Irish entrepreneur success stories

FEATURED PROFILES
Cathal Gaffney – Brown Bag Films

Cathal Gaffney of Brown Bag Films has made the journey from college dropout to feted CEO by virtue of hard work, self-reliance and an endless passion for animation.
Tom Kearney – Spice O'Life

Corkman Tom Kearney travelled the exotic historial spice routes of the East before coming home and setting up his own spice company Spice O’Life in Dunmanway.

Bernard Walsh - Hot Irishman

This company has gone from being about 40pc to 90pc export-based in five years.

Finding the best locations is one of the secrets of John Boyle's success.

In the space of ten years, Voya has achieved impressive export growth.

Over the years Edmond O'Reilly has established a number of different businesses.

In 1995 Sahar Hashemi c-founded one of the UK's original coffee brands with her brother Bobby.

In the past seven years Irish Dog Foods has grown from a turnover of €3m to €30m.

Brendan Palmer
Electronic Recycling

Hailing from the same part of Dublin as Bill Cullen, Brendan Palmer left school at 15 and served an apprenticeship as a motor mechanic before starting his first business selling car components.
David Frain
Frain Photo

David Frain has turned a hobby into a business by opening his photography business in South Dublin after deciding to leave a full-time sales job.
Tom Ilube
Garlik

Tom Ilube, co-founder and CEO of consumer company Garlik and former CIO of Egg, the world’s largest purely online bank, was used to being “the new boy” and figuring out how to fit in from an early age, as his father travelled a lot and he grew up in England and parts of Africa.
Bernard Walsh
Hot Irishman

The family-run Hot Irishman has gone from being about 40pc export-based to 90pc export-based in the past five years, selling to more than 30 countries across five continents.
Liam Queally
Irish Dog Foods

In the past seven years Irish Dog Foods has grown from a turnover of €3m to €30m and has grown its workforce from 10 to 90.