Tourism Ireland wins top social media award at Travolution Awards

Congratulations to Tourism Ireland who won  “Best Use of Social Media” at the Travolution Awards which took place in London on the 11^th of October.

Tourism Ireland  beat Virgin Atlantic, Cunard and Radisson Edwardian Hotels to  the top prize.

Their winning strategy was a Twitter-driven campaign dubbed “My Irish 140” which connected everyone with Irish blood, or who felt connected to Ireland, to Tweet about it.

This netted the tourism board a 3.4 million audience in Great Britain with another 33,000 participants, including some well-known celebs like M.C. Hammer.

Public Relations researcher, Carol Geraghty reports that since the beginning of 2010 Tourism Ireland has grown its Facebook fan base from 75 fans to more than a half million.

This makes Ireland, Geraghty reports, the third most popular tourist board in the world on Facebook, after Great Britain and perennial favorite, Australia.

To read more about it on Technorati click here

Why the Irish will always be in business

Just came across this great video from IBEC on why Ireland will always be in business.  It really drives home how important the investment made in education over the last 10- 15 years has been and how important it will be in our recovery. 

Check out the video below

Andor Technology creates 166 new jobs for Belfast

Andor Technology intends to create 166 highly skilled jobs as part of an £18 million investment in an ambitious five-year growth strategy to target new markets and acquisitions.

The company which was originally founded in Belfast as a spin out from Queens University, employs more than 321 people in 16 offices worldwide develops and manufactures high-performance scientific digital cameras and has a 10,000-strong customer base in 55 countries. Andor also has ambitious plans to more than double its turnover as part of the strategy.

Andor has been offered financial assistance totalling £1.5 million towards the cost of the investment project from Invest Northern Ireland and a further £18,200 from the North’s Department for Employment and Learning

€10million International Start-Up Fund to draw overseas entrepreneurs to Ireland

Enterprise Ireland has a 10 million euro international start up fund available to company promoters anywhere in the world, but will be targeted particularly at the Irish diaspora, international expatriates as well as serial and mobile entrepreneurs.

It will primarily target areas such as North America, UK, Europe and Australia and will focus mainly on sectors such as Internet, Games, Cloud Computing, Medtech and Financial Services. The fund will target investor-ready projects seeking between €200,000 and €500,000 and funding will be in equity taken by the state in the ventures.

As part of the marketing campaign for the fund overseas Enterprise Ireland will be appointing a number of high profile successful Irish entrepreneurs to act as Ambassadors. Dylan Collins, an experienced Internet entrepreneur and founder of Jolt Online Gaming was first to accept the role of fund Ambassador

To find out more about the International Start Up Fund visit: Start in Ireland

Enterprise Ireland new fund to encourage innovation among 3rd level students

Enterprise Ireland is hoping to drive entrepreneurial students to create innovative business proposals and get them thinking about how starting their own business is a viable career option once they graduate.

It has just launched its 30th student enterprise competition with a €30,000 prize fund and €30,000 consultancy a part of its 'Think Outside the Box Awards' competition. The competition is open to all full-time, third-level students on the island of Ireland.

Features of the competition include a website, Facebook page and podcasts, to allow students to engage and share ideas easily. The closing date for the competition, Wednesday, 25 April 2012 and more details can be found on the Enterprise Ireland website

Seamus Heaney recieves lifetime achievement award

The Bord Gais Irish Book Awards took place in the RDS in Dublin on the 17^th of November, where Seamus Heaney received The Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his contribution to Irish literature over the past six decades.

The Londonderry-born poet received the honour from Irish president and fellow poet, Michael D Higgins also known for his poetry.  Former US President Bill Clinton paid tribute to Mr Heaney in a pre-recorded video message.

