Irish emigrants who are Back for Business

Irish emigrants are returning to Ireland to start their businesses with support from the Government’s Back for Business programme. Here are some of the newest returnees.

The Back for Business development programme, which is now in its 8th year, was created to foster and support entrepreneurial activity among emigrants recently returned to Ireland and is funded by the Irish Abroad Unit, Department of Foreign Affairs.

The deadline for completed applications for Back to Business 8 is midnight on Thursday 16 January. For more information or to register your interest in receiving an application form, click here to apply.

Back for Business 8 will run from February to June 2025 and will start with a Launch Forum on February 11th. There is no charge for entrepreneurs selected to participate and the closing date for applications is Thursday 16 January 2025.

The development programme, which is funded by the Irish Abroad Unit in the Department of Foreign Affairs, was created to foster and support entrepreneurial activity among Irish emigrants returning to live in Ireland.

Back for Business is aimed at those who have lived abroad for at least a year and have returned in the last three years or those planning to return in the near future. It addresses challenges that all early-stage entrepreneurs encounter, but also focuses on the additional barriers faced by those who have been living outside Ireland for some years. 

Athrú by Aoife

Aoife Lafferty, who is from Kilmovee, Co Mayo, left Ireland for Edinburgh in 2017 to take up a scholarship for a Master’s in Inclusive Education. With the course completed, she spent three years working as a primary school teacher in Abu Dhabi before returning to Ireland in August 2022.

While still in Abu Dhabi, Aoife experienced a shopping ‘crisis’ when feeling an expectation to have a new outfit for every brunch that ultimately led her to set up her own business – Athrú by Aoife.

Athrú by Aoife is a curated clothing company that allows customers guilt-free circular shopping. It specialises in hand-picking beautiful and stylish pieces for its collections of high quality, on-trend occasion wear.

“It started from my own personal pain point when I was in Abu Dhabi. I couldn’t find clothes for a special occasion, so I set up a cocktails and clothes event where people would give me their occasion wear and I sold it for them. The idea grew from there,” Aoife says.

After returning to Ireland, Aoife, who still works as a teacher in Dublin, did a start your own business programme with her Local Enterprise Office before launching Athrú by Aoife in June 2024.

“When I came home I really wanted to set up something similar. I had noticed that the pain point here would be wedding guest wear mainly. People don’t want to be seen in the same thing again and again, so I came up with this idea of not only having clothes that are new and pre-loved but that are available to rent and also to buy.”

CM Space

Ciara Moynihan, who was born in New Zealand and reared in Quin, Co Clare, returned to the land of her birth after finishing secondary school in 2015 and enrolled in a Bachelor of Commerce course majoring in Management, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and a Diploma in Languages, German, at the University of Auckland – with a view to one day running her own business.

Nearing the end of her studies, Ciara wanted to work in the environmental space, so she joined Morphum Environmental, a company with a mission to create environmental change and sustainable outcomes that will ensure a thriving ecosystem for generations to come.

Ciara worked with Morphum as a culture and change agent through their organisational development project, the mission renewal. She was based in their head office in Auckland where she worked on sustainability projects for four years.

Ciara first came back to Ireland in 2021 but found that she couldn’t settle, so she went to Germany to improve her German and worked on a regenerative student housing project there. She also completed a course with the Regenesis Institute for Regenerative Practice in Regenerative Design and Development to become a certified Regenerative Practitioner before returning to Ireland to set up her business.

She founded CM Space in August 2023 and started trading in January 2024. CM Space is a collaborative consultancy that supports businesses and communities to make regenerative change, embodying sustainable practices and a regenerative culture.

Ciara’s business is based at her home in Clare, but her work takes her all around Ireland.

“What I bring is a really strong knowledge of people and culture and social systems along with regenerative design and regenerative thinking, which is essentially how to change systems while serving place and community,” she says.

