What’s in Store?

 ✨ Welcome Address

We are honoured to welcome Mr. Peter Burke TD, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, as a distinguished guest on the day.

✨ Panel 1 – Industry Leaders:

• Karen May, Xocean
• Pat Rigney, The Shed Distillery
• Colm Hamrogue, Atlantic Aviation Group

✨ Panel 2 – Enterprise & Growth:

• Paula Fitzsimons, Going for Growth
• Méabh Conaghan, EI HPSU
• Geraldine McLoughlin, WDC Investment Fund

Karen May, Founding Member, Director & Chief Financial Officer, XOCEAN

• Karen May is CFO and a founding member of XOCEAN, a company delivering safe, economic, and carbon-neutral ocean data. Since its founding in 2017, XOCEAN has scaled rapidly with offices across Ireland, the UK, the US, Canada, Norway, and Australia.
• Karen recently led the successful closing of a €115m fundraising round to support XOCEAN’s global expansion. Under her financial leadership, XOCEAN has become a trusted partner to some of the world’s largest energy companies and government agencies, helping build cleaner, more sustainable supply chains in the offshore industry. Learn more at www.xocean.com.
• In recognition of her leadership, Karen received several high-profile awards in 2024, including:

•              Entrepreneur of the Year – Woman of the Year Awards (KPMG & Irish Tatler)
•              CFO of the Year – Excellence in Leadership Awards (Grant Thornton & Sunday Business Post)
•              STEM Professional of the Year – Businesswoman of the Year Awards (PwC & Image)

Patrick J Rigney, The Shed Distillery

• Patrick J Rigney is the co-founder and owner, with his wife Denise, of The Shed Distillery of PJ Rigney;  the home of Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin.
• Celebrating a decade of distilling in 2025, the family-run business is the first distillery in Connacht in over 101 years.  Their flagship Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin has fast become one of the world’s fastest-growing gin brands,  selling in over 100 countries from London to New York, Sydney to Beijing and in over 100 international airports  including London Heathrow, JFK New York and Hong Kong International Airport. 
• As well as Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin, Pat is the Curious Mind behind Drumshanbo Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey, Sausage Tree Pure Irish Vodka and a series of 12 other world-class Shed Distillery spirit brands. 
• Prior to founding The Shed Distillery, the drinks industry pioneer was instrumental in establishing Irish drinks brands as global leaders, including the world’s number 1 selling liqueur brand – Baileys - during its formative years.  Pat went on to invent over 20 other international drinks brands including Boru Vodka & Sheridans Liqueur.
• Despite the international acclaim, Pat and Denise’s entrepreneurship is driven by a shared vision of partnership with the local Drumshanbo community centred on sustainability and employment and The Shed has already created over 100 much-needed local jobs. Pat also founded Fastnet Brands, co-founded the Dalcassian Wine & Spirits Company and Chairs & is an investor in Ovelle Pharmaceuticals & Horseware Products Ltd. He is Chair of Changing Times Brewery and the current Chair of Drinks Ireland.  

Colm Hamrogue, Chief Operating Officer of Atlantic Aviation Group

• Colm joined the Atlantic Aviation Group in May 2025 when he returned to Ireland after 13 years in New Zealand.
• Colm is married to Bernadette, from Galway, and has one daughter, Alexandra, who was born in Invercargill, New Zealand. Colm is originally from Tullaghan in North Leitrim.
• He was previously CEO of TDX in New Zealand, which was the largest construction equipment importer and full-service agent, for brands like Volvo and Yanmar. Under Colm’s leadership, TDX was awarded International Dealer of the Year for Volvo and also Deloitte Best Managed Company.
• He was Group General Manager of New Zealand’s largest transport company, HW Richardson Group, which has annual revenues of over $3B NDZ per annum. He started his career in New Zealand as COO of Farmlands, New Zealand’s largest rural supplies agri co-operative, which has revenues in excess of $2.4B NZD.
• Colm holds a degree in business from Atlantic Technological University Sligo and a master’s in Public Affairs and Political Communications from Technological University Dublin.

