Women in business from the world of fashion, food, healthcare and fish farming climbed the Rock of Cashel in Tipperary today (September 1st) to encourage other women to ‘scale the heights’ of setting up a business. The four female entrepreneurs (Yvonne Crotty from Bonzie Designs in Waterford, Sarah Furno from Cashel Blue Cheese in Tipperary, Michelle O’ Rourke from Oak Tree Homecare in Carlow and Mag Kirwan from Goatsbridge Trout Farm in Kilkenny) are all involved in a major conference and awards scheme in the South East later this month, aimed at women who have already set up, or who are thinking of setting up their own business. The local County and City Enterprise Boards from Tipperary, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford,  Waterford City and Waterford County  have come together to organise the South East Women in Business Conference, which takes place in Ballykisteen House in Tipperary on September 28th and 29th.  The Minister for Small Business at the Department of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation, John Perry T.D, will deliver the opening address to the two hundred guests expected.

Download pdf Conference Programme and Booking Form click here

Now in its fifth year, guest speakers include the only female dragon on RTE’s Dragons’ Den series, Norah Casey from Harmonia Publishing and financial journalist, Jill Kerby. The Master of Ceremonies for the conference on September 29th is the CEO of local radio station, Ethel Power of Tipp FM.

The conference draws to a close with three case studies from successful female entrepreneurs in the South East: Yvonne Crotty from vintage couture company, Bonzie Designs; Sarah Furno from Cashel Blue Cheese Company and Michelle O’ Rourke from home assistance company, Oak Tree Homecare,

On the eve of the conference, the South East Women in Business Awards and Dinner takes place on September 28th, following guest motivational speaker, Terry Harmer. The overall winner of the ‘Female Entrepreneur of the Year’ title last year was Mag Kirwan from Goatsbridge Trout Farm.

According to Ita Horan of the County and City Enterprise Boards, supporting women in small businesses is critical to job creation: “small businesses make-up the overwhelming majority of all businesses in Ireland and we need to encourage more women to set up their own enterprise and to create jobs for themselves and others. We can do this through showcasing the stories of successful female entrepreneurs, highlighting the achievements of women-led businesses and by enabling women in business to share advice and ideas with each other.”

Bookings for the conference and awards event can be made on-line by visiting: www.kceb.ie, by e-mailing Fiona Deegan at: fiona@kceb.ie or by telephoning: (056) 77 52 662. The conference fee is heavily subsidised by the County and City Enterprise Boards and costs €35 per delegate, which includes refreshments, lunch, dinner and conference packs.

Conference Programme

Wednesday 28th September 2011

	7.00pm	Dinner
	8.00pm	Keep a Positive attitude with Terry Harmer, NLC, Kilkenny.
	9.00pm	South East Women in Business Awards presented by Kieran Comerford, Carlow CEB. The Enterprise Boards in the South East provide direct financial assistance to new and existing enterprises and promote entrepreneurship and management development at a local level to micro enterprises. Celebrating Female Excellence in Business Awards was established to acknowledge the role of women in the development of Enterprise in the South East.
	10.00pm	Entertainment by Paupers Glory

Thursday 29th September 2011

	9.15am	Registration
	9.30am	Welcome address: Minister John Perry, Departmentof Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation,
	9.50am	Ethel Power, CEO Tipp FM Radio. (M.C.) Former Head of Communications at Ryanair and former Commercial Director of Dublin Zoo, Ethel has worked in many senior roles in Europe and the USA. Ethel has been CEO of Tipp Fm Radio for 7 years, joining at a time when the radio station was faced with many challenges. Tipp Fm is now in the top three radio stations in Ireland and boasts one of the highest market shares of any radio station. Ethel has over 20 years experience working in senior roles in Marketing, Business Development and Communications.
	10.00am	Patrick McCormack, M.D. Sam McCauley Chemists Small Business is Our Future Patrick McCormack, qualified as a pharmacist in 1988 from Trinity College. He worked as a pharmacist from 1991 with the Sam McCauley Chemist Group before becoming a shareholder in 1996. Since then, he has progressed to Joint CEO in 2003 and was appointed Managing Director in 2007. Sam McCauley Chemists is the largest 100% Irish owned pharmacy chain, has an annual turnover of over 80m Euro and currently has in excess of 550 employees in 25 locations throughout the country .
	10.50am	Tea/Coffee, Networking and Stand viewing
	11.20am	Jill Kerby, Financial Journalist Finance Your Future A native of Montreal, Canada and living in Ireland for 30 years, Jill Kerby is one of Ireland?s pioneering personal financial journalists and has established a reputation for being fiercely on the side of the consumer. Her weekly syndicated column, Money Times has appeared in regional newspapers since 2000. She is also co-author of the long-standing and best-selling annual TAB Guide to Money, Pensions & Tax, is the founding editor of Irish Pensions magazine.
	12.00pm	Claire Walsh, On Line Sales Manager, Google Your future on line Claire Walsh is Online Sales Manager for Google in the UK and Ireland, supporting businesses to grow their online business and generate revenues through successful online ad campaigns. Starting her career in O2 Ireland, Claire worked as a mobile telecoms engineer, Line Manager for the Core Networks and Customer Experience Manager before moving to Google. In this session, Claire will share insights on digital evolution, Google's Big Bets and opportunities for business in Ireland. Your Future ine
	12.40pm	Lunch, Stand viewing and networking
	2.00pm	Norah Casey, Dragon’s Den & Harmonia Publishing Your Country Needs You Norah Casey is CEO (and owner) of Harmonia, Ireland’s largest magazine company, printing over four million magazines for the Irish, British and US market. She is a member of the Londonbased Women’s Irish Network and The International Women’s Forum. She was awarded The Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Award 2007/8 and has won the Publisher of the Year Award in 2006, 2007 & 2008. Most recently Norah has become the newest Dragon in RTE’s Dragon’s Den. Norah will announce the Female Entrepreneur of the year
	3.00pm	Case Studies Sarah Furno Cashel Blue Cheese, Co. Tipperary www.cashelblue.com Yvonne Crotty Bonzie Design, Waterford www.bonziedesign.com Michelle O’Rourke Oak Tree Homecare, Carlow, www.oaktreehomecare.ie
	4.00pm	Close

Bookings for the conference and awards event can be made on-line by visiting: www.kceb.ie, by e-mailing Fiona Deegan at: fiona@kceb.ie or by telephoning: (056) 77 52 662. The conference fee is heavily subsidised by the County and City Enterprise Boards and costs €35 per delegate, which includes refreshments, lunch, dinner and conference packs.