[Applause]
thank you
getting a good start in life well I have
a couple of stories to tell you today
and if four started off with a school I
went to in Drogheda and I was called to
Lehren to school and it was a very
industrialized school where we went in
and did woodwork technology metalwork
science arts and all the things that I
felt at home with and as soon as I
walked in the doors and seen the list of
subjects that I had and that I was able
to do i sat at home
I was quite fiddly as a child they
probably called 80 hates me there was no
name of when I was there I like to make
in things I felt at home when I was
making things and I had found my path I
had a lovely teacher called Martin
Murray and he taught me woodwork and I
went through his class open to third
year and I did we do in a skirt and I
got an A in the woodwork and I felt this
was my part and I felt at home in the
world work I went on in the fifth year
and after about a month I decided that
this wasn’t for me I felt like I wanted
to go out and work and I felt I was
earned enough to go and work because all
through my schooling years from maybe
six class I always worked in summer
holidays and sold strawberries on the
side of the road I always remember when
water gone up and she did him ladies
many Meriton years ago and she said oh
my god that’s my merit on the side of
the road I was seven strong I was it is
a terribly confident child I had it I
just had it a joy it was it was very
strange when I was younger I was always
daydreaming and I think what I was doing
was I was molding in while I was going
to do when I got when I was older so by
the time of the age of 15 I said no that
said I’m going to go out and work and
that’s exactly what I did I went and
knocked on a few doors and I got into
out buying foreigners
and ken Healey was there I need 24 staff
the time it was a Pauline factory and it
was very very popular pine furniture in
97 and he was fantastic because he said
to me one day said Margaret right then
where you want to be five years time and
I actually found a piece of paper there
a couple of weeks ago my husband who
caves me and I have a net like 16 plus 5
is 21 when in five years time I would
love to be one of the top people in my
trade I’d love to be very successful and
to be well known in my trade and all
sorrows knit I’d love to know all the
tricks to trade whatever that meant at
the time I want to know everything about
money trade so I used to go into can
every day and it’s it can can look will
you give me an apprenticeship I need say
Margaret if I give you one I’m going to
have to give 24 people on as well and I
said look I won’t tell them just give it
to me and he said look I’ll tell you
what I’ll do we’ll do a / CV and I was a
one-pager and I went off on my bicycle
while I was working for him and on the
weekends I called into several companies
and Rada
I found one company in purely wood in
Teheran second on the east coast of
Ireland and I remember cycling up to the
entrance and his father’s at the door
having a cigarette and there was a dog
dog beside him they said this place
looks great very family home and I was
right I went inside in his motorist and
I said look mrs. Boylan
I have my CV here and will you please
give this a jazzy and let him know it
and I’m after cycling seven kilometres
out here and I have no problems I can
out here every single day
so a week later my boss came into day
workshop I need a big smiling face I
said you’re not gonna believe what he
said Ken’s gonna take you on
he’s going to give you an apprenticeship
that was my start in life Ken had
introduced me to a man called Peter pork
that was from Foss and he had told me
about the apprenticeships he came down
with a big Ray folder so I was armed
with that because I believe I had the
apprenticeship all I needed was a
sponsor
and it was armed with 2800 parent at the
time which was a buzzer II to talk on
females if you talk on an apprentice in
your company I excelled in me trade with
with desi I got picked to do the worid
skills competition I didn’t get true to
it but I got nominated to enter it
I went on then to work in several
multinational companies around Ireland
and the navin and Dublin and the dog and
one of them in particular I would have
traveled the whole country to in sales
and cold call an entire so I found a lot
of sales and engaging my people and
always listened to his stories how
people had set up in business I had a
client list of 280 customers around the
whole of Ireland and I’d still be
friends with a lot of em today I went on
to work in a big multinational company
in Dublin and I was pregnant at the time
and I was only about 25 at the time and
I met my husband as well
I remember going in and I was expected
so I’m knew he was trying to get me to
go on more firm for a long time and I
said look I have somebody in me handbag
this time and he was looking at me like
what is she talking about
I said I’m actually expecting a baby and
he said that’s no problem I said I’d be
able to be here for six months I said
but I promise you I’ll work from home
and I’ll do whatever it takes I’ll be
back and he did you’re sad and he talked
me on and I saved the company enough lot
of money I generated business within the
company in the trade sector and he was
very very happy I was there for three
and a half years and I came back from
holidays one year it was in 2009 and
they realized the country sad sneeze and
we were falling into a recession and I
was going to lose my job and it wanted
to later I founded my husband he worked
for the city was a civil engineer and he
was going to lose his job as well in
that November so I got on the phone and
I rang my my sodon’t I was in tears I
was very upset like and I said I’m going
to lose my job what are we gonna do like
this was in February and he said to me
goes merrily said you’re the fourth
person in there every day and you’re the
last person I leave he said you’re going
to open your own company I remember
thinking God is he
madelung do you know so I started I
started packing up in the Karen is like
you know what you’re absolutely right
we’re going to do this so in 2009 in
March I went looking for a premises and
I found a 5,000 square for factory from
a guy that I knew they’re worth enjoying
and I asked him could I rent a part of
his space and he said Margaret he said
I’ll give you something even better I
have a 5,000 square-foot factory
available so we went over there he
opened the doors I was like walking into
Italian work because it was all joinery
stairs and all that there but I remember
feeling so excited and I said I’m God
Michael there’s too much space here
it’ll be too big and he said Margaret
I’m hanging in there he said he’ll never
have an office space so we opened up a
company CT or manufacturing which was