Other winners on the night included Neil Jordan, Rachel Allen and Sheila O'Flanagan.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Hughes & Hughes Irish Novel of the Year: Mistaken by Neil Jordan

RTE Radio One's The John Murray Show Listeners' Choice Award: How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran

Ireland AM Irish Crime Fiction Book of the Year: Bloodland by Alan Glynn

Argosy Irish Non-fiction book of the Year:
Easy Meals by Rachel Allen

Easons Irish Popular Fiction Book of the Year:All for You by Sheila O'Flanagan

Irish Sports Book of the Year:Inside the Peloton by Nicolas Roche

Sunday Independent Best Irish Newcomer of the Year:

Solace by Belinda McKeon

International Education Services Best Irish Published Book of the Year:Connemara by Tim Robinson

Specsavers Irish Childrens Book of the Year:The Lonely Beast by Chris Judge (Junior)
The Real Rebecca by Anna Carey (Senior)

Irish Researchers win contracts with European Space Agency

According to thejournal.ie, two Irish researchers Dr Dónal O’Gorman of DCU and Dr Brian Caulfield of UCD have received funding from the European Space Agency to help astronauts deal with accelerated aging and lack of exercise in space.

Minister for Research and Innovation, Seán Sherlock, congratulated the researchers and said it was “further evidence of the leading role Ireland plays in pushing the boundaries of biomedical research for the European Human Spaceflight programme”.

To read the full article click here

Craft Council of Ireland Jewellery Exhibition Dublin Airport

With Christmas fast approaching and as part of the 2011 Year of the Craft campaign, The Craft Council of Ireland has launched a unique Irish jewellery exhibition at Terminal 2 Dublin Airport. The exhibition will showcase the best of Irish jewellery design to the hundreds of thousands of travellers passing through the airport over the holiday period.

The exhibition, featuring 16 of Ireland’s top jewellery designers reflects the breath of contemporary Irish design. Interestingly the designers will hold jewellery making demonstrations giving passengers the opportunity to see first-hand the beautiful craftsmanship of each individually designed piece.

A selection of work from the exhibition will also travel to Munich in Germany in February for a major international trade fair, Inhorghenta.

Among the jewellery designers featured at the exhibition will be Alan Ardiff, Angela O’Kelly, Rachel Swan, Inga Reed, Geraldine Murphy and Filip Vanas. The beautiful pieces, all “Imagined, Designed and Made in Ireland”, are available to purchase at the House of Ireland shop in Terminal 2 and can be seen on http://www.giveirishcraft.com or throughout Ireland where you see the "Imagined, Designed, Made in Ireland" brand.

A video showcasing the "Imagined, Designed, Made in Ireland" brand can be seen below.

Bord Bia Food and Drink Awards 2011

The Bord Bia Food and Drink Industry Awards take place on the 22^nd of November and is designed to reward excellence in the Irish food and drinks industry. This year 184 companies applied in six categories and these have been shortlisted to the finalists below.  Click on the links below to see a short video more each of the finalists. 

The best of luck to all. 

The full list of short-listed categories are:

Exporting Award:

Kepak
Kepak Bord Bia Awards Video

Irish Distillers
Irish Distillers Bord Bia Awards Video

Irish Dairy Board
Irish Diary Board Bord Bia Awards Video

Branding Award:

Ina’s Kitchen Desserts
Ina's Kitchen Desserts Bord Bia Awards Video

Glenisk
Glenisk Bord Bia Awards Video

Entrepreneurial Award:

Largo Foods
Largo Foods Bord Bia Awards Video

Zanna Cookhouse
Zanna Cookhouse Bord Bia Awards Video

Green Saffron
Green Saffron Bord Bia Awards Video

ABC Nutrition
ABC Nutrition Bord Bia Awards Video

Domestic Success:

Keelings
Keelings Bord Bia Awards Video

Mc Cormack Farms
McCormack Farms Bord Bia Awards Video

Flahavan’s
Flahavan's Bord Bia Awards Video

Sustainability Award:

Country Crest
Country Crest Bord Bia Awards Video

Silverhill Foods
No Video Available

Glenisk
Glenisk Bord Bia Awards Video

Innovation Award:

Dragon Nutrition
Dragon Nutrition Bord Bia Awards Video

Kooky Dough
Kooky Dough Bord Bia Awards Video 

Natasha’s Living Food
Natasha's Living Food Bord Bia Awards Video