BIDDING TO IRISHIFY THE WORLD!
Local firm defying the pandemic!
In what has been the year of furlough, lay-offs and the devastating closure of many businesses, one Dundalk firm found its niche amid the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘Business has been really good actually. Our mission is very much to reunite the diaspora with Ireland during a year when the distance from home has never felt greater,’ said Paddy Casey, who heads up the team at Irishify, co-founded by Conor Durnin and Feargal Byrne.
‘ We’ve been doing that two fold really, one is the hampers, offering comfort, classic Irish food, packed with all sorts of goodies. They have been very popular, and shipped to pretty much every corner of the world.’
Popular Irish sauces, crisps and treats are among the most sought after produce for the ex-pats craving a little taste of home.
‘ We’ve had Abrekebabra sauces, Sing-li sauces with a local twist, all sorts of things that you wouldn’t believe people actually really miss when they are living abroad.’
Helping local people to reconnect with home has been the driving force of the business, said Paddy.
‘ The idea came to me during the first lockdown. I was out walking my dog, and began to think of ways for loved ones to reach out to one another at a time when people were very much apart.’
‘It was a tough time for everyone. People couldn’t come home to visit family they missed. At home, all the things we love to do, like going to watch Dundalk play at Oriel Park were no longer open to us.’
Two ways to connect, through the hampers, and messages from well known Irish faces, better known as ‘shoutouts’, emerged as the core elements of the business.
‘It’s really pushing into the nostalgia aspect of things. What is it we miss about home when we are away, and what helps us to feel like home again.’
Paddy and the team decided to give the company a unique moniker - ‘Irishify.’
‘I suppose the name really came from this idea of Irishify-ing things. Like if you have friends living abroad who are feeling a bit homesick? Now you can Irishify their lives with a wee touch of home!’
Offering both ‘ the gift and the gab’ has proven a popular package, with renowned names such Pat McDonnell, comedian, and Joe Rooney, best known as ‘Fr. Damo’ from iconic tv show Fr. Ted, among the names who can give a shout out to friends and family.
‘ We also have sporting figures such as Ken Doherty, snooker player, and former footballers John Aldridge and Andy Townsend, and music stars like Cliona O’Hagan and the Celtic Tenors. Locally, there are Dundalk FC favourites Patrick Hoban and Sean Gannon who have come on board for the shout outs.’
‘ We’ve even brought Bosco out of retirement!’ says Paddy, adding that the kids television icon has proven a popular choice.
He says that at a time when people aren’t able to meet up with loved ones in person, the sharing of a special video or message from a musician, celebrity or sporting hero is an ideal birthday greeting, or pick-me-up during tough times.
‘It’s a different way of reaching out, or celebrating, even if it’s not for a special occasion, just for a bit of craic and banter when we have so much negativity around us all at the moment.’
He adds that, for comedians and musicians in particular, it’s another way for them to connect with fans or a new audience during a time when they haven’t been able to tour or perform at gigs.
‘ The lads from Fr. Father Ted are really popular on the comedy circuit. But that hasn’t been happening this year, so this way people still get to interact with them, whether it’s through a birthday message or wedding wishes or whatever.’
Paddy says that the ‘surprise and delight element of both the shout outs and the hampers’ has helped people who are perhaps struggling with isolation, and being away from friends and family.
‘It’s all personalised too, and gives people a boost I think.’
The hampers have thrown up a few surprises, he quips, with some of the biggest orders for countries such as many you would expect, Australia, Canada, the USA, and... the Cayman Islands.
‘ We weren’t entirely sure how that happened at the beginning, but yes it seems there are quite a few Irish people living and working in the Cayman Islands, and the hampers are a big hit there!’
It later emerged that friends of Paddy’s, who live in Melbourne, Australia, had sent a hamper to cousins in the Cayman Islands.
‘ The girl who received it I think put it up on a Whatsapp or Facebook group for Irish people there, and literally over the last month we have sent about 25 hampers out there, which is quite peculiar, but really good!’
Orders have been coming in from all across the world, he admits, from Japan and Vietnam, New Zealand and throughout Europe.
The rate of Christmas orders has been ‘phenomenal’ says Paddy.
‘I know that people say Christmas is starting earlier every year, and maybe it’s just because of all that has happened this year, and Christmas trees are going up earlier,
but we are really in the seasonal rush now.’
The company are offering Christmas themed hampers, which Paddy describes as ‘ taking you right back to visiting your grandparents house when you were younger,’ combined with all the traditional Irish festive goodies that we know and love.
‘ You can’t get a lot of this stuff abroad, so I think people really appreciate it, even more than they would if they were living at home. Also, I have to say, it’s not that every single one of our hampers are Irish, because they aren’t. But they do have a way of resonating with Irish people, and that’s what we’ve has worked.’
He admits that 2020 may not have seemed like the best year for anyone to launch a new business venture. But, looking at where the opportunities lay helped shaped his vision for Irishify.
‘ There was no company in the world, that we found, which had both a physical and a digital offering. We wanted to combine these two and thankfully there has been a demand for both.’
‘ We’ve been really lucky in the sense that the global situation has allowed us to tap into what is a niche market. We have been able to put our stamp on things, and be innovative and creative with our ideas.’
He adds: ‘People have been really supportive of us too, and we’re very grateful for that. We all know that it’s fine to have these big ideas, but without support from consumers at a local, national and international level it would never be possible.’
They have been especially proud, he adds, to be able to create jobs, albeit just a few at this stage.
‘ We’re thrilled to have been able to grow the team, taking on a couple of people as the business has grown over the last few months. But we’ve got lots of plans for 2021, and we’re delighted that it’s all happening here in Dundalk, and always will as long as Irishify exists.’
‘It’s by hiring and enabling these really bright people who’ve come out of college locally that we drive the product forward, and hopefully hire more people in the near future as well.’
‘ We are looking to expand both in the product capabilities and what we offer to consumers, but also in terms of being able to grow the team locally.’