East Coast FM - Day 4

Declan with a guest

 I arrived in at 9:30am, just as Declan was getting ready to go on air. Guests were waiting, scripts were prepared and prizes were organised. After the news at ten he went on air. The two hours following were a blur; numerous interviews, phone calls and running in and out to the printer. Declan talked to a man from Focus Ireland about homelessness in Ireland, a local guard about a spate of burglaries in Wicklow and to a science expert about how 3D printing was going to change the world, among other things. After twelve, Claire and Declan discussed the show; what went well, what didn't go so well. It was time for lunch.

The News Room

 After lunch I joined Karen in the newsroom. She presents news daily from 12pm-7pm for East Coast FM and Sunshine 106.8, and for SPIN1038 at the weekend. The national and global stories come from a group of journalists based in Newstalk in Dublin. Around 40 stations across the country pay to take this service. But local/regional stations are required by broadcasting law to allocate a percentage of their bulletins to local stories. Karen was busy selecting which stories she wanted to read and printing each one out. Karen also had to load sound-bytes (audio clips) relating to each story onto the software system. When she had done that, she went into the editing studio to pre-record a bulletin for Sunshine 106.8. Sunshine, Dublin's country license, is owned partly by East Coast FM. As a result, they share some facilities ie. news and sales teams.

The software used to compile the news bulletins

 It was coming up to 2pm, when Karen was going to read her next bulletin. I sat in the studio next to her as she read the news, sport and weather.

 Then it was all thank yous and goodbyes. An excellent week of work experience, where I got to meet new people, learn new skills and . I hope to return to East Coast over the next year to help out!

Thank you to all involved from Diane to Anne, Claire to Declan, Mark to Rob, and everyone else in between!

East Coast FM - Day 3

Laura Wood and Rob G

 Bright and early on Wednesday, I went in to the Radio Center to meet Rob and Laura, presenters of 'Freshly Squeezed'. From 8am, I sat next to them as they presented their award-winning breakfast show. I was amazed at how much they could do ad-lib, and how they presented so naturally. The banter between the duo was so natural, and was definitely not rehearsed - I can confirm this. The pair have worked together for a number of years on the station, yet the show maintains an energy that is unbelievable when one considers that they've been up since 5am. I observed them run competitions, a quiz, play requests and read out the traffic and travel. It was an excellent experience watching two seasoned presenters who are so good at their job.

 Next, I met Claire Darmody. She produces the 'Declan Meehan Show', East Coast's flagship magazine programme. She gets in each morning at seven to prepare for when they go on air at 10. I was immediately struck by this woman's passion for radio. While producing Declan's show on East Coast, she also juggles a job as a producer for the Vincent Brown programme on TV3.
 Declan's show is a mix of guests and chat about topical issues; ranging from light-hearted talking points to politics. Declan was joined by a number of guests including Gavin James, and up-and-coming Dublin singer-songwriter. He performed in studio and talked to Declan.

Declan Meehan with Gavin James

 After the show, I got talking to Declan, who is an Irish radio veteran. We had an enjoyable chat about the Irish radio industry today, and the challenges it faces. I then joined him in studio 2, where he edited out the best bits of the show for a 'best-of' edition broadcast on Saturdays.

 After lunch I joined Tommy Greene. Tommy is East Coast's afternoon jock, and presents weekdays from 12 'till 4. He explained how the studio equipment works and told me about his show. Tommy, who has worked for stations including Today FM, Q102 and Sunshine, expressed his worry about the lack of security in radio - "One day you can have a job, and after a bad JNLR book, you'll be unemployed". This is the attitude taken by some stations in Ireland, but he told me that luckily East Coast FM is not one. Tommy gave me some advice regarding entering the radio industry and how I should be wary of the low salaries and freelance arrangements.

Tommy Greene

East Coast FM - Day 2

 It wasn't long after I came in at 11am that I was sitting in studio 2, alongside Rob G and Laura Wood. The duo present Freshly Squeezed, the station's breakfast show, which runs weekdays from 6-10am. Rob explained to me that he comes in at 6am, but Laura gets to have a lie in and arrives at 7 o'clock. As a result, they pre-record a number of their links for the 6 o'clock hour. I observed them recording their links and programming them into Myriad, the software that they use. After that, I got to chat to Rob about his career in radio; how he got into the industry, how he juggles the two shows he presents (breakfast on East Coast FM and weekends on FM104) and some other geeky questions that I had.

