Irish people use their connections to help bring 1,000 jobs to Ireland

Returning emigrants at Dublin Airport teamed up with GAA president Liam O’Neill and ConnectIreland to encourage people to use their connections and create jobs in Ireland Photo: Paul Sherwood Photography

OVER 1,000 jobs are being cre-ated right across Ireland as a re-sult of the patriotism of the Irish people, both at home and abroad.

Irish men and women around the globe have answered the call to help their country and now a planned 1,000 jobs are being created in Ireland as a result.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD, the prime minister of Ireland, and Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD applauded the people of Ire-land and the Irish diaspora for playing their part in job creation.

Through the vital introduc-tions of men and women across Ireland and beyond, ConnectIre-land, the company responsible for delivering the Government’s Succeed in Ireland initiative, in association with IDA Ireland, has helped to bring over 36 com-panies to Ireland which plan to create over 1,000 sustainable

jobs in the next 3 to 5 years.Under the programme, the

people who make these introduc-tions can earn a financial reward, up to €1,500 per job (maximum 100 jobs), for putting Connec-tIreland in touch with expand-ing international companies.

“Every job created in Ireland is another step on our road to recovery. It is a life transformed. It offers renewed hope and opti-mism for the future and helps the Government to fix the national finances while supporting better services. The value we place on every job created is why Connec-tIreland’s success to date is to be celebrated. It is a great credit to the diaspora and connectors worldwide that we are now look-ing at a potential 1,000 new jobs for Ireland,” said the Taoiseach.

The jobs, many of which have already been created, are reach-ing communities right across Ire-

land, from Longford to Kells to Kinvara, and places in between.

“Succeed in Ireland is a highly innovative scheme which enables the IDA to reach jobs projects, which would otherwise go to other countries, and bring them to Ireland instead. It is one of a range of new schemes in-troduced by this Government to support extra job-creation, and the results confirm that it has started very strongly. I look forward to continuing to work with the ConnectIreland team in the future to ensure that we can continue this strong flow of job-creation over the coming years,” added Minister Bruton.

With an army of over 40,000 connectors around the globe, ConnectIreland has mobilised the people of Ireland to play their part in creating employment op-portunities at home. Simply by striking up a conversation and

asking companies to consid-er Ireland, connectors can help create jobs as well as earning a sizeable financial reward.

“The success of a pro-gramme like ConnectIreland would not be possible without the invaluable support of the Irish public. The creation of these planned 1,000 jobs in the coming 3-5 years is all thanks to the con-nections made by Irish men and women, at home and abroad. Our connectors are asking com-panies to consider Ireland as a place to do business and to date over 36 companies have realised the benefits of such a move,” commented Michael McLough-lin, CEO of ConnectIreland.

Register as a connec-tor and you could earn a re-ward of up to €1,500 per job created (maximum 100 jobs). For more information, log on to www.connectireland.com.

ISSUE 1 2015CONNECTIRELAND IN ASSOCIATION WITH IDA

BEHIND every job number is a man or a woman whose life has changed thanks to that one initial conversation between a connector and company.

As ConnectIreland celebrates 1,000 jobs coming on stream in Ireland through the Succeed in Ireland initiative, communities across the country are celebrat-ing the jobs at a more personal level.

“These jobs mean that peo-ple don’t have to emigrate, that they can come home, that they can stay close to family and friends. The jobs being creat-ed by companies introduced through ConnectIreland are as a result of the Irish public going out there and doing something for their country, their commu-nity,” explained Joanna Murphy, ConnectIreland COO.

ConnectIreland is a jobs creation programme, working in partnership with IDA Ireland, which helps expanding interna-tional companies to establish in Ireland, following an introduction by a member of the public.

Cathal McInerney left Ireland after the economic crash to find work abroad. After many years spent far away from home, he is now back in his home parish, working in Flagship Manage-ment just a stone’s throw from his family in Kinvara, Galway.

Eithne Nevin was facing an uncertain future in a foreign land until she landed on her feet with Ark Labs in Longford. Before she took up the job in the software company, Eithne was considering emigrating. These are just some of the people that have benefitted because a company was asked to consid-er Ireland. Read their stories inside.

Make a difference to some-one’s life. Register as a con-nector today and you could help bring jobs to Ireland as well as earning a financial reward.

When a company success-fully establishes in Ireland, the connector who introduced them to ConnectIreland stands to receive up to €1,500 per job, to a maximum of 100 jobs.