CM Space worked initially with businesses on cultural change and organisational development, and that is still core to the business, but Ciara is also increasingly involved in creative climate action and artistic projects with organisations like Creative Ireland, Native Events and Dance Limerick.

Before CM Space was properly up and running, Ciara found being back in Ireland quite challenging. “It’s definitely taken the year to feel really committed to being here again because in New Zealand I had a very independent lifestyle, and I assumed I would walk into a job here, but I didn’t.  Now that I have an income again, it’s a lot more manageable to live here, but there was a long time where I was very much doubting and thinking I should just go back over to New Zealand. Now, I’m very happy to be here,” she says.

Ciara says that peer support, mentoring and being held accountable for her goals were great benefits of the Back for Business programme. “It helped me to hear from other people who were also finding it difficult at moments to be back in Ireland and to see that there is a huge amount of help available to small business owners and people do really want to help you,” she says.

“I think starting a business is one of the most developmental journeys you could go on as a person, and you can’t really do it alone.”

Ciara says that her first year in business has mostly been about establishing a client base, workflow and cashflow. “Next year is when I would like to develop something that is not so project-based and more of a programme that organisations can buy into,” she says.

“The long-term vision is to create an organisational development programme which can be facilitated online and in person – where businesses come together to co-create solutions to a problem they’ve been facing using regenerative design frameworks – and to eventually employ people to facilitate this programme in different countries with the outcomes and impact being specific to the places and communities they work in. Essentially growing an interdependent network of regenerative change in businesses and communities around the world. It’s scaling up but always led by the place, community, and ecosystem.”

Forensic Action International

Oran Finegan had spent 25 years working as a leading forensic specialist with the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) when the opportunity arose to take the methods he had learned in conflict and post-conflict zones around the world and apply them back home in Ireland.

A native of Carlingford, Co. Louth, Oran set up his company, Forensic Action International, shortly after his return to Ireland in October 2023. Now heading up the forensics programme for the Tuam Mother and Babies Home Project, he admits that the move represents something of a step-change from his work in the Middle East, the Balkans, and elsewhere. However, he insists that it still requires the same level of skill and vigilance.

“I saw there was an opportunity to set up a company centred around the use of forensics to address humanitarian needs. A key part of this is accountability and advocacy,” says Oran.

“I had been following events of Tuam from a distance. Around 2017, the ICRC was contacted by the Expert Technical Group for Tuam for thoughts and advice about the recovery of human remains and what amounts to a dignified burial. Later, following the establishment of the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam, I saw the opening come up and I jumped at the opportunity.”

He continues: “Tasked with leading up the forensic side of the project, I am responsible for the design, oversight, and implementation of search, recovery, and identification, of human remains recovered from the site in Tuam. It’s a far cry from the parts of the world where I used to operate, but the techniques are the same. It’s a privilege to be involved in the project, the first major undertaking for the company.”

The 48-year-old says that while he never imagined pursuing his current career as a younger man studying for his undergraduate degree in anatomy at Queen’s University Belfast, the switch to becoming an entrepreneur is even more unexpected.

“Anatomy was very lab-based so I knew it wasn’t my calling. I’d been told about forensic anthropology, the study of skeletal remains, so I did a postgraduate degree in that at Bradford University. My advisor there asked if I wanted to go to the Balkans, to work for the United Nations International Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. That was an incredible experience, and shaped the next 25 years of my life,” says Oran, who also has an MA in human rights and political theory from the University of Essex.

“I never thought about setting up a business until I did. My mother is my biggest mentor. She owned a café and bakery business for 30 years. It was her who heard about the Back for Business programme and told me to think about applying.”

Oran believes the Back for Business programme gave him a “step up” in his bid to develop the business. “I have a huge amount to learn and having the structure that the programme provided, as well as access to likeminded entrepreneurs, was fantastic for helping me bridge that knowledge gap,” he says.

