Rotary Club and Tom Murphy Mercedes Benz bring Mrs. Brown’s Boys, D’Movie to the big screen!

The Rotary Club of Waterford is proud to present a special screening of Mrs. Brown’s Boys, D’Movie.

This charity evening takes place thanks to Mercedes Benz at the Tom Murphy Car Sales showrooms, on the Cork Road, Waterford on Wednesday November 19^th at 7.30pm, with light food and drinks reception beforehand.

  

The charities to benefit from the movie night are the SECF Solas Centre and The Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

The SECF Solas Centre is a registered charity 100% reliant on donations to provide services free to people affected by cancer.  The generosity and commitment of the public will help the South Eastern Cancer Foundation to continue and further improve the services provided at the Solas Centre and to reach more people affected by cancer.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVP) was founded in Ireland in 1844. Its focus is on practical approach to dealing with poverty, alleviating its effects on individuals and families through working primarily in person-to-person contact by a unique system of family visitation and seeking to achieve social justice and equality of opportunity for all citizens.

Mrs. Brown's Boys D'Movie is a 2014 comedy film based on the sitcom Mrs. Brown's Boys. When Moore Street market-trader Agnes Brown finds her livelihood under threat from a ruthless developer, she and her family embark on a campaign to save her stall, aided as only the Browns will be, by a motley troop of blind trainee Ninjas, an alcoholic solicitor, and a barrister with Tourettes Syndrome.

Barry Murphy of Tom Murphy Mercedes Benz is looking forward to the event, “We at Tom Murphy Mercedes Benz are delighted to be associated with this unique event. When approached with the idea of a charity film night in conjunction with Rotary Waterford we jumped at the chance. It’s such an original idea and the opportunity to work with Rotary to raise funds for such worthy causes couldn’t be passed up.”

The Rotary Club of Waterford raised approximately €30,000 for charities in 2013, including local charities such as Waterford Hospice. Waterford Rotary Club is best known locally for the annual Memorial Christmas Tree in John Roberts Square. 

Tickets cost €25 ( all of which goes to charity) and can be purchased from Tom Murphy Mercedes Benz showrooms on the Cork Road and David M. Breen & Co. Wallace House, Maritana Gate, Canada Street, Waterford

Rain couldn’t dampen the South East Run for Life spirits!

 A wonderful day was had by all at the 7^th South East Run for Life.  Waterford City was awash with a sea of orange when almost 900 runners, joggers and walkers took to the streets to complete the 10 mile course finishing in the People’s Park.

This year was no exception as so many amazing supporters took up the Run for Life challenge in support of the Solas Centre and people affected by cancer throughout the South East.  Participants ranged in age from 12 to 76 making this a truly family friendly event.  Although the number of entrants was down on previous years, the atmosphere on the day was electric with supporters lining the route to cheer on the participants and hand out water and oranges.

Despite the unsettled weather, families and friends of the runners came along to join in the fun and activities in the People’s Park at the Fun for Life following the run.

 As part of the Fun for Life, children in 5th and 6th class primary schools in Waterford and Wexford participated in a "Design our T-shirt competition". With over 400 entries, Sean and Miranda Corcoran of the Art Hand Bonmahon had the very difficult task of choosing the winners.  The winner, not only had their entry printed on all the t-shirts worn by volunteers on the day but also won plenty of goodies from Sporthouse.

In first place was Sophie Quinn from Newtown Junior school. Caoilfhinn Harte from Gaelscoil Phortlairge was second and third place went to Eoghan Lawlor, also from Gaelscoil Phortlairge.

Clair Moriarty, Chair of the Run for Life committee thanked the participants, sponsors and volunteers. "The Run for Life and Fun for Life would not have been a success without the support of the huge team of volunteers who ensured it went without a hitch, the generosity of our sponsors Datapac and our media partners Beat 102 103 and of course, every single person who took part in the Run for Life.  Every cent raised will go towards ensuring that the Solas Centre can continue to provide its support services to those affected by cancer, their families and their careers".

If you want to find out more about the services of the Solas Centre visit www.solascentre.ie or on 051 304604.