 Next, It was to Rob Diggins. He is the production director of the station. His role is to produce all of the advertisements that are broadcast on air and to create jingles/imaging. We observed Mark Robinson, the Programme Director at the station, record a promo about an outside broadcast which East Coast are holding in Arklow. Mark is new to the station, only taking up the role two months ago. Yet he brings a wealth of experience to the team. The Aussie has worked at stations all around the world and presents a weekly podcast about sports. After he recorded his voice-over, Rob edited it. It was our task to choose a piece of music to be played with the voice-over. After much deliberation, we chose a light-rock track called 'half of double'. The promo was then put together and is currently on air at the station.


 After lunch we returned to the gloomy reality of office life. It was my job to fold and envelope numerous invoices and statements of accounts for Sunshine 106.8, East Coast FM's sister station. A long and painstaking process, we finished with ten minutes to spare. Unfortunately, there was a catch. Sales manager Margaret told us that we had only done a fraction of the work that needed to be done!

Roll on tomorrow....

East Coast FM - Day 1

Just another Manic Monday!

 In the morning, I was greeted by Anne, the receptionist, who said that she had a mountain of paper work for me to do. Anne, true to her word, handed me three large A4 folders and a pile of invoices. Each invoice had a reference number, and my job was to order these reference numbers among the invoices in the folders. Forever trying to be organised and orderly, I dealt with small numbers of invoices at a time, ordering them and piling them up. After about two hours of painstaking work, the task was complete. I could finally breathe a sight of relief.

 After a short lunch, and game of coin toss (of which I am a master), it was time to get back to work. Our job was to erect the Christmas tree in reception. A logistical nightmare, we were confined in a small space, with a large tree. Half an hour later, the Christmas tree was up, but looking quite bare. We found a box of decorations and began to embellish the tree. It was not long before we realised that decorating Christmas trees is not my forte!! - Nonetheless, we got our picture put on East Coast FM's Facebook page to thank us for our hard work!

Onwards and upwards...

DCU Open Day

 At 9:30, we crossed the city to go to the bright and modern DCU campus.

We had read the list of the various lectures on at different times, and chosen the ones we wanted to see. First, it was to what is called the Henry Grattan building. I willingly went inside to the labyrinth of corridors, classrooms and lecture halls. After seeking help from a student, we promptly got to the Law and Politics talk. An interesting lecture, the head of department told us what to expect if doing the degree in DCU; the coursework, job opportunities and class sizes etc.

 Soon it was 11:30, and time for the talk on 'Global Business'. We heard about the great variety on the course, DCU's partner universities around the world. What interested me about this degree was that you spent two years in another country, achieving fluency in the local language, and spending 6 months completing a work placement. Then, it was back to Dublin for two years, where you would study and complete a two year work placement. An interesting degree that has many practical elements to it.

 After lunch in Spar, I split off from the group to pursue my interest in journalism. Unfortunately, I only caught 15 minutes of the lecture, but I learnt a lot. Including the impressive pupils who have passed through the course over the past 30 years. A sample of whom are shown below:

Ardal O'Hanlon

Laura Whitmore

Kevin O'Sullivan

RADMUN 2014

  For anyone who doesn't know, Model United Nations is a programme run all around the world for teenagers to get a feel of how the UN works; how resolutions are passed, how topics are debated and how delegates relate to each other. One of the largest competitions in Ireland is RADMUN- Rathdown Model United Nations.

 It was a first for all of our team, we had never done anything like it before. After a number of meetings with Thomas, Ferdy and Cameron (part of the St. Gerard's MUN 'Dream Team'), we we're set to go.... well, only sort of.

 Suited and booted, we went to Rathdown on Friday evening after school. We got a welcome pack complete with lanyards, placards and information on writing resolutions. Soon after, we went to our committee rooms. I was part of the Disarmament and Security committee. Armed with my speech, and a Bic four-pen, I was ready for battle. Over the two hours following we debated, amended, questioned and defended each others' resolutions. If your resolution was passed through the committee, you would have a chance to discuss it in General Assembly, with all of the delegates.
As darkness set upon the leafy Dublin suburb, it was time to head home.