Jobs make difference throughout rural Ireland

NEWS2

JOBS, jobs, jobs. Crucial to any economy. So when the Irish econ-omy took a turn for the worse it seemed like a logical conclusion – let’s create more jobs. Ireland has been through a lot in recent years. The country has been hit hard by recession. The people of Ireland have been hit hard. Many have been forced to emigrate. Work has dried up and we have all lamented the good old days. But through it all the Irish spirit has failed to die. That can-do attitude has led the people of Ireland to getting behind an idea like ConnectIreland. It’s a simple idea. We all know people, we all have contacts. You don’t need to know the CEO of Goog-le. Your second cousin might be a receptionist in a medical device company in Florida – that’s all we need. A simple introduction into an expanding international company could lead to jobs being created in your town or a town just like it, anywhere in Ireland. These jobs aren’t just numbers. They are people. These people have fami-lies, friends, communities – all of whom are equally as affected by job creation.

I started ConnectIreland be-cause I believe Ireland really

has the best to offer international companies. Over 42,000 connec-tors from all corners of the globe clearly think the same. Since we began in 2012, we have secured commitments for over 1,000 jobs, which are being created all over Ireland. It is rewarding to see peo-ple like Cathal McInerney (page 6) being able to return home to his family, to raise his children in his own community, because of the intervention of a connector. This is why we do this. This is why Con-nectIreland has achieved success to date – because it is the people of Ireland, at home and abroad, helping to improve the lives of their fellow countrymen and women.

The Connector newspaper is here to show you how you can play your part in bringing jobs to Ireland. To thank you for having already done so. And to remind you to continue doing your bit for Ireland. Keep your eyes and ears open, you never know where and when you might have that conver-sation that will change the life of someone like Cathal.

Welcome to our first issue. Reg-ister as a connector and play your part for Ireland.

Terry Clune, Founder.

‘I believe Ireland really has the best to offer international companies’

CONNECTIRELAND received international recognition for its efforts in 2014 to “revive the overall attractiveness” of Ireland following the economic crisis.

A committee of renowned marketing experts applauded the ConnectIreland team for their on-going commitment to creating real and sustainable jobs for Ireland.

The 2014 Place Marketing Forum, an international con-

ference attended by over 400 market leaders and experts, was held in Aix-en-Provence on Thursday 16 October.

Shortlisted by an expert committee, ConnectIreland was chosen as the best ex-ample in the “attractiveness, peer marketing and ambas-sadors’ strategy” category.

ConnectIreland CEO Mi-chael McLoughlin attended

the conference and addressed delegates on the ConnectIre-land model. Effectively a mar-keting campaign for the island of Ireland, the ConnectIreland model has “never been done before”, according to Michael.

“ConnectIreland is empow-ering ordinary people to make a difference,” explains Michael.

The annual awards cer-emony rewards the best

worldwide practices in the field of place marketing.

According to David Aboulk-heir, Deputy Director, Region-al Attractiveness and Place Marketing Chair, Connec-tIreland is “a remarkable and innovative marketing prac-tice of customers’ conquest”.

In awarding ConnectIreland, the Place Marketing Forum Jury commented; “ConnectIreland

is a remarkable and innova-tive marketing achievement of customer’s conquest focused on peer marketing, ambassa-dors and digital technologies.”

“The approach is a model which illustrates the new am-bassadors’ strategies deployed by the Irish Government to re-vive the overall attractiveness of a severely affected country, by the economic crisis of 2008.”

WHAT’S INSIDE THIS ISSUE...

ConnectIreland CEO Michael McLoughlin (second from right) receives the Place Marketing award for ‘attractiveness, peer marketing and ambassadors’ strategy’

ConnectIreland places first in marketing awards

Pg 6 There’s no place like homeCathal McInerney tells his story from Galway to China and back again. A recruitment firm establishing in Kinvara was the key to coming home.

Pg 3 The way we areWe chart the story of Ark Lab, the Italian com-pany that established a cloud-based software centre in Longford. We find out about the staff that were facing emigration but chose to stay.

Pg 8 The story so farSince inception, ConnectIreland has helped over 36 companies to locate in Ireland with thanks to the introductions from people right around the globe.

ConnectIreland, 14 St Stephen’s Green, DublinPhone: +353 1 6353716

email: info@connectireland.com web: www.connectireland.com

A CHANCE meeting in a phone shop is how Eithne Nevin ended up employed in Ark Lab rather than working on the other side of the globe.

