At the tender age of fifteen it was clear to Libby Clarke that sales was the route for her, however, a change of product was on the cards. In the fourth and final episode of our Female Entrepreneur series, in partnership with Tarasis Enterprises – Supporting Female Entrepreneurs – we speak to the Portadown businesswoman who explains how property was not her first dabble in sales. Growing up with a farming background, cattle was always Libby's first passion and she recalls selling her first...

It is not always clear what the future holds. Plans are laid down and ideas cultivated but life often has a way of reshaping those plans. This is the third episode of our four part series, in partnership with Tarasis Enterprises, Supporting Female Entrepreneurs. In 2019, Benburb-based beautician Sinead O’Donnell was hard at work laying the foundations for her own brand of self-tanning products. Then, in 2020 with the onset of the Covid Pandemic her world was suddenly upended with the...

What do you need to start a business? Qualifications, money, a business plan? Not according to long-standing Armagh based hairstylist and salon owner, Petra Carroll. Petra's is the second episode of our four part series, in partnership with Tarasis Enterprises, Supporting Female Entrepreneurs. 'Conventional' would not be the word to describe Petra. Her route to business, whilst not perhaps a stereotypical journey, is a reassuring one. She demonstrates that the key to success is intrinsic....

Most people can say that they have inherited something significant from an elderly relative, but few can say they have inherited a passion. Emma Stinson, of Richhill Co. Armagh, has inherited just that from her beloved Grandfather Jackie Stinson, saddler and restorer extraordinaire. This is the first of our four part series, in partnership with Tarasis Enterprises, Supporting Female Entrepreneurs.

For all intents and purposes, Sean Cavanagh is a son of Tyrone – a former county captain, three All-Ireland medals, five All-Stars; the list of accolades goes on. So much so, he says his parents' home is like a sporting monument; his own home, you would struggle to tell he played football at all. But strangely enough, Sean says his affinity – certainly off the sporting fields – lies on the Armagh side of the River Blackwater... Listen to Sean's story in business and how he keeps growing,...

In 2019 Martin Carvill was on a life support machine battling for survival against oesophageal cancer. Three years later, almost to the day, since Martin underwent surgery, he won the singles championship title in the Banbridge and District Darts League. During the previous decade the world-class dart thrower was at the top of his game - a regular on the World Darts circuit and competing well in events like the Dutch, Belgium and Czech Opens, along with winning countless tournaments and...

The KBRT logo can be seen on GAA jersey’s from Crossmaglen to Kilcoo and even across the water in San Francisco. The little bird emblem is significant for Kevin Bell’s parents Collie and Eithne whose charitable organisation, The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust [KBRT] is their son’s legacy. Kevin was killed in a hit and run car accident in New York in 2013 and it took a network of family, friends and the community home and abroad to gather the funds needed to repatriate his body home to his...

In 2008 Therese Hughes stayed in the Ritz, had afternoon tea at the House of Commons and was invited to to Buckingham Palace where HRH  Prince Charles awarded her an MBE as a recipient in the Queen’s Honours list for her work with the Health Services in Northern Ireland. That work included a compassionate practical solution to people suffering from hair loss - often due to the side effects of chemotherapy. Sometimes it’s the little things that help when a person is seriousl ill, and...

Covid lockdowns had their downsides, there’s no denying it, but for twenty-five year old Banbridge designer Ellen Mooney the solitude inspired her to be creative and do something positive. Ellen, who studied fashion design at University, dusted off her sewing machine and began creating her own brand of quirky hair scrunchies. Demand grew rapidly and before long Ellen had progressed from scrunchies to sweaters and was growing her own streetwear brand ELN. Functional, sustainable and...

An average of over seven million viewers are hooked on ITV crime drama The Bay, which first aired in 2019. The show, set in the small seaside town of Morecambe in Lancaster, is on its third season, with a fourth in the works. And the man behind the critically acclaimed and hugely popular whodunnit was born and bred right here in Armagh. Daragh Carville brought the complex characters and stories to life as writer and co-creator of The Bay and while it’s probably his best-known work, the...

Born together, business partners forever. Over the last nine years entrepreneurial Banbridge twins Aaron and Andrew Burns have built themselves a remarkable business empire, now based in the heart of Markethill. This is Part Three in a four-part series of podcasts featuring young entrepreneurs, sponsored by the Armagh Credit Union. Astute and ambitious, the twins recognised their own set of skills early on and kick-started their journey into self-employment by leaning into what they were...

She grew up in Madden as Danielle Carragher, but since reaching back in time and taking her maternal great grandmother's long lost surname as her stage name, Dani Larkin was born. And it’s not just the name that Dani has adopted from the past. The Armagh singer/songwriter and musician’s songs also transcend time, steeped in Irelands ancient landscape, mythologies and folklore. Dani began writing at the age of 11 with a poem and since then years of working hard and performing , eventually...