cabinets tops and ropes for the trade
nationwide we were kind of thinking then
we spent a bit of month our open thing
was 218 of me I’m kind of going how are
we going to let people know that we’re
here for the grace of God and by the
grace of look we were out in macphails
Andrew Harlin celebrating the two weeks
beforehand we’re after spending a bit
two months clearing at the whole place
and getting it all ready and my sisters
a whole mind and my two and a half year
old at the time I remember getting a
phone call from the joiner son and he
said you’re not gonna believe he said
your sister Amanda his husband picked
they wanted winning streaks show on rté
he said she’s gonna be a millionaire so
we couldn’t believe this I was so
delighted for my sister was out of work
from that December and she was common to
work for me in May so arty came down and
did a whole plugin of the factory the
paint was silhouette on the sign and our
little plated heads us in the factory it
was a forklift and a Bailey cream sheets
no orders we went on to Artie and she
did a whole spiel of what we are about
and Harrods we had were setting up when
we opened the doors on the 18th me the
phone
never stopped ringing we were inundated
with orders from the trade from family
from friends with about our older boys
were full
the next three months we went on and
developed a company I had eight staff at
the time we built it up to eight staff
and in 2010 11 and 12 it wasn’t too bad
the country kind of went a bit strange
then again a lot of people emigrated a
lot of my customers emigrated and we had
to diversify the company I opened up a
company called Grand Designs and another
premises and how I found that premises
was I was driving home one day my
husband said Merritt we need to
diversify the company another great idea
he had we should open up a retail sector
you’re doing a few privates there he
said and people like to come in and see
things feel them and is it you’re
absolutely right
with no money to do it and we certainly
like no premises so I drove by
brookville in Drogheda and there was a
guy that was selling floor and connect
flooring and he was there ten years and
he seen that he was doing up the whole
shop front and I involve in I said
Carlin hares ago and I said but from the
same street I thought already he
remembered me or not like and he said
him how you doing I said look you did a
lot of walk in here the place looks
great
I said him you’re after open up another
part of the room what do you do when he
goes I’ll probably put a load of stock
there I said how about important some
kitchens and bedroom furniture and Dara
said I know my he said I’m not
interested I have a sharpened Rotty he
said if you want to take that for know
what he said and do that I said no no
I’m not interested Nana said look don’t
say yes or no yet think about this if we
share half the rents and rates I said
and if so many comes in to buy it or
drop they’re going to leave the floor
and he goes right so I went off and the
next day he phoned me and he said I want
to take it up near offer so I went in
there and I spent three years with him
and his wife and they were lovely and it
worked out great because if he had a tip
downtown to do the bank I’d Seles offer
him and likewise and during that time I
had another child and it seemed to me
that every time I had a great idea I had
so dairy was this in this story he was
the Torah child my father used to say
the child that was read into care
because my husband had emigrated at the
time in 2013 to get work he was an
engineer and I stayed at home and I
worked as well and this little baby came
to work with me for a whole nine months
and he was great he was the best child
ever I used to say to people Hannah go
ahead and do a measure look I hope you
don’t mind if got a baby to come with me
and did say bring the baby
it’s Franz you know and then when you
get to the house myself and Mary be
talking and Jonah come in and say I has
take that baby and you can talk about
kitchens so it was very very good like
so like I mean if you look at it like
the people had given your stats and life
happened with the school teacher he saw
something in me and and lit that spark
and showed me the way like and then when
I left there and I went into tents and
he saw a spark at me I had evolved it 24
people that were there and he helped me
as well and then going through the
apprenticeship system with desi he saw
something in me and kept me on
I gave me my apprenticeship and helped
me excel on my trade and taught me all
the skills that I needed and they
weren’t just practical skills they were
life skills because we used to call into
people’s houses and you see how people
lived and they it was hilarious because
he’d have licked the very top end the
middle end and the low end market and it
was accents
life skills I learned she knew how to
talk to people and to treat people
respect and most importantly treated
like rock stars all in my own company I
never did business at school I learned
it from all my peers through my journey
and on the pathway to success I can
safely say I had an opportunity last
year premises came up I convinced the
bank to give me the money and they did
although I sold the story three or four
times because the managers kept changing
in the end they listened cave is me and
it was the best thing I ever did because
we only opened in 2000
9 or in her seventh year in business and
the company completely changed diversity
last year the location was excellent we
managed to build up the staff with seven
staff name and they also have another
seven subcontractors that we give wort
and to give work to us so it’s a whole
team effort
that’s better looking out for each other
but it definitely believed that people
deserve a start in life
we’re on our fourth apprentice and the
last apprentice that we took on is the
nephew of the guy who helped me get my
apprenticeship no that’s good karma we
also talked on redundant apprentices to
the enemy TB in the region skills
training center over the course of the
seven years that we did when we opened
up in business and the forest man I met
was Pat Robin and he passed away last
Christmas but he saw something in me as
well and he helped me and he nominated
me to be an ambassador a goodwill
ambassador for the region Skills Center
I was so emotional when he rang me that
day I was crying on the phone but what I
can safely say is if there’s somebody in
your employment or your staff upskill
them home roll your own that’s what I’m
doing now I’m finding it very difficult
to find skilled people so I’m taking the
initiative and I’m homegrown people I’m
giving people the opportunity to become
excellent in their trades and I hope to
choose Kunal as I do that too and that’s my story thank you