As well as his work on the Tuam Mother and Baby Home project, Oran will travel to China in November with the ICRC, to provide training and advice in the management of deceased persons to agencies there.  

Invicta Ventures – Underground Boxing Gym

Renata Bennett, who is Slovak-Hungarian, first came to Ireland 26 years ago to study English. Finding that she loved the English language and Irish people and culture, Renata made Dublin her home.

After meeting and marrying professional boxer and personal trainer Karl Bennett, Renata and Karl ran boxing gyms in Dublin from 2005, and they managed to keep the business going despite the financial crisis and various issues with venues until the pandemic arrived.

“Just before the pandemic hit, the building we were in was sold, and the new landlord wanted us out. Because of Covid, we couldn’t open a new venue, so we decided to move to the Caribbean and Florida with our young son,” Renata says.

“Their economies were very open during the pandemic, so we could move around freely. It was great. We went there in the beginning of 2021 and came back to Ireland in the summer of 2022.”

Over the years, Renata taught herself branding, marketing, sales, web design and search engine optimisation rather than buying those services to promote their business.

The couple were open-minded about coming back to Ireland as there was nothing really waiting for them here. “Ultimately, our son’s friends were all here, and we also thought if you want to start over you might as well do it in a country that you know,” she says.

They hit the ground running and found a premises for a new gym on Clarendon Street in Dublin 2. “It’s much tougher to succeed in business now because Dublin has changed a lot since Covid. I think it never truly recovered. People’s habits have changed. They work from home. A lot of office buildings are still empty, but the business is growing, and we are very happy with it,” Renata says.

Underdog Boxing Gym provides professional training for aspiring boxers and for those who recognise that boxing training is one of the best ways to lose weight and get fit. The gym currently has four employees one of whom is part time.

Renata says the most challenging aspects of setting up in business again were getting the right premises and convincing people to come to the city to train.

“People used to come to us from local offices, but they now either work fully at home or only come into the city one or two days a week. It was about creating that community again – that they want to leave the house and want to come to the gym because that is where the people they like hanging out with are, and they know it’s great fun,” she says.

Renata found that the support of the other participants on the Back for Business programme and of their Lead Entrepreneur Morgan Browne was a great benefit to her business. “I always looked forward to the roundtable meetings because we would brainstorm and be very helpful to each other.  Morgan has so much experience, and he’s willing to advise – not dictate but advise – and lead you to your own conclusions on what is best for you,” she says.

Through their company, Invicta Ventures, Renata and Karl would like to open more bespoke gyms – not necessarily under the Underdog brand – and develop sports-related products.

“We want to grow it as much as we can, introduce new classes and employ more people. Basically, it’s about turning profit while providing an exceptional service and employing people. We work at it every day to make it better. I strongly believe that mediocre businesses won’t survive,” Renata says.

Pelvic Health West

When Orlaith Kilgannon moved with her family from her native Ballyshannon, Co Donegal, to their new home in Salthill, Co Galway, at the age of 14, she found the adjustment challenging. But she believes the skills she learned then have been of benefit to her in starting and running her own business. 

After finishing secondary school in Galway, Orlaith did a Bachelor of Science in NUIG before moving to England in 2016 to do a Master’s in Physiotherapy at the University of Birmingham.

After completing the course, Orlaith spent almost five years working as a physiotherapist in Birmingham and Newcastle, but she always expected that she would start her own business one day. In March 2023, she left England to travel the world for a few months before returning to Galway in July. 

“I always knew that eventually I would move home because I wanted to be close to my family. I had been in my job long enough to have good experience and that was my main objective in being in the UK – to get that experience and bring it home,” she explained.

Orlaith registered her company, Pelvic Health West, in September 2023 and saw her first client a month later. “I always had that bug, that thought in the back of my mind, that I’d like to go into business and my family supported me the whole way. When I was travelling the world, I’d be on a bus in New Zealand or Australia working on the business plan, so it was ready to go when I came home.”