Anyone who has even the slightest interest in mountain biking will know the name Glyn O’Brien. The Newry man is a legend in the sport, and  for good reason. Glyn’s racing career spans the 90’s to the present day, and he’s crammed in plenty over the decades. He raced the UCI Downhill World Cup circuit from 1997 to 2006, and in 2009 came second I the World Masters Downhill Championships. But in 2003 Glyn lost the plot altogether – taking himself off to Utah where he competed in the Red Bull...

An innovative media company is putting Portadown on the map with their 360-degree technology and high quality video content helping local businesses stay ahead of the curve. Atmosphere Immersive Media was established by Gerda Visinskaite and her boyfriend Jake Bailey-Sloan. Jake set up The Mill, the indoor combat centre on Bleary Road, when he was just a teenager, but sadly passed away in October, at the age of just 23. This is Part Two in a four-part series of podcasts featuring young...

Armagh may be quite some distances from Naples, but one young entrepreneur is bringing perhaps the region's most important invention to the Orchard county. Matthew Sherry, a Co Monaghan native, set up shop (quite literally) in the city centre when he opened up his artisan pizza shop, Basil Lane, less than two months ago. This is Part One in a serial of Armagh I podcasts featuring young entrepreneurs, sponsored by the Armagh Credit Union. Matthew realised his dream of serving the woodfired...

Vincent Loughran has been a photographer in Armagh for the best part of 50 years. He's been there, done it and, as the saying goes, got the t-shirt. He's had his near misses too... Like life itself, it's been a rollercoaster; there has been the good the bad and, indeed, the very ugly. Fires, hijackings, bombings – The Troubles in general – have been juxtaposed against happier times. An avid Armagh GAA fan, Vincy was there for the All-Ireland triumph in 2002 and before that, the All-Ireland...

It's been a road well-travelled for one local gin distiller who has enjoyed a remarkable career; one which once had him at the forefront of the battle against the HIV pandemic.  Nowadays, you can find Ric Dyer distilling his beautifully crafted gin in a lab in Benburb. It's been an unconventional route for Ric, but his Symphonia Gin is fast becoming a household name in a saturated gin market; his story, like his liqueur, is a unique one.

The casualties of war are often unseen and that’s never been more apparent than in poverty-stricken Belarus. The country, tied up with Putin’s Russia, is ruled by dictator Alexander Lukashenko and its poorest and most vulnerable citizens are locked away in abysmal conditions in institutions and orphanages out of sight hidden in forests throughout the country. Belarus was the country most affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the fallout continues, as the  children –  who...

Half-way up Chequer Hill in Newry sits an unassuming building that around six years ago was just a shell. Since then the space has been transformed into the hub of one of the most successful martial arts clubs in the country, with Northern Irelands TaeKwon-Do Master, Cathal Fegan at the helm. His Dojang training Centre is the epicentre of clubs the fourth Dan Black belt runs – from Dundalk to Silverbridge - with around 200 students of all ages. Cathal has been involved in martial arts...

For this week's podcast, I spoke with Culloville's Kieran Quinn of Co Armagh sporting goods brand 'Playr-Fit'. Kieran, alongside his business partner and friend Steven Burns, from Lurgan, started the brand having worked together for a number of years prior to the launch. It was a punt; a leap of faith that, despite Covid, has produced some serious results since.  A pandemic and an exiling of spectator sport did not stop the in their tracks; in fact, they grew bigger and stronger, against...

There’s something magical about discovering the world through the eyes of a child, but capturing that essence is rare. Take two videographers, their adorable two-year-old son, a mic and the video-sharing platform TikTok though, and it’s a different story. Dan and Hannah Gillespie wondered what ‘chatterbox’ Zeke was saying when out of earshot as he explored the park on family days out, so, while out and about on a holiday, they stuck a mic on him and listened. Zeke’s musings were so...

Spring is around the corner, the restrictions have lifted and there’s a sense of optimism in the air. The outdoors beckons and there have never been more opportunities to get moving and start leading a more active life. And it’s not exclusive to the young and healthy either. For this week’s podcast Armagh I was back in South Lake Leisure centre speaking to Alex Clifford and Aaron McNeill about the ABC council’s MUGAS (Multi Use Games  Areas) FREE programmes available across the...

Retirement or redundancy can be a lonely place for men, but in 2011 Stiofan McCleirigh got involved in a movement that would change his and many other lives in for the better. The Men's Shed movement began in Australia and it arrived in Ireland in 2009 with the first shed set up in Tipperary. When Stiofan got wind of the concept he excitedly set the wheels in motion to bring one to Armagh. He got the funding in place, found a premises on English Street and began knocking on doors to...

Sometimes when a new concept or innovation is brought to life, you wonder why it hasn't always existed. Football For All is one of those things that really should be far more widespread than it is. The concept that 'every child wants to be part of a team' has become the motto for Warrenpoint GAA's newest Football For All team, which celebrates children with special needs and allows them to participate in games and training with their very own team. Decky and Helen Carville's 12-year-old...