Business summit was another huge success

The CLUB Carlow Business Summit focused on Breaking the Ceiling, bringing together leading business and sporting figures and raising nearly €180,000 for Carlow GAA’s Centre of Excellence in Fenagh.

Club Carlow chairman David Walsh, who was the driving force behind the event, said he was keen to give back to Carlow’s business community for all their support for the club and the GAA in the county. The summit raised €177,750 between ticket sales, an auction and a raffle. With phase one already completed, the Centre of Excellence is expected to be finished within the next 12 months.

The event at the Woodford Dolmen Hotel, which was organised jointly by Club Carlow and Carlow County Council’s Economic Development Unit, had been completely sold out two weeks previously, with 420 attendees confirmed and a long waiting list at the ready.

There was a poignant moment as Coilín O’Reilly, chief executive of Carlow Co Council, acknowledged the death of Desmond Carr, who died at Netwatch Cullen Park in a workplace accident the previous day.

Sporting legends jockey Rachael Blackmore and rugby coach Joe Schmidt spoke on stage to Newstalk’s Ciara Doherty. Rachael recalled that her successes seemed as unlikely as “going to the moon and back”, adding that “not overthinking it” was her greatest asset.

Joe Schmidt, sporting a shiner he swore was from coaching accident involving a 15-year-old, spoke modestly about his rugby success. During his time as Ireland’s head coach, he had focused on building habits so ingrained that they became instinctive.

Business people Caroline Keeling of Keeling’s and Gene Murtagh of Kingspan also had a fireside chat about their success, with Gene telling attendees “we’ve done it, so you can all do it, too”.

A lively auction with prizes took place following a sumptuous lunch. The lot attracting the most attention was tickets to the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor, which sold for €8,500.

Wexford hurler Lee Chin, who helped raise lucrative bids during the auction, said he saw the benefits of the centre of excellence in his county and believed it would be a hugely positive development for Carlow GAA.

Now in its second year, the overwhelming success of the Club Carlow Business Summit has established the event as one of the region’s leading business gatherings, creating a unique platform where the worlds of business and sport come together to inspire ambition, challenge thinking and encourage growth.

Reinforcing this point, council CEO Coilín O’Reilly said: “It is a tremendous achievement to bring speakers of this stature to Carlow and provide local businesses with direct access to their experiences and insights. The leadership lessons shared throughout the summit will have a lasting impact on attendees.”