Based in Oranmore, Pelvic Health West provides specialist physiotherapy and Pilates for women to prevent and manage symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction.

Orlaith says that she didn’t encounter any significant problems in setting up the business. “I think in Ireland people are willing to help you, which is great. I was very lucky with getting a premises. Somebody had suggested one to me, and I looked at it, and it was perfect. That was the first thing I did. The second thing I did was get an accountant which helped me to register the company and really start things off.”

On the Back for Business programme, Orlaith found that the peer support from other participants who were having similar experiences was a great help to her. “Back for Business also helped me to structure my goals. Sometimes when you are caught up in the day-to-day running of a business, that gets lost.”

Orlaith says her best moments in business are when she alleviates symptoms that can destroy a sufferer’s quality of life. I received feedback one day from a lady whose symptoms meant that she wasn’t leaving the house, she had cut down her social interactions, she wasn’t even getting out for her basic walk,” she says.

“She had one session with me, and she emailed me a month later and said that her life had been changed. She no longer had to think about leaving the house – she would just do it, and she was back in her social environments. She signed it off as ‘a new woman’. Those are the little things that stand out.”

Orlaith was recently ‘Highly Commended’ at the Network Ireland Galway Awards as an Emerging Businesswoman of the Year. “That was lovely to be recognised and to reflect on how far the business had come.”

She plans to keep expanding the business and to put her Pilate classes online, so they are more accessible. “It will enable me to treat more people.”  

Polaris Teams

David Sharkey, who is from Mullingar, Co Westmeath, left Ireland after completing a BA in History and English in UCD to train as a teacher and to test himself in the challenging environment of inner-city London schools.

In all, he spent 15 years away from Ireland working as a teacher and rugby coach – in Sydney, Australia, and in London and Henley on Thames in the UK.

His journey into entrepreneurship in the field of internal communications for sports and business leaders sprang from his work as a teacher.

“As a teacher and coach, I was trying to develop what I call character coaching by finding ways in which you can bring values and characteristics to life,” he says.

“What started as an idea to make character more prevalent in the development of young people has turned into a viable business that is global in reach. I quickly realised that the use of themes and stories was a very effective way to bring some of these characteristics and values to life for groups – initially sports teams and now business groups as well.”

David set up his UK business, Team Architecture, in 2022 while he was still working as a teacher. He wrote up some of his experiences of putting his theories into practice, and his writing resonated with people in the world of professional sports.

“La Rochelle and Ronan O’Gara were particularly interested in what I did. They asked me if I would design a theme and work with them. Off the back of that, I’ve worked with intercounty GAA teams, Irish Women’s Hockey, Arsenal women, Aussie Rules teams and Rugby Australia,” he says.

David and his partner returned to Ireland and settled in Bray, Co Wicklow, at the start of this year after their son was born. “There was a huge draw to return to Ireland for personal reasons after Tomás was born,” he says.

“It certainly has been an adjustment having been away for so long.  I had changed. I was a father. I was engaged. I was setting up a company and Ireland had changed. Coming to terms with all those things was daunting and exciting to the same extent.”

David set up his Ireland-based company Polaris Teams Limited in April this year and has left teaching to dedicate himself to the business on a full-time basis. “Polaris Teams is a global communications consultancy for business leaders and sports leaders. Ultimately, we help leaders to communicate with purpose, so they make communication a competitive advantage,” he says.

In the short term, David plans to bring Team Architecture clients across to Polaris Teams where appropriate. Team Architecture will continue to exist for UK clients. He then plans to develop his sporting client base before establishing himself more firmly in the business world in terms of keynote speaking and working with middle and senior figures within business.

David says the Back for Business programme was integral to the business he has created.

“I came in with one company and came out with a very different one. My Lead Entrepreneur, Thomas Ennis, saved me an inordinate amount of time in that he helped me to quickly establish what it was I was trying to do and to get a sense of whether it was worth doing. Had I not done Back for Business, I shudder to think of all the little milestones I’ve achieved already that I would have missed,” he says.