 Well rested, I headed across to the school at 9am on Saturday. We spent tireless hours debating, voting and amending. Unfortunately, my resolution was not debated. Nonetheless, I still got hours of enjoyment out of critiquing the other delegates presentations. After lunch, we joined together in GA, where we could collaborate, debate (again) and question.

 In spite of the serious and formulaic nature of the tournament, it was a great experience. We made new friends, built up our confidence and learnt more about problems facing the world today.

 Well done to the fifth year team, who won Distinguished Delegation for their contribution, and to Shane Keneally for getting Distinguished Delegate!

Public Access to Law

 On Tuesday, I attended the 'Public Access to Law' course.

 In the morning, the group discussed different aspects of being a lawyer, and different cases in criminal law. After this, we watched a documentary on solving crimes. We then reviewed the two cases, which were both murders.

 Next, we held our first mock trial. The case was about an assault in a bar, in which a man was knocked un-concious by a woman with a pool cue. Barristers were chosen, as were witnesses, the victim and the accused. The rest of us acted as a jury. After the prosecution and the defence had made their case and interrogated the witnesses, we came to our decision. The verdict was that the defendant was not guilty, and had lashed-out at the attacker in self-defence.

After lunch, we began our second trial. The case featured a man who had been accosted by airline staff on a flight. Unfortunately, the prosecution (for which I was barrister), lost the case.

Altogether it was an enjoyable day, where I got to learn more about the legal system in Ireland.

Web Summit

I was delighted to hear that the school had 50 tickets for the Dublin Web Summit 2014, prized as one of the worlds largest technology events.

I arrived back at school at 6pm on Tuesday, eager to see the wide range of guests at the conference. Following a 45 minute bus journey, we had reached the RDS. The event was held in a gigantic hall, with seating for around 1000 people. There was a large stage at the front of the auditorium, in front of two large screens. After a 10 minute wait, it was time to see the first guests.

 The audience was introduced to CoderDojo, an organisation that runs courses around the world teaching children how to create apps and websites. This Irish-born movement is currently spreading across the globe, and now has over 27,000 members internationally. It was something that I had heard about before, but unfortunately never had the chance to do. Onto the stage came the CEO of the organisation along with three kids who had attended the courses. One of whom, was only nine years old and had already created her own series of websites!

In my opinion, the last guests were by far the most impressive speakers on the night. We had a woman from Google and the founder of Indiegogo, the online fundraising site. Full of charisma and passion for their work, they told us about the future of technology.

The lady from Google (who's name escapes me), told us about the internet of things. This is a concept in which many of our devices are connected and in communication with each other. For example, the heating can be turned on by your mobile, and you can boil the kettle with an app! This is the future - and by that I mean the near future. In two or three years, we could be experiencing connected homes.






Danae Ringelmann is an American entrepreneur, and the founder of Indiegogo, the online fundraising site helping millions to raise cash for their causes. She discussed some of the success stories on the site, how groups of teenagers had raised over $100,000 to build a new library, American school kids had raised thousands to help the families of those affected by a recent school shooting.

Danae's ideas were about being a social entrepreneur. She talked about providing services to the world, creating solutions to the many problems we face today. It was this message that struck a cord with me. Business is as much about ethics and ethos as it is about profit.





 I thoroughly enjoyed the event. It got me thinking about how people my age were using technology to shape the world.

Dublin Zoo

 Bright and early, we ventured forth across the Liffey to the Phoenix Park. After about an hour, we reached Dublin Zoo.

 Until mid-day, we could do what we wanted. So, without further ado, we headed straight for the penguins. From there we ventured around the African plains where we saw hippos, giraffes, orang-outangs and gorillas. Next, it was straight to the reptile house - which provided warmth, and shelter from the rain. The small but deadly inhabitants were camouflaged by their green surroundings. But admiring these discrete creatures was for me, probably the highlight of the trip .