Eithne, originally from Offaly, moved to Longford and was working in the local 3 Store for several years when she met Francesco Arci and Charlotte Bird. Irish curiosity led her to question what the pair from Italy were doing in a small town like Longford. When she heard of their business plans, her inter-est in the IT sector, in which she struggled to find work for eight years after graduation, prompted her to ask them to keep her in mind for a job.

And true to their word, when the time for recruitment came, Francesco and Charlotte got back in touch.

Not a minute too soon for Eith-ne, who, on the very day that she

was to hand in her notice and ac-cept her new position in Ark, was told the phone store was due to close.

“It was a win-win. It was a good step at the time and I haven’t looked back since,” says Eithne, who is now a team leader and QA.

“Ark has given me my chance to get back into IT. I was waiting for eight years to get a job in IT – since I left college. By sheer chance they walked into the shop and a small little chat to me has given me a job. I was look-ing at going abroad but this has allowed me to stay in the country and close to family and friends.”

Four of the staff have moved to Longford from around the coun-try and set up homes there. Oth-ers commute, while team leader Jane Reilly is a born-and-reared Longfordian. “I commuted to Dublin for a number of years but

now I’m a five minute walk from home. When you have family you need to be closer to home. It’s great,” adds Jane.

The company’s location is not just perfect for the staff, but also for the company, according to Eithne. “It’s an ideal location (for a company). It’s perfect – an hour-and-a-half to Dublin and about two hours to Galway. You wouldn’t associate Longford with an IT town but it’s a commutable distance to anywhere in Ireland and it’s easily accessible.”

The effects of the recession have hit towns and villages hard across Ireland, but finally there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel.

“I really can see Longford is ac-tually growing. It’s a lovely town and a completely different way of life than a city. I love Longford. To me Longford is home,” enthuses Eithne, who believes that the

ConnectIreland initiative is the way to go.

“It can happen in any town

in Ireland. Longford is just one of the towns to benefit but this could happen in any little town.”

NEWS 3

WHILE most teenagers like to play video games, those in Longford prefer to build them. Since estab-lishing in Longford, Ark Lab has been committed to getting involved with the local community. Jane Reilly, development team leader at Ark, has been working closely with the Foróige Attic Youth Café team to establish a tech space for local teens. At present Jane and four other mentors work with 12 young adults, mainly first to third year students, in the computer club.

A trial of the club proved so pop-ular last year that the tech space is now up and running for the entire academic year. Plans to relocate the youth club to a state-of-the-art building also include a dedicated IT room. “We teach them the funda-mentals of computer programming using tools like Scratch. Scratch is a drag and drop type programming language which enables the group to create interactive media such as stories, games and animation. We leave it loose and let the kids de-cide wherever their own directions are themselves. It’s a very good skill to have and it’s a good way to rule things in or out (career-wise),” explains Jane. “It’s great to create interest in IT in the midlands.”

As well as teaching youngsters the tricks of the trade, Ark has built links with a number of colleges, including NUI Galway, in order to help with candidate retraining. As part of the programme, on which there are 20-30 places, Ark has sponsored a three-month place-ment, where one individual will be given hands-on training in the cloud-based software lab. To date, one graduate from the ICT con-version course has found full-time employment among the Ark ranks. Something that has meant that one young alum doesn’t have to con-sider a future abroad in order to get the experience needed in their relevant field.

Tech space teaches next generation

GIVEN the Irish weather’s pen-chant for rain the irony is not lost on Ark Lab founders Francesco Arci and Charlotte Bird that they set up a cloud-based software company in Ireland.

Ark, established in Italy in 2010, focuses on the European energy markets and, in particular, three integrated components: consult-ing, technology and outsourcing.

In 2012 they began exploring the possibilities of transitioning from a services company to a product company. And so the hunt began for a new, additional location.

While there are clouds a-plenty in Longford, a cloud-based com-pany like Ark is definitely a new, rain-free addition.

“We wanted a natively Eng-lish speaking lab. We looked at where to set up the lab, and we were looking for a jurisdic-tion that was supportive of new business, new start-up, and was easy to travel to and also where the cost of setting up the en-terprise wasn’t incredibly high.

Ireland looked promising in that space,” explains Francesco, who was also swayed by Ireland’s track record.