Ruby Reese

Originally from Farran in Co Cork, Killian O’Keeffe spent ten years living and working in Germany and Spain before returning to live in his native county.

Killian had completed a degree in Business Studies and German before leaving Ireland, and he spent most of his decade abroad living in Munich where he worked in sales in various industries.

While he loved the fast pace of Munich and living in a big city during his twenties, Killian’s thoughts turned to Ireland and a quieter pace of life during the pandemic, and he and his partner, Chris, decided to move here in July 2021. 

“We were also considering setting up a business at the time, and we knew that Ireland had a great reputation for supporting small businesses through an infrastructure for entrepreneurs, so we thought it would be a great place to begin our journey,” he says.

Their business, Ruby Reese, sources and produces food, treats, nutritional supplements and grooming products for dogs with allergies or other sensitivities.

“The original business idea came from our own French Bulldog, Ruby, who has allergies. She was breaking out in rashes all over her belly. We started looking at the ingredients lists on the backs of different products for dogs, and we decided very quickly that we might be able to do a better job of it ourselves than what was already on the market,” Killian says.

The pair conducted research and set up the company while in the process of moving from Germany to Ireland. Ruby Reese launched in May 2022 with an online presence. They also sell their products at markets and dog events around the country.

Killian has been delighted with the lifestyle benefits that came with the move home.  “Ireland is a brilliant place to be very close to nature. I think sometimes we don’t appreciate it as much as we should, but our coastline and our forestry and everything is definitely fantastic,” he says.

He has also been very encouraged by the supports Ireland offers to those setting up their own businesses. “Being an entrepreneur in Ireland is fantastic. The support networks are brilliant. What we learned during the Back for Business programme is that there is a really strong network of supportive agencies. I think there’s also a lot of encouragement in local Irish life for people that set up small businesses. I think Irish people have a lot of respect for people that throw their hand to something. It’s very encouraging.”.

Killian says the Back for Business programme was helpful in a host of ways. “One was making me more aware as a businessperson what is available to us from LEO, Enterprise Ireland and so on. Also, from a group perspective, our Lead Entrepreneur Hannah Wrixon was absolutely fantastic at getting the group to share our problems and share in the solutions. It was absolutely fantastic,” he says.

In terms of developing Ruby Reese, Killian and Chris have decided to focus on their core values by building up their Irish dog community and sharing their knowledge with it. “We previously did Instagram live with experts from the Irish dog community and we’re currently transforming that into a podcast format all about dogs – talks about nutrition, vets giving talks on parasites, trainers on dealing with aggression or how to train puppies. We’re sharing the knowledge that we’re learning along the way,” Killian says.

Van Velze’s Luxury Chocolates

Deborah Kilroy, who is originally from Charlestown, Co Mayo, left Ireland for Australia in 2002 having worked as a manager in a catering department in Dublin after completing a degree in Hotel & Catering Management at Cathal Brugha Street.

“I went to Australia to have fun and enjoy my life. I thought I was too young for what I was doing. I needed to be free,” she says.

While in Darwin, in Australia’s Northern Territory, Deborah met her future husband Rob, a chocolatier from the Netherlands. They moved to Amsterdam in 2004 and opened Van Velze’s Chocolaterie and Patisserie in the heart of the city in 2008.

Deborah had always planned to start her own business and to move back home, but she spent 18 years in the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam before the lure of the West of Ireland finally drew her back to Mayo.

“Moving back was more for personal reasons than anything else. I wanted to move out of the city and home to the countryside and to see my family. I wanted to come home to be in the green fields,” she says.

The couple took a year off to settle into their new environment when they got here and then launched Van Velze’s Luxury Chocolates in Ballinrobe in November 2023.. Their company is also still operational in Amsterdam where their corporate clients include Netflix, Hermès, Sony, Nike and Baileys.