 At twelve sharp, we arrived at the 'Education Centre'. Huddling under a tree, escaping the cold rain, we were introduced to our tour guide. In spite of the horrible weather, we continued to the 'South American House' where we saw monkeys, sloths and tortoises. Our tour guide explained the significance of each animal. After the rain had gone, we headed to the Elephant House. There, we were told about the daily habits of each animal - how they ate for 18 hours a day, and how many elephants preferred sleeping outside to inside. Our tour guide then told us about the steps we could take to encourage animal conservation.

 It was back to the 'Meerkat Cafe' for lunch, while we watched the playful creatures mess and fight. After taking numerous pictures, we went across to the lions, tigers and wild cats. There, we got up-close and personal with these vicious animals. Members of our group even managed to disturb the tiger so much so that it growled at them in disgust! - But there wasn't time to apologise, as we hopped on to the buses to go back.





In most households, going to the zoo is an annual occurrence. But I wasn't brought-up that way. In fact, I had only visited Dublin Zoo about three times in my life before today! - But I think this was what made the zoo so enjoyable for me. As the Irish proverb goes; "what's seldom is brilliant".

Eagle's Flight Workshop

 On Friday, I attended the Eagle's flight workshop. This was a 3 hour session in which we improved our teamwork skills.

 We played a game called 'Gold of the Desert Kings'. The objective was to cross a desert, get as much gold as possible from the other side, and get back home within 25 days. Sounds easy?! - Not at all. We had limited resources (ie. food, water, shelter). These were necessary to stay alive during the trip. But you could only access these resources in certain parts of the desert. The game took about 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete. Luckily, we managed to survive our desert-crossing, but we came in third place overall.

 After playing the game, we reviewed our every move. Soon enough, we realised that we had jumped to many conclusions, assumed different things and had not fully understood the objective of the game. So, all together, it was a huge learning curve. We were able to apply sections of the game to real-life situations. This made it a very tangible exercise.

 Big thanks to Ger who did an excellent job of explaining the game to us, and moderating the workshop!

I would highly recommend the workshop to other students and to workplaces.

Here's a short promo video about 'Gold of the Desert Kings' (albeit slightly hyperbolic - it is only a board game):

Kairos

 So, off we went to Maynooth bright & early! We had a rough idea of what we were trying to achieve - a sort of Sky Sports-esque program. Roisin who was our teacher for the day, gave us some helpful advice which gave us a clear idea for the program. Eventually it was decided that we would do a magazine program with numerous guests and up-to-date sports commentary.






  Roles were given out, and I was tasked with being the producer. My main role was to assist in pre-production and help the actors/presenters decide on their segments. I assisted them in scripting and produced a running order. We had various contributors to the show including a very convincing Roy Keane (Tony Cullen), an obnoxious horse-rider (Kirsti Connole) and a dopey celebrity (Harry Cameron). We did two rehearsals before recording the program. During these I stood in the gallery area, taking notes about how to improve the presenting and giving Joshua Cameron (our director) cues. After each rehearsal I would brief the actors on what they needed to work on and improve.

 At 2:15pm we went on-air. The final take was recorded in about a quarter of an hour. It was excellent. Everyone from the cameramen to the news readers, from the sound engineers to the director, did an outstanding job. Well done everybody!

I thoroughly enjoyed the day and would like to thank our Head of Year for organising the activity. Also, thanks to Ms. Roy and Jason who patiently sat through hours of takes, edits and adjustments!

Where in the World?

This is what we're working on in Geography. It's a project about the holidays of TY students. Bear in mind that it is a work in progress!

Student Council

I've got some great news! I've been elected secretary of the Student Council; basically that involves me typing up the minutes, printing them out and presenting them to Mr. Geraghty (quite a daunting task). A wise man once said 'a committee takes minutes and wastes hours' - I hope that isn't the case with us!

Tefl Teaching

 You are probably as confused about the title as I was when I first heard about it. TEFL is an acronym for 'Teaching English as a Foreign Language'. David Hopper of Grasshopper Learning Centre told us about the degree and its benefits. He was able to travel the world while making money as a TEFL teacher. And it is this lucrative business that has kept him busy for the past fifteen years!

 He said he is considering running courses for young people, introducing them to TEFL teaching, from his language college in Portmarnock. It is a pathway that I am currently considering, as I too would love to travel in my twenties.