“There are a lot of tech com-panies here so we presumed the resources would be availa-ble. Office space was available in a number of locations and the costs were affordable for a new venture. Of course there were also some benefits from a fiscal policy and R&D policy perspec-tive that would allow a start-up effectively to carry out some product research and developing a framework that was conducive to that.”

Although a large portion of technology companies decide to locate in urban hubs, for Ark the decision to locate in Longford was an easy one. “Many technol-ogy companies are in Dublin and Cork but we didn’t actually want to be in direct competition for re-sources with large, well-known technology firms based out of those locations. We thought if we offset ourselves a little bit with

those two pools of attraction we may be able to attract good re-sources that either don’t wish to commute or from a lifestyle per-spective they prefer to be closer to where their family is or in the countryside.”

Availability of high speed broadband was also a major fac-tor in the decision, while close proximity to both Shannon and Dublin airports is essential for the company. Francesco and Charlotte continue to maintain and expand their Genoa base, where they have a team of sev-en, as well as regularly travelling between the two offices. At pres-ent the company has new prod-ucts in beta mode, which they hope to move out of beta by the end of 2015.

Initially the team in Longford consisted of just Francesco and Charlotte, but now, 18 months later, they have a dedicated team of eight, with plans to increase by a further two employees in the coming 12 months.

Finding the right team was just

one of the many aspects of the investment that ConnectIreland helped with.

“ConnectIreland suggested an agency to find resources and have helped us to set up. They discussed the business location and helped us to establish. They put us in contact with the Enter-prise Board and were very sup-portive of our idea.”

Historically a service like that on offer by Ark which allows com-panies to manage their energy portfolio and the risks associated with it - has been expensive to run. With the use of the techno-logical advances made by Ark on the cloud, however, their clients should now be able to reduce their costs to just 20% of their current spend. A huge saving.

“You are dealing with huge amounts of data but that is sup-porting better decisions in those fields. It’s an interesting space – it’s evolving. We feel 2015 is an important year for us, we can go forward and launch products and move out of beta.”

Clear skies for cloud-based software company as they continue to grow

“I was looking at going abroad but this has allowed me to stay in the country, close to family and friends”

Eithne Nevin credits ConnectIreland and Ark with keeping her close to home

Francesco Arci (right) and Charlotte Bird (centre) with their team in Longford

FEATURE4

DUBLIN Airport, which is Ire-land’s main international gateway and a key indicator for the Irish economy, saw growth across all major sectors of its business dur-ing 2014. The growth is expect-ed to continue into this year, with 14 new services due to begin in 2015.

Long-haul traffic recorded a strong performance last year, as the number of passengers taking flights to North America and the Middle East increased by 14%. Short-haul traffic increased by 7%.

“Dublin Airport had a very strong year of passenger growth in 2014, adding more than 1.5 million extra passen-gers and outperforming the average airport growth rates across the European Union,” said Dublin Airport Managing Director, Vincent Harrison.

“The growth was due to a combination of 24 new routes last year and additional flights on 34 existing services,” Mr Harrison added. Airlines such as Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Flybe, British Airways, and WestJet all added new services from Dublin Airport last year and 11 carriers increased capacity on their exist-ing services.

In volume terms, the British market delivered the largest growth last year, as an extra 600,000 people took flights be-tween Dublin and British destina-tions in 2014. About 570,000 ad-ditional passengers took flights between Dublin Airport and con-

tinental European destinations last year.

Transatlantic traffic increased by 14%, as more than 2.1 million people travelled on flights be-tween Dublin and North America during 2014.

“Dublin Airport’s transatlantic business set an all-time record last year, as this was the first time that more than 2 million people took transatlantic flights to and from Dublin Airport in a

single year,” Mr Harrison said. Last year’s transatlantic busi-ness was boosted by new servic-es to Toronto, San Francisco and St John’s Newfoundland.

Transfer traffic also set a new record last year, with almost 750,000 passengers using Dub-lin Airport as a hub in 2014, which was a 37% increase on the previous year. “Dublin Airport has established itself as a player in the transatlantic transfer mar-ket over the past couple of years and we see significant potential for further expansion this area,” according to Mr Harrison.

“This summer, Dublin Airport

will have 158 departures per week to North America, making it Europe’s sixth largest airport for transatlantic connectivity.”

