Wild Atlantic Start-up to make waves in Kerry

10 Oct 2014

Pictured at the last WASup in Limerick in May were: Martina Skelly from YellowSchedule, Ronan Skehill from Cauwill, Adrian Flemming from Accuvio, Chris Byrne from SensorPro and JJ Kett from VoiceSage.

Entrepreneurs on Ireland’s west coast are joining forces to ensure that the Wild Atlantic Way is more than just for visitors, but the ideal place to locate tech-centred industries.

Wild Atlantic Start-up (#WASup14) is the brainchild of Shane McCarthy, CEO of BlueChief, and the intention is to create a start-up network along Ireland’s west coast while showcasing already thriving tech businesses in the region.

The organisation has already held a successful meet-up event in Limerick in May and the plan is to bring this on the road, with the next stop being Tralee next Friday (17 October) at the Institute of Technology’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (CEED).

The theme of the event will be social innovation.

“Encouraging and fostering an innovation mindset is an important aspect of creating a healthy and vibrant start-up culture,” explained Breda O’Dwyer, manager of CEED.

Confirmed speakers include a list of well know entrepreneurs, academics and business advisors including: Edmond Harty of DairyMaster; Aoife Ni Mhuiri of Salaso; Bernie Goldbach of LIT; Cristina Luminea of Thoughtbox; Paul Hayes of Beachhut PR; Iseult Ward of FoodCloud; Gillian Horan of The Pudding; Chris Byrne of SensorPro; Ian Lucey of Lucey; Ed Fidgeon-Kavanagh of ClearPreso; Eamon Fitzgerald of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland and Lisa Maree Domican of GraceApp Communications.

“The Wild Atlantic Way is not just for visitors – it is a great place to work and live,” explained WASup founder Shane McCarthy.

“WASup aims to showcase the region as the place to locate technology centred industries where companies and employees can benefit from and be inspired by the Wild Atlantic lifestyle”.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com