Middle Row: Aoife O’Brien, Breffní Ingerton, Kathleen Wall-Sheehy, Tara Cronin, Aidan Murray, Breda Dwyer, Bríd McElligott, Mark O’Connor, Mary Rose Stafford, Mark Kennelly, Liz Shanahan and Patrice O’Mahony and, at back, John Tuite, Paudie Healy, Maurice Galway, David Corcoran, John Healy and Hugh O’Donoghue.
Picture: Domnick Walsh
A pioneering new county initiative designed to drive economic growth through business events and raise Kerry’s profile as a global business hub has been officially launched.
The Kerry Ambassador Programme is led by Kerry Convention Bureau, in partnership with Kerry County Council, Fáilte Ireland, Meet in Ireland, Kerry Tourism Industry Federation, Kerry SciTech and Prosper Kerry.
At an event held at the Rose Hotel, Tralee as part of Kerry County Council’s An Turas Mór – Homecoming Kerry Diaspora Festival, the newly chosen Kerry ambassadors were formally inducted into the programme.
They are 37 highly regarded key influencers and decision-makers who hail from Kerry and across the globe, representing sectors such as community, enterprise, academia, business, engineering, medicine, science, technology, sport, arts and culture.
The programme has been created for community and industry leaders who are interested in supporting the county by influencing and attracting business events and investment opportunities to Kerry.
It provides a platform for founding ambassadors and programme partners to work together to advocate for Kerry and to contribute to Kerry’s ongoing economic growth and recovery, by placing the county on the national and international stage as a premier business events destination and a place to do business.
Kerry Convention Bureau manager, Becky Hargrove, said they are thrilled to have such an impressive and respected group of individuals, who have demonstrated their commitment and passion for their county.
“To be an ambassador is to advocate for Kerry. Our ambassadors will use their knowledge, and where possible and appropriate, assist Kerry Convention Bureau and our industry partners in identifying new business events and or investment prospects for the county” she said.
Kerry County Council chief executive, Moira Murrell, said in showcasing the county as industry leaders in enterprise, innovation and research, the ambassadors will serve to shine a light on Kerry’s enterprise sector, communicating the vibrancy of the county’s business ecosystem and academia.
An extensive research and qualification process was undertaken by the programme partner to identify potential candidates for the roles of ambassadors.
The founding Kerry ambassador feature a number of people from Killarney living overseas, including US based Globe Implementation Office director Dr Tony Murphy, from Bohereencaol, Global Services Account Executive Jackalyn Cremin, Enterprise Ireland Head of New England and Midwest USA David Corcoran, from Kilcummin, and London based Tara Cronin, from Aghadoe, who is a fundraising and events manager.
Others from Killarney chosen to be influential founding ambassadors for Kerry include:
- Ireland South MEP and former GAA President, Seán Kelly, the leader of Fine Gael in the European Parliament and a member of the EPP Group. Seán is currently the lead MEP for UK trade matters in the European Parliament and Chair of the UK Monitoring Group for matters relating to Brexit.
- Brian O’Mahony, the Irish Haemophilia Society Chief Executive and former President of both the World Federation of Haemophilia and the European Haemophilia Consortium. A medical scientist, he is currently an assistant adjunct Professor in Health Service Management in Trinity College, Dublin, a board member of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service and chairperson of the Scoliosis Co-Design committee.
- Mark Kennelly, Chief Executive of Golf Ireland who previously held senior managerial and advisory positions in politics and government, both at EU and national levels and served as Chief of Staff at the Department of the Taoiseach and he served as Chief of Staff at the Department of the Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017.
- Hugh O’Donoghue, Communications Manager with the Alzheimer Society of Ireland who is also a published author and film-maker whose work has been screened in international film festivals.
- Paudie Healy, Chief Executive Officer and founder of Universal Access who has a reputation as an effective change-maker, delivering innovative accessibility solutions through their accessibility platform, with integrated mapped out maturity programs, resources and training content. Paudie’s expertise is globally recognised by his appointments to several international committees, boards and advisory roles.
- John Healy is the managing director of Healy Insurances and is considered an expert in all areas of the industry including leisure insurance cover to the hospitality sector and beyond. He was instrumental in bringing the annual Aviva conference to Killarney in 2019, attracting 280 attendees. He previously held underwriting positions with Church & General (Allianz) and Hibernian (Aviva)
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