Passenger traffic to and from continental Europe, which is the biggest market segment at Dublin Airport, increased by 5% last year to 11.1 million with new routes and extra capacity on existing services. Almost 7.8 million people travelled between Dublin and Britain by air in 2014, which was an 8% increase on the previous year. Transatlantic passenger numbers increased by 14% to a record 2.1 million, while passenger traffic to oth-er international destinations – mainly the Middle East and North Africa - increased by 19% to a record 643,000. Domestic passenger numbers increased by 7% to 72,000 last year.

Dublin Airport already has 14 new services in place for

2015 and will welcome new air-lines such as Ethiopian, Vueling, WOW Air, and Transavia to Dub-lin over the coming months.

“We’re hopeful of another year of good passenger growth in 2015,” Mr Harrison said. “We have six new continental Euro-pean services for this year, three new transatlantic services, three new UK services, and two new services to Africa. The growing network offered from Dublin by our airline partners gives the travelling public greater choice, flexibility and convenience whether they are travelling for business or for pleasure.”

Record year at Dublin Airport for transatlantic traffic and transfer passenger numbersPassenger numbers increased by 8% last year to 21.7million

“This summer, Dublin Airport will have 158

departures per week to North America, making it Europe’s sixth largest airport for transatlantic

connectivity.”

DAA gives returning passengers surprise of a lifetimePASSENGERS arriving into Dublin Airport recently got the surprise of their lives when they were greeted by the Sam Maguire and Liam McCarthy cups, thanks to DAA, GAA and ConnectIreland.

In the lead up to December 25, 2014, the two trophies found a new home in the airport, where passengers in T2 arrivals were able to get their photos taken with the impressive cups.

Hundreds of young Irish peo-ple who were forced to emigrate could be home for good, not just for Christmas, was the message behind the hugely successful campaign.

ConnectIreland, the compa-ny responsible for delivering the Government’s Succeed in Ireland initiative, in association with IDA Ireland, was delighted to team up with Dublin Airport for the innovative campaign.

Working together with the Irish public, at home and abroad, ConnectIreland has helped to bring 36 companies to Ireland, which will result in over 1,000 sustainable jobs.

With the ongoing support of the Irish Diaspora and friends of Ireland, this figure could sky-rocket.

DAA Chief Executive Kevin Toland said Dublin Airport was

happy to support the Connec-tIreland initiative.

“Dublin Airport provides a key location for ConnectIreland and I’m delighted that the presence at Dublin Airport has been responsible for 300 direct jobs being created. Leads gener-ated from Dublin Airport have also created a further 69 active discussions which have the po-tential to create a further 3,000 jobs.”

It’s hoped the global aware-ness campaign spearheaded by ConnectIreland, DAA and GAA will bring even more jobs to Ire-land over the coming years.

GAA President Liam O’Neill says emigration has hit clubs hard and added that the Associ-ation is encouraging its mem-bers to register with ConnectIre-land and pass on information about global companies expand-ing into Europe.

“As we enjoy our games at home we spare a thought for the many players we have living abroad at the moment. They watch our games in far-flung places.

“We would love to have them back at home with us again but in order to do that, we need to create jobs. ConnectIreland is a simple way to make those jobs a reality,” he said.

FEATURE 5

The leasing firm that’s landedWith the help of ConnectIreland, Lobo Leasing successfully established its global headquarters in Dublin last year. Chief Commercial Officer John Contas explains how they came to choose the capital as their base

MANY international companies seeking an ideal location to es-tablish their global headquar-ters have been drawn by the attractive business environment which exists in Ireland. But with such stiff competition among countries clamouring to secure investment from such success-ful companies, sometimes a special connection or incentive helps to push the deal over the line. Lobo Leasing is one such company with which a special Irish connection was made.

Founded in Austin, Texas in 2011, Lobo Leasing provide hel-icopter leasing and fleet man-agement services. Since De-cember 2013, they have used Dublin as their global base to service clients across Europe, Asia-Pacific, Australia, West Af-rica and South America. Despite being headquartered here for just one year, they already have ambitious plans to expand and develop their operations.

Ireland is no stranger to air-craft leasing companies and according to John Contas, Chief Commercial Officer, the country offered the same attractive prop-osition to Lobo that it did to so many other leasing firms in the past: “Ireland offers the wealth of a talented workforce. There are a lot of very qualified peo-

ple from the financial and leas-ing sector, so we thought it was a good place for recruitment. Being a very international busi-ness, the reciprocal tax treaties that Ireland enjoys with many countries and low corporate tax rate make it a favourable place to be.”

