This article is from page 6 of the 2011-09-06 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
THREE local companies will be rewarded for their ingenuity this Thursday with the first ever Innovation in the Community Awards. The awards, which are being organised by Gort solicitor and cleric abuse campaigner Eileen McMahon, aim to recognise local businesses who use the natural resources available in the west of Ireland to good effect.
The identity of the three shortlisted business are as yet unknown but they are drawn from more than a dozen local companies in Clare and South Galway.
“One of my interests in dealing with people who suffered from trauma. When I set up my complementary health business, I tried to source products from Ireland and the local areas and there wasn’t really anything around. I had to import everything from the UK. I think we should be using more of our resources and trying to creat things which are based locally. That is what sparked the idea,” said Eileen. “I was interest in any ideas from the community. Whether someone is a cleaner or the head of a million pound company, there is no telling where the good ideas will come from. Often times it is people in the front line of a business, people who are dealing with a problem on a daily basis, are the people who are able to find a good way of getting around that problem.”
The awards night will take place at the Lady Gregory Hotel in Gort this Wednesday from 7pm. The guest speakers on the night will include Bobby Kerr from the Dragon’s Den, Eileen herself and Richard Griffin, who is a specialist in power generation. “The idea of the competition is to get people to think. For them to look around their area and think how they could survive if they couldn’t get something from outside their area,” continued Eileen.
“The idea is to help local people who have good ideas to be able to take that idea forward. A lot of companies are coming into Ireland and setting up, and that is fine but I think we need to look more about creating something for ourselves.”
Winners of the competition will be announced on the night. For information or to book a table for the finals night call 091 632426.