Paula Fitzsimons, Fitzsimons Consulting

• Paula is the founder of Fitzsimons Consulting, which specialises in areas related to entrepreneurship and growth. She was the national coordinator for the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) research project in Ireland for twenty years and served on the global board as the President of the national teams for several years.
• Well known for her ability to spotlight particular demographic groups, Paula has designed and implemented tailored programmes to support their entrepreneurial needs. Many of these initiatives are based on peer support.  They have received accolades from the European Commission and from the OECD. The best known of these is Going for Growth, which is about to open a call for applicants for its 18^th cycle. More than 1,000  ambitious female entrepreneurs have participated in Going for Growth. The initiative is supported by Enterprise Ireland and  KPMG (www.goingforgrowth.com).
• Paula responded to a challenge to design and implement a tailored initiative for early-stage female entrepreneurs in rural Ireland. ACORNS,Accelerating the Creation Of Rural Nascent Start-ups, has recently closed a call for applicants for the 11^th  year.  Over 550 enterprising women from rural Ireland have participated in the initiative, with many of these still actively involved in the ACORNS Community. The initiative is supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (www.acorns.ie ).  
• Back for Business,  which is designed for returning emigrants, who have recently established a new business or are planning to do so, is another example of a tailored initiative to support a particular enterprising group. The initiative is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.  The eighth cycle of Back for Business concluded in June and planning for the next cycle is currently underway.  (www.backforbusiness.com).
• Paula was appointed by the then Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to the SME and Entrepreneurship Taskforce in 2020.

Méabh Conaghan, Enterprise Ireland Regional Director for the Northern and Western Region.

• This role covers counties: Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Cavan, Louth, Monaghan, Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. Méabh is also the agency lead on the current Shared Island Enterprise Scheme that focusses on Sustainability, Women’s Entrepreneurship and Clusters.
• Méabh, originally from Gort a’Choirce in Co Donegal is a graduate of University of Galway (1985) with an honours BA in Gaeilge agus Tír Eolas. She was awarded a first in her Masters in Marketing from the University of Ulster (2003) which was refreshed in 2020 with a Diploma in Marketing for the Digital Age.
• Having worked in London for several years in marketing, she returned to run the family business prior to joining Enterprise Ireland in 2000. She has had many roles during her career including as a Senior Development Advisor across many different industry sectors - technology, food, engineering, consumer retail etc and has extensive knowledge of business planning.
• Méabh is a fluent Irish speaker and has strong connections to the Irish language, culture and the arts.

Geraldine McLoughlin, WDC Investment Fund

• Senior Investment Manager with the Western Development Commission's Investment Fund. Over 20 years experience of investing in businesses in the Western Region. The WDC's Fund is a €90m fund which provides equity and loan investment to SME's and community groups in the West of Ireland. 

 ✨ Inspiring Speakers

Hear from a number of remarkable entrepreneurs as they share their unique journeys, challenges, and the secrets to their success.

 ✨ Interactive Panel Discussion

Gain expert insights on:

• Securing investment for your business
• Scaling for sustainable growth
• Navigating challenges as an entrepreneur
• Our panel will share their stories, strategies, and tips to help you on your entrepreneurial journey.

✨ Q&A Session

Get your questions answered! Our speakers and panellists will address your most pressing concerns in an open and engaging Q&A session.

 ✨ Explore Leitrim’s Newest Business Space

Discover the possibilities at Carrick Business Campus, a state-of-the-art facility designed to support innovation, collaboration, and growth. Be among the first to experience this dynamic space and learn about the exciting developments and opportunities it will soon offer for entrepreneurs like you.

Why Attend?

• Network with like-minded business people and industry leaders.
• Gain practical advice to apply to your business.
• Explore innovative business opportunities in a vibrant new workspace.
• Be part of a supportive community empowering business to scale for impact.

 🌟 Seats are limited, so don’t wait! Reserve your spot today and take the next step toward your entrepreneurial success.

 We can’t wait to see you there!