Waterford 1100 judges find their “Muse”

Muse was announced as the overall winner of the Waterford 1100 Window Display competition at a ceremony in the Medieval Museum, officiated by the Deputy Mayor of Waterford Metropolitan District, Cllr. John Carey.

With almost 40 registered entries from Waterford city, the competition, an initiative of Waterford City and County Council, supported by Waterford Chamber of Commerce and Waterford Business Group, encouraged businesses to create a window display to “celebrate Waterford.”

The judging panel of Billy Duggan, Chair of Waterford 1100 Committee, Peter Kelly, aka Franc and WLRfm’s Karen Tomkins, was highly impressed with the displays of the twelve finalists but agreed that Muse’s window display, located on the Quay “would not look out of place in a store in Paris, Milan or New York.”

Muse’s proprietor, Clodagh Roche, collected a cheque for €1,500, while runners up Fitzgerald’s Menswear, Cummins & Stone and Babycare received €1,000, €750 and €500 respectively.

Commenting at the awards ceremony, Deputy Mayor Carey said, “Each and every business that registered for the competition went to great efforts in creating visual window displays that not only reflected the Celebrate Waterford theme, but also caused passers-by to stop, have a glance, maybe take a second look and leave learning a little more about what makes Waterford great.”

He added “I hope that the creativity, vision, colour and stories displayed by Waterford businesses remain a permanent fixture in the shop windows of our city.”Announcing the overall winner, judges Franc and Karen said that the calibre of entries was extremely high, but the stand out features of the Muse window display were its creative use of space and the clever integration of the humble blaa with contemporary fashion to create a vista that could be interpreted as a ships sail or representative of the cable-span bridge, both strong Waterford themes.

According to Waterford 1100 Chair, Billy Duggan, there may be plans to repeat the competition next year.  “We were heartened by the great feedback we got from all the finalists.  The general feeling is that they would welcome this competition in the future as it really put the spotlight on their shop windows and their businesses.  In fact, it is undeniable that the window display competition created a buzz amongst retailers in Waterford city.”

For further information about events taking place in Waterford as part of Waterford 1100 celebrations check out the Facebook page or follow @Waterford1100 on Twitter.

Waterford’s best young entrepreneurs win investment of €50,000

Judge Frank O' Regan, winner Lyndsey Power and Lar Power

Conor Browne, Padraig O’Scanaill and Lyndsey Power have been named as Waterford’s best young entrepreneurs, and have won an investment of €50,000 between them, as part of the €2 million Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition.

Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur is an integral part of the Action Plan for Jobs 2014 and is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through the Local Enterprise Offices.

At a function at the Medieval Museum’s Garden Room on Friday October 10th, awards were made for Waterford’s best start-up, the best new idea, and the best existing business were as follows:

Waterford’s best start-up is Padraig O’Scanaill  Padraig’s company ‘FundRecs’ develops cloud based reconciliation software for the funds industry.

Waterford’s best new idea is Conor Browne who developed a social media app called Grumble, designed to connect you with people you already know anonymously and enable you to speak honestly about things you may not necessarily say face to face.

Waterford best existing business is Lyndsey Power of the South East’s first interactive doggie day care and training centre, Inn the Doghouse.  Lyndsey is a qualified dog groomer, trainer and Canine Behaviour Consultant.

Director of Economic Development for Waterford City and County, Lar Power explained the importance of this initiative, “The aim of the Economic Development Department is to co-ordinate the City and County Council's work and interaction with communities and to support the economic development of the city and county. The IBYE initiative is important to these aims, it encourages and supports the next generation of enterprise in Waterford City and County. I’d like to congratulate all the finalists and entries and wish our three nominations the very best in the next stage of the competition.”

This initiative was created by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD to be implemented by Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices. Central to his plans for jobs and growth is supporting more businesses to start-up as two thirds of all new jobs are created by start-ups.

That is why he put in place the entrepreneurship forum and that is why he established the Local Enterprise Offices, to provide more and better Government supports to businesses in one easily-accessible place at local level.

The three judges were well known Waterford business people, David Breen, Frank O’Regan and Regina Mangan. Speaking on their behalf, David Breen outlined just how tough the judging process was, “Given the overall standard of entry, there wasn’t an easy decision on the winner in any category, each was vigorously debated amongst the judges. It was a long but thoroughly rewarding day. It was also a distinct pleasure meeting each of the finalists and we hope the winners’ progress within the national forum will make our county proud.”