Donal Walsh

On Thursday we had a talk from Elma Walsh, mother of Donal Walsh. You might recognise his name after his appearance on 'The Saturday Night Show' with Brendan O'Connor in 2013. He was on a mission to encourage teenagers to get the most out of their lives. He told Irish teens how much they had to live for. Donal, who was terminally ill at the time, advised those who were contemplating suicide to talk to someone. A sport fanatic, Donal had a lot to live for. He enjoyed playing football and rugby. Determined to not back down to cancer, his positive attitude and strong faith helped him to prosper in his final months. Nearly 18 months after his death, Donal's inspirational message still lives on. A charity in his name was founded by his parents since his passing. Over the past year, they have raised over €120,000 for cancer research and suicide prevention charities.

His story really struck a chord with me. I was touched by his hard work and perseverance. He was always positive, always cheerful. I feel that there is a lot I can learn from Donal's message. He must have got his positive attitude from his mother, who was able to deliver an emotional, yet joyful speech about her son's life. She has stayed strong through these tough times and worked hard to promote Donal's uplifting message

The student council are already discussing about ways in which we can fundraise for his charity.

Student Council 2014-2015

Congratulations to Tadhg Morrisroe and Eva Moroney who will be joining me on this year's student council!

Contract Law

Over the past two weeks in business, we have been looking at contract law. We studied two main cases:

Smith Vs. Hughes:

Smith was an English racehorse trainer. He ordered oats from Hughes after seeing a sample of them. But when the oats arrived, they were not what Smith was expecting. Smith had required old oats, the only oats that his horses would eat, yet he was delivered green oats. However, the sample that had been shown to Smith was of green oats, which he did not want. Nevertheless, Smith sued Hughes for breaching their contract.

The matter was brought before the courts. It was said that Smith should have been more sensible, as he had been presented with a sample of green oats. As a result, Hughes was found not to be in breach of contract. This goes down in history as being one of the first contract law cases. The simple principles surrounding this case inspired a new business idea; Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware). This rule is still in use today

The Carbolic Smokeball Co.:

Student Council

I was elected onto the student council last year. Mark Cullen and Brid O'Donnell were the other councillors elected with myself. The tradition in the school is that one council member stays on while the other two have to vacate their seats (but have the option of going for re-election). None of us were too enthusiastic about stepping-down. So Brid, Mark and I decided to hold a rock-paper-scissors tournament to decide who would be staying on. This skillful spectacle took place amidst a busy hallway and an intrigued crowd of on-lookers (okay, I'm joking about the latter). Ten tedious minutes later, I had beaten Mark and secured my place on the council for the second year running. I wish Mark and Brid every success in the election tomorrow - but you might want to brush up on those rock-paper-scissors skills !

Music

Just to keep you entertained while you're reading the blog, I've put my Spotify playlist over to the right. Just accept my eclectic taste in music that ranges from Calvin Harris to Genesis, and from David Gray to Jamiroquai. Quite random indeed!

Be warned, as there may be some swearing in certain songs!

Enjoy! :-)

ECDL

The ECDL is the European Computer Driving License, an extra-curricular course run by the school. Each Monday at 4pm, I spend a little over an hour learning practical skills/information including the parts of the computer, how to use software packages and how to create websites. In my opinion, this is one of the most worthwhile courses to do in TY. Not only do you learn many new skills in the IT sector, it is recognised by employers as a qualification. I know I will get great enjoyment throughout the year from ECDL! 

PS. Big thanks to Mr. Craig for taking the class after-school!

IT Team

I'm a part of the IT Team. We're in charge of running the TY website. This site showcases what is happening this year and is home to the latest sport results, all of the student blogs and details of the Gaisce award.

If you have any queries regarding the website or any of the blogs, don't hesitate to contact me or indeed any other member of the IT Team. All feedback is welcome!

:-)

PS. I also design the weekly newsletter, which is e-mailed to parents. If you think I've left out something or spot a spelling mistake (I'm only human too), please get in touch!

Music Festival

In my eyes, Paul Heaton is a musical genius. One-third of 90s hit machine 'The Beautiful South', he has written and featured in hits including 'Good as Gold', 'A Little Time' and 'Perfect 10'. I went to see the Yorkshire-bred singer perform at the Groove Festival in Bray during the summer and it was at that gig that I got to see his true talent. Heaton is a songwriter with evident passion about his songs.