Van Velze’s is a luxury chocolate gifting company that produces chocolate collections for all occasions and for corporate gifting. Their chocolate is made with local Connacht Gold cream, and they use only fine flavour chocolate. 

Their products are available online and by phone order, and they also have a pop-up shop that is open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at their production premises in Ballinrobe. Van Velze’s Luxury Chocolates are also available in three shops, including Foxford Woolen Mills.

 “We ship all over Ireland and the Netherlands. Corporate clients and PR companies like to give a gift that leaves a lasting impression, and they contact us for customised gifts,” she says.

Deborah says that adjusting to life in rural Ireland after being used to Amsterdam wasn’t always easy, but she is pleased to be among family again. “We had to make a new set of friends, and we did that through joining a lot of sports groups. That was amazing. It was lovely,” she says.

In Amsterdam, most of Deborah’s friends had been sole traders, so she was delighted to meet other female entrepreneurs on the Back for Business programme. “It was so lovely to meet like-minded people. I found my crew. They had also been away and had the same problems as I was encountering. You know their pain and you know their joy. It was great. You shared what you were going through,” she says.

Although Deborah says their Irish business is only getting started, it is clearly on the right track as they recently won a Blas na hÉireann Award for their Sea Salted Caramel Truffle Box. “It’s lovely that people really enjoy our products and are happy to know that they can give a gift that people will find delicious,” she says.

With Valentine’s Day and Easter on the horizon Deborah is hoping to make the most of the opportunities those occasions present. “We’re hopeful that it’s very big. We want to grow the business here and in the Netherlands, and increase our retail presence,” she says.

Wild Irish Saunas

Robbie Reeve first learned of the restorative powers of saunas and ice baths after developing a keen interest in endurance athletics during his 12-year spell living in China.

A key plank of the Nordic way of life, the combination of intense heat and severe cold is proven to aid recovery of muscles and reduce inflammation after prolonged periods of exercise. It has also been shown to boost levels of energy and cognitive function, reduce stress, burn fat, and improve skin health.

Robbie set up Wild Irish Saunas, a company selling a range of saunas and ice baths for both indoors and outdoors, from his home in Galway shortly after returning to Ireland in 2022.

“We have an array of products available via our website, from tent-style saunas that you can set up in your home, to barrel saunas that can comfortably seat up to five people. There are various options, from the very inexpensive to the higher end,” he says, adding that the idea for the business came to him after experiencing intense muscle soreness following an adventure race in China.

“I did an event that took place over two days and featured a lot of kayaking, running and cycling. I’ve also I struggled a lot with recovery after events like that, with soreness that would last for days. Saunas and ice baths were a help to me at that time, especially as I was being invited to more and more events.

“For the organisers, having a foreigner at the start line added some glamour to their event, so it became sort of self-fulfilling. I enjoy challenging myself. The longest race I’ve done so far was a 100km run over a 6,000m elevation. Now I’m aiming to do a 100-mile race over the next couple of years.”

Robbie believes that he has set up Wild Irish Saunas at a good time in Ireland, when interest in health and wellness is thought to be peaking alongside the growing national fascination with endurance sport. 

“After the Covid-19 pandemic, there’s a whole new interest in saunas and ice baths, and after lockdown and all the public health restrictions, there’s a growing interest in endurance athletics,” he adds.

A qualified financial advisor and teacher, he had been operating his own export business in China when he applied for the Back for Business programme. Indeed, he only moved home permanently the day before the programme began.

“I saw a piece about Back for Business in the newspaper when I was home for Christmas and that sparked an interest. The programme was my impetus to move back. It had always been my plan to return to Ireland but being accepted into Back for Business gave me a hard deadline,” he says.

“I found the programme very helpful. It was great to have people to bounce ideas off and having a lead entrepreneur as a mentor, someone who has developed a successful business, was inspiring. I would recommend Back for Business to anyone.”

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