The three businesses will now go through to regional finals in Cork where they will compete for the right to go through to the national finals and ultimately compete for the award of being named Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur at a ceremony on 6th December 2014.

A recipe for successful food production!

Following the success of the Harvest Festival 2014 Waterford food producers are on a high. For year’s Waterford relied on a small number of prominent food producers, though lagged behind the prolific success of counties such as Cork and Tipperary. However, in recent years the Deise has seen an explosion of food production.

Success and national acclaim have followed. The Blaa receiving PGI status in 2013, the first five graduates of the Food Academy, all from Waterford, now on the shelves of SuperValu stores across the country and all on the shoulders of such giants as Flahavans and Dawn Meats.

This is why the timing couldn’t be better for John Noonan of Flahavans to give his ‘Top Ten Tips for Food Producers’ on Thursday October 23^rd. Following on from the success of these lunches with speakers such as Des Whelan of WLR fm, Louise Grubb of Q1 Scientific and Ronan Mulligan of Mulligan’s Pharmacies, John’s tips are sure to be eagerly received by Waterford’s business people and food producers alike.

These ‘Top Ten lunches’ are a series of networking events on the theme of ‘my Top Ten Business Tips’ delivered by successful local business people and occurring once per month. Each lunch will outline a speakers’ views on a specific topic and take place in the Bistro in the Tower Hotel from 12.30pm to 2pm.

There is a considerable pool of business talent and experience in Waterford and the Local Enterprise Offices hopes to harness this expertise to inspire Waterford’s new and existing business communities.  

John Noonan is currently Sales & Marketing Director at E. Flahavan & Sons Limited

John graduated from UCC with a B.Comm and is also a graduate of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK.  He has over 25 year’s experience in marketing, having worked abroad and at home in various marketing roles including, Guinness GB, London International Group, C&D Petfoods and Cahill May Roberts Group. In 1997, John moved to Waterford as Marketing Director with Flahavans, becoming Sales and Marketing Director in 2007.

John is a previous Chairman of the Bord Bia Brand Forum and  is a director of Love Irish Food, an initiative led by Irish manufacturing brands which seeks to promote Irish Food and Drink brands in the Republic of Ireland.

The Local Enterprise Office is also looking forward to Grainne Walsh of Metalman Brewing speaking at the following networking lunch on Thursday November 27^th.

The cost of these lunch events is just €8.50.  Booking is essential. For more information or to register your interest please contact your Local Enterprise Office in Waterford on 051-849905 or email info@leo.waterfordcouncil.ie

Windows by Franc!

With almost 40 businesses in Waterford City registering for the Waterford 1100 Window Display competition, the judges described the shortlisting process as a “very tough decision, with Waterford retailers showing an extraordinary amount of creativity, insightfulness and pride in Waterford city.”

The Waterford 1100 Window Display competition, an initiative of Waterford City and County Council, supported by Waterford Chamber of Commerce and Waterford Business Group, encouraged local businesses to “celebrate Waterford” with prizes to the value of €3,750 to be awarded to the overall winners.

Billy Duggan, Chairman of the Waterford 1100 committee and member of the judging panel, was delighted, not only with the response from local businesses, but also with the calibre of entries to the competition. “The premise of the Window Display competition was to encourage local businesses to celebrate any aspect of Waterford that resonated with them.  Whether it was a Viking theme, a sporting theme, a food theme or based on a famous Waterford personality, these businesses took it to heart and made the process of compiling a shortlist a very difficult one for the judging panel.”

“As Ireland’s oldest city, celebrating 1100 years of history, these engaging and fun window displays added a little spark to the City and based on the positive feedback and comments we’ve had from the general public we hope to replicate it in the future.”

Joining Mr. Duggan on the adjudicating panel were Peter Kelly, aka “Franc”, the wedding planner synonymous with shows such as RTE’s Weddings by Franc and Franc’s DIY Brides and Karen Tomkins, WLRfm’s Big Breakfast Blaa presenter.

The judges were looking for creativity, presentation, relevance to the competition theme and a certain WOW factor. Participants were encouraged to integrate their own product into the display to make a strong impact.