Contas also cites Ireland’s unique proximity to other mar-kets as an added incentive.

But all of these attributes which make Ireland such an

attractive place to do business might not have been on Lobo’s radar without the help of one man and ConnectIreland, a Government initiative aimed at “attracting foreign companies that are expanding internation-ally to Ireland through ordinary people”.

The company had been con-sidering a move to Ireland when

they came to the attention of New York-based Donald Payn-ter, whom Contas had known for many years. Paynter, who had been aware of the ConnectIre-land initiative, convinced Lobo to contact them and soon thereaf-ter the introductions were made. The rest, as they say, is history.

“ConnectIreland were instru-mental in educating me about Ireland and setting up an office and doing business here,” says Contas. “They also assisted me with getting my green card work permit.”

Lobo Leasing has now grown to seven employ-ees with further expansion on the horizon.

“We’re growing and we have big expectations to grow further,” he says. “We have a financial controller and a senior ac-countant but as we grow, our portfolio is going to require two or three more in the accounting and bookkeeping area.”

In addition, he says they will

source more staff at a man-agement level and plan to take a number of positions in-house which are currently outsourced. “Our goal is to grow the head-quarters here. We have a few people in the US, but all the growth and new jobs are here in Ireland.”

In order to facilitate this, Lobo are in the process of moving into a bigger office space, which they hope to complete by the end of the year. “I really love Dublin,” says Contas.

“I’m really pleased with the business environment, but also the people. We’ve been for-tunate to have recruited a top quality team over the last twelve months and so we have really good quality staff.

“We’ve got a lot of really good resources here and we’re very pleased that we’ve chosen Dub-lin.”

Article recently appeared in BUSINESS IRE-LAND, the Dublin Chamber of Commerce quarterly business magazine

“Ireland offers the wealth of a talented

workforce... so we thought it

was a good place for recruitment.”

Minister for Jobs, Richard Bruton; John Contas, CCO, Lobo Leasing; Michael McLoughlin, CEO, ConnectIreland; and Joanna Murphy, COO ConnectIreland at the launch of Lobo Leasing’s Irish headquarters

NEWS6

WHEN Galway man Cathal McInerney left home after the economic collapse he didn’t know if he would ever return to his home parish of Kinvara for more than just a holiday.

But now, several years later, he is not only back working in Ireland, but living in his own home with his young family, looking forward to a fu-ture in the idyllic Irish countryside.

Cathal worked in HR in the con-struction industry and was forced to leave Ireland when the prop-erty collapse happened. Moving to England, things weren’t much better and after a few years he decided to try build a life further afield. He moved to Shanghai, married Darima, whom he met while holidaying in China in 2009, and worked happily there for over two years.

“It was a crazy spot. Very excit-

ing and very different and all the rest of it,” laughed the 37-year-old, who admitted it was a big change from the rural scenery of Kinvara.

But it was when Cathal was considering another career move that the lightning bolt moment

h a p -p e n e d . His fa-t h e r s p o t t e d an article in the lo-cal paper about a maritime r e c r u i t -m e n t c o m p a -

ny, Flagship Management, es-tablishing a base in Kinvara as a result of the Succeed in Ireland initiative.

“He saw it and meant to ring me but he forgot. He woke up in the middle of the night and rang me straight away. After that a lot of other family emailed me too about it. We were just after hav-

ing our first child and I suppose we were looking at our options. I made con-tact with F l a g s h i p and the rest is history.”

Flagship M a n a g e -ment is the m a r i t i m e indust ry ’s l e a d i n g consulting firm for ex-ecutive re-cruiting and personnel so lu t ions. Founded in the US by Jack My-lott and three business partners, thanks to the intervention of a connector, the company expand-ed to Europe in 2013, with Rory McGuire and four partners es-tablishing the Irish base.

Cathal is involved in identifying and placing engineers and other technical special-ists in maritime, oil and gas positions across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Ironically, one of the loca-tions he worked on most successfully in 2014 was in Chi-na, where Flagship places large numbers of special-ist shipbuilding personnel.

Coincidentally, the office space the company uses in Kinvara,

Galway, happens to be the for-mer site of Cathal’s grandmoth-er’s aunt’s sweet shop. The building now plays home to Ca-thal’s sweet story.