Fresh from appearing as lead singer of 'The Housemartins', Paul Heaton founded 'The Beautiful South' with David Hemingway. It was in 1987 that they released 'Song for Whoever', their debut single. It went straight to the top of the charts at the time and is now one of their best known works.

I'm sure you've already realised that I'm a massive fan, so that's why I've chosen to enter it into the Music Festival this October. Evin Kierans will accompany me. 

I hope your looking forward to the show as much as I am. Until then, I'll leave you with a little taster of the song:

The History of Rock & Roll

This year in music we are studying the history of rock & roll. Here's what we looked at on the first day:

  By the 1950s, ballroom dancing was a thing of the past as people flocked to hear the catchy sound of rock and roll. Bill Haley and The Comets brought this cutting-edge genre to the masses with their 1954 hit 'Rock around the clock', creating a rock revolution which brought us The Beatles, The Beach Boys and Elvis Presley among others. America was still segregated in the 1950s and the charts were dominated by white musicians. 

  But it wasn't long before black people had their very own rock superstar. Chuck Berry was hoping to be a photographer, and decided to start a band in order to raise enough money to buy a camera. But his single 'Maybellene' sent him to stardom. The Missouri guitarist, known for his 'duck walk', wrote numerous songs including 'Johnny B Goode' and  'Rock and Roll Music', as well as featuring in a film. His quirky style and effervescent personality meant that his fans adored him.

 A true musical legend, Berry still performs today.

Entrepreneur Factfile: Renee McGinn

On the 9th of September I met Renee McGinn, director of Tir Na N'og Creche in Naas. I held an interview with her about what it was like being a businessperson. I will present this interview with a powerpoint to my business class in due course. I thoroughly enjoyed undertaking the interview, as I got to learn more about the minds and intentions of entrepreneurs.

Thank you to Renee for doing the interview, The contents of which can be read below:

What is your education?

Primary school, secondary school and then I went straight into the civil service where I worked as a junior officer. I did a short commercial course at the time and I worked at the civil service for 18 years. I had a five year career break when my kids were young. I went back to college and studied childcare before setting-up the crèche.

Did college benefit you?

I couldn't have done it without going to college, I did work experience (40-60 hrs). In fact, it probably wouldn't have been legal for me to open a crèche without the proper qualifications.

Where did you get the idea for the crèche?

Having had five children myself, I always knew in Naas there wasn't a comprehensive service. There were pre-schools and after-schools but no comprehensive service. I saw a gap in the market. My husband was building that facility and was going to rent it out to someone else. I was asked to assist the architect in designing the crèche as she had no children. I thought that you'd nearly need a course to design a crèche, and I knew that there was a lot at stake. I was just interested so we delayed the process, I took a basic course and then one step followed another and I thought I could do it.

Were there any major challenges opening the crèche?

Yeah it was a huge challenge as I had never been in business before, nor an employer. I thought the people I would be employing would be much more knowledgeable than me. As I had five children, I knew I would need to have a manager. Thankfully I found a business partner easily.

Do you have the same partner today?

Yes, she's qualified as a nurse and she has a small amount of training in childcare. I feel a huge relief having someone like her to back me up.

Did you feel that you were taking a risk when starting the business?

Yes, I was very worried. I was having nightmares and panic attacks. I went ahead and it was how to get it from a to b and getting the business from the concept to opening the doors. So I got a consultant to help me with that. She was somebody I met through doing my night courses. She helped me decided how we'd market it, do a business plan and have a launch day. We had a launch night and we got 40 deposits in. The crèche wasn't even built at the time of the launch

When did it open?

The launch night was in April 1999. We opened on the first of September. At that stage we opened with 40 children and 10 staff. It looked really positive to have 40 deposits in before opening.

How has it expanded?

It has expanded in both size and the range of services offered twice. We run an after-school with 50 children. That started off with five or ten children. Now this summer our summer camp was very busy with around forty to fifty children per day. That was a huge success.

What are the future goals?

I am currently developing an exit plan out of the business in the next three years as I am heading towards sixty. It has come to where I wanted it to at this stage.

What would you like to see happening to the crèche after leaving the business?

