to school without having eaten at all. Schools provide a midday meal to all children in Lesotho, but this means that morning classes are a struggle. Our breakfast club provides a nourishing breakfast to over eighty children, all with similar stories, enabling them to benefit from their schooling and improving their overall health. TH

FUNDRAISING BOOKSHOP With over 10,000 books in stock we operate a successful business with our second-hand bookshop. Located in the Tralee Shopping Centre, it is open 6 days a week and operated completely on a voluntary basis by over 20 of our supporters.

All the books are donated by the local community and the nominal rent makes it a profitable ongoing business and a steady source of income for our programmes.

THE HOMEWORK CLUB They facilitate many of the children on our programmes to do their homework at our Centre. This gives them a supportive and encouraging environment to study in. Very often there are no literate adults in their lives who can assist them, and because of overcrowding in classrooms a lot of children do not pick up the basics of reading and writing at school. At the Centre, they are assisted to develop these skills, and it enables them to keep up in class. This stops them from being left behind at a very early stage of their schooling. It is a hugely important programme, as education is still the best way out of poverty.

TRAINING FOR EMPLOYMENT By far the most successful project in moving people securely out of poverty is the industrial sewing machine skills programme. As we are located not far from clothing factories, we offer 5-week training courses in sewing machine skills and work ethics. In 2018 they have already placed over 100 trainees from poor backgrounds, mostly illiterate, into full time employment. This quickly moves them and their families from below the poverty line to having a regular income. Our graduates are sought after in the factories.

We have a very high job placement rate for our trainees.

PRE-SCHOOL Our pre-school currently caters for 20 very young children. Some live with their elderly grandparents, others come from extremely vulnerable families who are child-led or where the adult is unable to work due to sickness or other circumstances. A typical story is of two children who recently joined our pre-school in April 2018 referred to us by District Children’s Protection Unit. T., aged 3 and N., aged 2, come from a family of 6 children, aged between 12 years and 8 months. This family is headed by an elderly father who rents a single room in the village. The father gets piece work like herding animals for the family to survive. The mother goes to a dump site daily to look for cardboard boxes and fabrics to sell at recycling centres. Occasionally the family gets food and clothes from the Children’s Protection Unit. We monitor all the young children’s health and nutrition and make sure they have a meal each day.

HOW CAN YOU HELP? OUR GOAL FOR 2019

ACHIEVE 35 LESOTHO PATRONS IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AT €25.00 PER MONTH S/O AS SUPPORTERS OF OUR PROJECTS.

We are happy to come and chat to you or go to www.ACTIONLESOTHO.ie EMAIL: ACTIONLESOTHO@GMAIL.COM TEL: Paul 086 284 3498 Charity Status Registration No.17838 Reg Office: ACTION LESOTHO, 32 THE MALL, TRALEE, CO. KERRY,

ALL BUSINESSES WHO PLEDGE THEIR SUPPORT WILL BE ENTERED INTO A DRAW TO WIN A

DOUBLE PAGE FEATURE IN CONNECT BUSINESS ON THEIR BUSINESS COURTESY OF

CONNECT PUBLICATIONS

Connect BUSINESS | Feb/Mar 2019 | 23

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A Celebration of Great Food, Music and Dancing at the LEE STRAND ANNUAL SOCIAL

Over three hundred people attended the 56th year of the Lee Strand Annual Social on Saturday night at the Ballygarry House Hotel in Tralee. The annual gathering attended by farmers, shareholders, staff and customers of Lee Strand was a wonderful social evening of fine dining, great music and dancing. On arrival guests were welcomed with a prosecco reception in the Pavilion in Ballygarry, which was followed by a four course dinner in the banqueting hall. Following dinner everyone danced the night away to Arklight and DJ Martin Howard.

Kathleen and John Johnny Burrows from Trale

e

Jerry and Catherine Dwyer from Tonavane and

Tom Leen

Ivan Groves, Ballyackey, Kielduff, Tralee was announced as the winner of the Lee Strand Overall Milk Quality Award 2018. Speaking on the night Donal Pierse, Chairman, Lee Strand congratulated Ivan Groves as recipients of the Lee Strand Overall Milk Quality Award 2018. He also congratulated all of Lee Strand's monthly quality award winners and commended the quality achievements of Lee Strand farmers who month after month provide the highest quality milk in Kerry and beyond.

Presentations were also made to Lee Strand employee Brendan O’Regan who worked with Lee Strand from 1982-2018 and retired during the past year. Lee Strand also recognised three retiring milk suppliers for their dedication to Lee Strand over the years.

Maurice Dowling from 1983 – 2017; Joe Brosnan from 1981 – 2017 and Tim Finnerty from 2003.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY : DOMNICK WALSH © EYE FOCUS LTD ©

Ivan Groves, Ballyackey, Kielduff, was announced as the winner of Lee Strand Overall Milk Quality Award 2018. Pictured FRONT L/R: Betty Grover, John O'Sulivan and Donal Pierse of Lee Strand congratulated Ivan Groves (2nd from front right) and all of Lee Strand’s monthly quality award winners and commended the quality achievements of Lee Strand farmers who month after month provide the highest quality milk in Kerry and beyond. Pictured Back L/R: Gerry Dwyer Lee Strand, Declan Roche Lee Strand, Niall Groves Tralee, John Daly Lee Strand, Eric O'Brien, Teresa Higgins Lee Strand and Mike Mangan Lee Strand.

Ivan, Betty and Niall Groves from Tralee.

John O’Sullivan and Jacinta McMahon.

Mariead O'Sullivan and Lorraine Griffin from Currow

Barry Lyons, Abbie O'Sullivan and Eoin Lyne from Keilduff.

Catriona and John Bowler from Caherciveen

Noreen McMahon, Jerry McMahon and Maura McMahon from Tralee.

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CONNECT Business Club Kicks of 2019

Photographs by:  John Walsh Photography 066 7123777 Email: info@johnwalsh.ie | www.johnwalsh.ie

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SUPPORT OUR CBC MEMBERS

Should you wish to join the club contact us on: T: 066 7123954 M: 086 2408237Â | E: margaret@connectpublications.ie

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Winner of Best Hotel and Guesthouse Restaurant Park Hotel Kenmare 30 | Connect BUSINESS | Feb/Mar 2019

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