“In the long run we weighed up our options and for the kids and the quality of life, we decided to

move back to Ireland. I had my own house rented out so when we moved, we moved back into my own home, just five minutes from my

home place. My sister is living beside us. It’s good to have fam-ily around.” While he had many happy years abroad, Cathal ad-

mits there’s no place like home.“You miss out on the local hurl-

ing team, football etc. Skype is great, email is great but it’s not the same.”

To be afforded the chance to come home, all because some-one asked the company to con-sider Ireland as a business base, is something truly special for Ca-thal and his family.

“It’s been a very interesting time. I would probably still work out there (in China) only for Flagship. I was getting on with life away but you always have a grá for home. You’re away from home and you’re missing out on things but now we are here in my home town - my kids will go to the same school as I did, God willing. ConnectIreland is bring-ing life back into small county towns. It’s very important.”

Galway man returns to home parish thanks to intervention by ‘connector’

Michael McLoughlin is the CEO of ConnectIreland. Michael is a foreign direct investment (FDI) specialist who has worked in-ternationally in both the public and private sectors. He began his career with IDA Ireland de-veloping inward investment in the financial services sector. He later moved to Chicago with IDA where he was initial-ly responsible for securing in-vestment projects for Ireland in electronic and engineering technology sectors and later in life sciences.

In 2002, Michael moved to the private sector where he was responsible for building elec-tronics businesses for a group of private investors. He later joined International Business Development Group Limited (IBDG) in the UK, a specialist consultancy in economic devel-opment and trade investment, where he worked as a Director for ten years.

What’s involved in the ConnectIreland process

ConnectIreland initiative helps to create job opportunities at home

“You miss out on the local hurling team,

football etc. Skype is great, email is great

but it’s not the same... you always have a grá

for home.”

Cathal McInerney returned home to Kinvara thanks to Flagship and ConnectIreland

Since its inception, ConnectIre-land has helped over 36 compa-nies through the many bumps in the road that come with estab-lishing a new venture.

But just what exactly is in-volved?

Here, ConnectIreland CEO Michael McLoughlin explains.

The initial contact is made through ConnectIreland’s grow-ing army of connectors. Men and women from Ireland and around the globe have signed up with ConnectIreland and are on the lookout for potential investment opportunities.

By striking up a conversation with a family member, friend or acquaintance, thousands of people have introduced com-panies to Ireland, leading to the creation of long-term, sustaina-ble jobs right across the country.

“Once a company is identi-

fied to us, we check with the other economic agencies, IDA Ireland, to check they are not in dialogue. Once ascertained, usually within 48 hours, we ask the connector to introduce us to their contact in the company.

“At that point a scoping call takes place between Connec-tIreland and the company to discuss the possible project and the many advantages and bene-fits to establishing in Ireland.”

IDA Ireland is the agency re-sponsible for industrial develop-ment in Ireland. With their help, ConnectIreland, through the Succeed in Ireland initiative, has showcased Ireland in a positive light to potential suitable com-panies.

“We would have direct en-gagement with the company in relation to the opportunity. We ensure they have all the

information necessary to carry out an assessment of Ireland. Once we have ascertained the key interests for the company we address them, whether that is employment, availability of skilled labour, finding facilities, tax, market or opportunity driv-en. We will work with the com-pany to find what they need.”

All investment opportunities are progressed in collaboration with IDA Ireland, the lead FDI agency in Ireland.

When a company is interest-ed in doing business in Ireland, seeing the country and the potential facilities is a must.

“After the site visit companies digest. We send them a lot of follow-up information. Some companies can have several site visits, to be 100% sure.”

As well as providing all the in-formation that a company needs

to make their decision, Con-nectIreland helps with advice around incentives, staffing and recruitment help, development and implantation guidance, introductions to Government de-partments, organising site visits and publicity.

“ConnectIreland is here to help with everything. You name it we’re involved in it. We allow you to evaluate the country and the opportunity. Ultimately it is about how companies can best do their business in Ireland.” An awful lot of help, for free. “There is no charge for our services. We are paid by the Irish Gov-ernment for jobs created. All we ask is that you share your em-ployment information. We tend to stay in continued dialogue with companies after they have established because we want to see them develop and flourish.”

Members of the Flagship Management team based in Kinvara, from left: Cathal McInerney, Jenni Bardi, Emma Lister and Rory McGuire

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Phone: +353 (0)1 878 3347Email: info@connectireland.comWebsite: www.connectireland.com

Bringing real, sustainable jobs to Ireland

Register Refer Reward

What can you do for Ireland? Use your contacts to create Irish jobs and earn a financial reward.

