This article is from page 30 of the 2007-12-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 30 JPG
JOHN McGuire is lapping up the at- tention. The compliments are flow- ing and the man at the centre of it all smiles, shyly.
It is one year since John set up his own business and a mulled wine and mince pie reception for his friends and colleagues marks a milestone in his life.
The 37-year-old set up his own business “John’s Woodwork Shop’ at the Ballycasey Craft Centre a year ago. He specialises in assembling wood products, from rocking horses and chairs to cribs, birdhouses and purpose-built kennels.
John’s business has grown consider- ably since its inception and this is not unexpected. What stands out how- ever 1S the fact that John has fought the odds to progress in an industry he dearly loves.
The Quin native suffers from mus-
cular dystrophy, a progressive muscle wasting disease. He also suffers from mild learning difficulties and uses a wheelchair.
However his enthusiasm evidently shines through, thus ensuring his dream of operating his own business is fulfilled.
John was thrilled to have had the opportunity to display some of this fine works at the pre-Christmas craft fair, which was held at the Sean Le- mass Library in Shannon a fortnight ago.
He says that running his own busi- ness is “a dream come true” and has been working in the area of wood for 15 years. He tells me it would take him just two days to assemble a pur- pose-built dog kennel.
He was particularly thrilled to have been commissioned to do work for Eircom in Ennis.
The company sought a number of containers for monkey trees and John
designed and made the containers.
Such has been the demand for his woodwork that John is optimistic he will expand and recruit employees in the future.
John set up the business with the support of the Brothers of Charity in Shannon, where he is a Service user. While he purchases his own mate- rial, the day-to-day running of the company is backed by various bod- ies including Shannon Development, Friends of the Brothers of Charity in Shannon, staff at Ballycasey Craft Centre and ECAT (East Clare Ac- cessible Transport) which transports John to work from his home in Car- rigoran every day.
Julie Dickerson and her team at GE in Shannon gave time voluntar- ily to get the unit cleaned out prior to John setting up his business there last year.
A number of individual workers with the Brothers of Charity, includ-
ing Dermot Maguire and Trish Dil- lon also play a key role in John’s suc- IS
‘The business has really taken off in the past few months and John’s personality has also changed. He has grown in confidence as the business has advanced,” says Trish Dillon.
Brothers of Charity project co-or- dinator Helen Minogue says, “John was always interested in setting up his own business. He didn’t want to be an employee.”
Brothers of Charity team leader Tim O’Neill says, “John had a vision. He had a dream and he had people around him to help him achieve erehee