I'd like to see it keeping up the standard at which it's got to. I'd like to see it go for goals and targets like we have been doing. We've won a couple of awards. We're currently doing a q mark for quality assurance. I'd like to see them maintain that standard and go for more awards.

The advantage to us is that we are very large and most similar crèches would be in a chain but people like the fact that it is a local business.

Was there ever a time when the business was in jeopardy in the recession?

There was a time where it certainly wasn't making money. Actually there were two years where it was losing money, albeit very marginally. We had to look at absolutely every aspect of the business, the suppliers, the salaries. We put a lid on salaries and made sure that there were no increases. Thankfully now we are on the up again.

Do you find you have to market it a lot?

We have a very good website. Though most of our promotion comes from word-of mouth. We're virtually full in all the rooms and we've never had to advertise. It is well known locally. Mind yo, I was in the bank the other day and there was a teddy bear and the woman asked me if i would like a photo with it. We took the photo and the woman told me that it was going in the paper, so I asked her if she would put down 'Renee Mc Ginn, Tir Na N'og crèche' below it. So I don't miss a trick.

How do you keep a positive atmosphere?

I've 32 staff now on the books. Being positive, encouraging them. Doing a lot of the in-house training. So , if they're not being promoted each time that they feel that they're moving on in their careers. They get top-up qualifications in terms of childcare. Also empowering them, making sure that they hear all the excellent feedback from parents. We have regular staff meetings where we listen to them. A lot of the staff would report that it is the happiest place they have ever worked.

Are you in a business network?

It supports you as a business owner. We do business with each other. You exchange solutions to problems. I get a chance to showcase at particular events. Mostly the network for me would be asking people from other professions to give me some informal advice. But some would say it gives them a platform to promote their business. I pick up tips here and there. Most recently I found out that putting keywords on your website helps to put you on the top of the Google rankings. You get to pool your knowledge and resources.

Do you like helping other entrepreneurs? Did they help you along the way?

Yes, I thoroughly enjoy helping others by sharing tips and giving advice. I had a staff member who's leaving to start a craft business. I came across an enterprise board dealing with start-ups like hers, so i posted out an information pack to her. There is a definite sense of helping the next lot as they find their feet in business. I had little or no experience of this industry before I opened the crèche, so I was able to get help from established business people.

If you were Taoiseach, what would you do to change the childcare industry?

I would put the government in charge of childcare. In childcare, there is very low profit margins. There is a fine line between providing a duty of care and making a profit. I would be very focused on the standards of the care that the children receive, and my partner, for example, would be more interested in the money element. This makes it a very hard industry to be in. If the government ran crèches, there would be little or no issue with cost. Therefore, in theory, every child would be able to avail of the highest quality care possible. Also, recently we had a child who had severe autism. In order to care for him, we had to employ an extra staff member which cost €26,000 per year. It's very hard to run a business if you are faced with burdens like that.

There was an episode of Primetime recently exposing crèches where children were being neglected and abused, did this scandal and do other similar scandals regarding childcare affect your business?

I remember that Primetime program well. The weekend following its broadcast, I had all the staff in working hard to ensure that the crèche maintained its high standards. Low and behold, we had a random HSE inspection the following Monday. We achieved remarkable results. They are a credit to the hard-working staff.

Were there any times you had to make tough decisions?

Staff have to be checked meticulously in childcare . They have to go through Garda vetting and plenty of training. I've found it very hard having to dismiss unsuitable staff. There was one staff member with personal problems which were affecting the children. Having to let her go, in a legal manner, proved to be quite difficult. But she was a huge burden on the crèche.

Having to advise a parent if the setting is unsuitable for their child. Letting parents know that their child may need assessments  can be tricky.

What skills and characteristics make a successful entrepreneur?

Being able to take a risk, being confident, staying determined. Being able to hold onto the vision while coasting through tough times. And constantly ploughing back more interest in your business. Trying out new things and always innovating.

Would you encourage an entrepreneur to start his/her own business?

Only if there is a market for the business. There's no point starting something for the sake of it, just to get the chance to be your own boss, for example. Conduct market research before it, and if there's every chance that this business will take off, go for it. But if there's little chance of the business succeeding, it's not worthwhile taking the risk.