BUSINESS Seven savvy women create a stir in Louisburgh

ACTION WOMEN The founding members of Louisburgh HQ. From left: Tricia Hudson, Bríd Conroy, Therese McCaffrey, Mary O’Toole, Jane Williams, Anne O’Leary and Maggie O’Conor.

Seven savvy women create a stir in Louisburgh


Ciara Moynihan

Austerity sucks the life out of businesses. It sucks the optimism out of people. It sucks the joy out of life. It just sucks.
Well, seven plucky Louisburgh women have had enough of the sucking. They’ve decided to fight back – to sock it to the suck, as it were. They’ve looked around them, looked at the beautiful, coastal town of Louisburgh where just three or four decades ago, 57 businesses thrived and 300 people lived and loved, and asked ‘Couldn’t the village bustle with life and the ringing of tills again?’
Sure, the village’s population has shrunk to just 37 people, and okay, the businesses have, by and large, gone – but the way these seven women see it, the town can either shrug its shoulders and give up, or it can roll up its sleeves and get down to the business of reclaiming its future.
And getting down to business is just what these Louisburgh professionals are all about. Tricia Hudson (of Louisburgh restaurant, Hudsons’ Pantry), Bríd Conroy (a chartered certified accountant who also regularly contributes financial advice articles to The Mayo News’ Living section), Therese McCaffrey (a social worker), Mary O’Toole (chartered certified accountant), Jane Williams (massage therapist and artist), Anne O’Leary (office manager, Delphi Lodge) and Maggie O’Conor (qualified solicitor) have come together to form Louisburgh HQ, an initiative aimed at promoting Louisburgh and the surrounding area and supporting local businesses.
Louisburgh HQ has two aspects: a drop-in centre and a pop-up shop. Each will occupy different buildings in the town over the summer – one owned by the Duffys, another by the Morrisons. Not only were both buildings once run as shops, those shops were also businesses run by women.
One of the shop owners, Mary Duffy, has been a particular source of inspiration to the group. “When Mary Duffy, a teacher from Inisturk Island married, she was unable to work due to the [civil service] ‘marriage ban’. So she set herself up as a shop, supplying goods to the islands. She didn’t make millions I’m sure, but she did support her family. That’s the spirit we want to carry on,” Bríd Conroy explained. “We feel that by setting up something we are showing by example, it is okay to give it a shot.”
The drop-in centre, which will be housed in the Morrison’s building located right on the Square in Louisburgh, will function as a ‘hub’ where visitors can access the local community, all the services that are available and events that are happening. It will promote the 100-plus businesses that run independently from Lecanvey to Killeen and out to Leenane. The centre will also have bikes for hire, as well as guides at the ready, and will generally operate as a booking centre for walking tours, courses and events.
The centre is not just for tourists, however. It’s also a resource for locals. It will operate as a  therapy centre and clinic; as a space for drama, arts and crafts; and as a place where anyone who might want to start a business can go to for general advice.
This determination to nurture local entrepreneurial spirit is underscored by the group’s decision to also open a pop-up shop in the Duffys’ building – across the road and on the corner. “We have a second premises insured and rented for the summer that can be used to showcase any local business, based on the pop-up shop initiatives now working very successfully in Dun Laoghaire in Dublin and being piloted in Westport this summer.”
Yes, it seems like these days you’re nothing if you’re not a pop-up something. Clocking the trend, these women have savvily pounced on it in the hope of harnessing some of its potential for the town they live in – and believe in. Good for them. Louisburgh’s future looks brighter already. 

Louisburgh HQ is being launched over the weekend of July 6-8. For more details on the planned activities, which will include live music, dancing and a beach walk, check out Louisburgh HQ on Facebook; sign up for the weekly newsletter by emailing Louisburghhq@gmail.com; or call Bríd Conroy on 087 9091193 or Maggie O’Connor on 086 0865381.