Know someone working abroad? Is their company expanding? Put them in touch with us.

Delivering the Succeed in Ireland initiative in association with IDA Ireland

ConnectIreland: the story so farConnectIreland is a jobs creation initiative based on the simple idea of us-ing your connections. In essence, a person may know someone interest-ed in expanding their international company, put them in touch with ConnectIreland who then convince them to locate to Ireland.

Anyone at all can be a connector. It really is just about who you know. Once you register with ConnectIreland, if you have a company in mind, pass on their details, arrange an introduction – send them a simple email or give them a call – and then ConnectIre-land takes it from there.

Even people who don’t know of a company can still get involved, spread-ing the message, and you never know when you will come across that one connection.

Once a company decides to locate in Ireland and establishes themselves here, the connector is paid a find-er’s fee of up to €1,500 per job (max 100 jobs) by the Government.

Launched in 2012, ConnectIreland is backed by the gov-ernment and is part of the ‘Action Plan for Jobs’. Working hand-in-hand with IDA Ireland, ConnectIreland delivers the ‘Succeed in Ireland’ initiative.

To date, commitments for over 1,000 jobs have been secured for Ireland.

Many of these jobs are already in place right across Ireland, while the remainder will be coming on stream in the coming 3-5 years.

Through the intro-ductions from Irish people around the globe, regional areas like Longford, Kells and Kinvara have received a welcome economic boost.

The connectors responsible for introduc-ing these companies will receive rewards varying from €12,000 up to €105,000, based on the sizes of the companies and number of jobs that will be created.

Founder and CEO of the Taxback Group, Terry Clune originally came up with the ConnectIreland idea in 2012. It was a simple solution to a problem that was crip-pling the Irish economy.

“Our target is 5,000 jobs over the first five years of ConnectIre-land. We have already surpassed 1,000 and we have a huge pipeline of companies that we are in dialogue with. They say there are 40 million people of Irish extraction in America alone. If only 5,000 of them help us to find one company each that could produce 250,000 jobs and end Ireland’s unemployment issue.”

Support to date for ConnectIreland has been phenomenal. It’s an idea that people can

really get on board with because it puts the pow-er firmly in their hands.

“This is what the Irish people can do for themselves. It is a case of getting out, thinking about who you know and putting them in touch with us so that you can help create jobs in Ireland.”

Organisations includ-ing the DAA, GAA, IRFU and FAI are just some of the bodies that have put their weight behind the initiative.

“We have fantastic support from DAA who allow us to engage with the public in Dublin and Cork Airport, Shannon Airport Authority similar-ly, Aer Lingus for making an announcement about ConnectIreland on every flight, Ryanair, the GAA, IRFU, FAI, the list goes on and on. It is really re-markable,” said Joanna Murphy, Chief Operating Officer, ConnectIreland.

More recently, Con-nectlreland, the GAA and DAA joined forces at Dublin Airport to remind the general public that those forced to emigrate could be home for good if everyone played their part in attracting expanding companies into Ireland.

The GAA, which has seen clubs right across the country hit hard by emigration, teamed up with ConnectIreland to encourage members to register as connectors and pass on information

about global companies expanding into Europe.

“As we enjoy our games at home we spare a thought for the many players we have living abroad at the moment. They watch our games in far-flung places. We would love to have them back at home with us again but in order to do that, we need to create jobs. Connec-tIreland is a simple way to make those jobs a reality,” he said.

Photos from top: Clearplas announce the establishment of their operation in Meath with Hugh Mor-ris, connector; Taoise-ach Enda Kenny; Rich-ard Bruton, Minister for Jobs; Padraig Shine, Clearplas Director; and Michael McLoughlin, CEO ConnectIreland.

At the opening of the SWG and MDS offices in Kells were Gerry Moan, SmartInvest; Jeremy Whyte, SWG Inc; Damien English TD, Minister of State for Jobs; Michael McLoughlin, Connec-tIreland; Mike Hoprich and Jim Luciano, MDS Global Technology.

ConnectIreland Founder Terry Clune with Dave Harding, 1E; Taoiseach Enda Kenny; Minister for Jobs, Richard Bruton and connector Jason Keogh celebrate the launch of 1E’s Dublin base.

THE CONNECTOR