Peter Kelly who is no stranger to ingenuity, imagination and exuberance said the competition standard was very high.  “The shortlist finalists were chosen because of their use of colour, their creativity, their ability to bring a story to life and the simple, but effective integration of their product into creating the display.”

Karen Tomkins added, “It really made me look at window displays in a different light.  It’s now easier to see how an effective well displayed window can draw in a customer.  The businesses that made the shortlist all demonstrated the importance of local heritage, space, and light along with the clever use of stock and props.  Creativity and imagination are very much alive and well in Waterford.”

The 12 businesses shortlisted are Fitzgerald’s Menswear, Gerry O’ Carroll Photography, Therapie Clinic, The Dresser, Babycare, Sam McCauley Chemist, The Little Design Shop, Keighery Antiques, Muse, Waterford Animal Welfare Shop, Waterford Hearing Services and Cummins & Stone.

The overall winners will be announced at a Mayoral reception in the Medieval Museum on October, 14^th when prizes of €1,500, €1,000, €750 and €500 respectively will be awarded.

Waterford Local Enterprise Office is open for business

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation today [Thursday 2^nd October] officially launched the Waterford Local Enterprise Office.

The Waterford LEO is part of a network of 31 LEOs which will deliver an improved system of local enterprise supports to start-ups and small businesses across the country – with more staff, more funding, and more services being provided.

Today’s announcement means that from today, people thinking of starting or expanding a business in every part of Waterford will be able to access the full range of State supports provided by different Government bodies – for example Waterford City and County Council, Enterprise Ireland, Revenue, the Department of Social Protection, the Credit Review Office and training bodies .

The establishment of the LEOs will mean that all categories of business – including sole traders, micro businesses and small and medium sized companies – will have access to Government supports and advice. Previously some businesses – for example, companies who were too large to access CEB supports, but were not exporting and therefore did not qualify for Enterprise Ireland supports – fell through the cracks between different agencies.

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD said “This morning we are seeing some very positive jobs news in the multinational sector for Waterford.  It is worth remembering that two thirds of all new jobs are supported by start-ups."

 “The Waterford Local Enterprise Office will deliver more services and better services to the start-ups and small businesses across the county that we rely on to create the jobs we need, with more staff and more funding. Today is a good day for business in Waterford”.

“A key part of our Action Plan for Jobs and the South East Employment Action Plan is supporting job-creation across every region of the country. Waterford was hit hard by the collapse in employment across the country. Between 2008 and 2011 38,000 jobs were lost in the South East region. It is encouraging that in the last two years employment has increased by over 12,000 across the South East region, and the live register in Waterford has fallen by 14%.

"However we must do more to make the recovery local, and that is why were are making changes such as establishing the Waterford LEO, building advance IDA facilities in Waterford and a new competition to find the best young entrepreneur in Waterford.”

“I am convinced that with the right support by Government, we can build on the progress we have made and help create the jobs we need in Waterford”.

Commenting on the launch, Director of Economic Development, Mr. Lar Power said “The launch of LEO Waterford heralds an exciting time for enterprise in Waterford.  Small businesses and start-ups now have, at their disposal, an enhanced range of business support services.  Services such as business training, mentoring, grant assistance, enterprise education and more are in place to encourage the growth of the small business sector in Waterford.”

“With increased investment, resources and initiatives at LEO Waterford we can look forward to seeing more business success stories, like those of M & D Bakery, Metalman Brewing, CF Pharma and Chia Bia.  Companies like these simply start with an idea and the assistance provided by LEO Waterford has given them the opportunity to expand, create employment, discover new export markets and drive the recovery of our economy.”

New initiatives to the LEO Waterford portfolio include the recently launched Digital Voucher Scheme, which assists businesses in expanding by trading online; Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE), an allocation of €50,000 for an outstanding idea or commercial venture for entrepreneurs under 30 years of age and the SuperValu / Bord Bia collaboration, Food Academy, which gives local food producers access to the national marketplace.

If you have a business idea and want to find out what assistance is available to you contact your Local Enterprise Office at 32, The Mall in Waterford City or the Civic Offices in Dungarvan. Alternatively you can email info@leo.waterfordcouncil.ie .