Author: Marisa Byrnes

“If at first you don’t succeed try, try again”

I stopped intentionally tuning into news bulletins about 6 years ago.  Non-stop moaning and negativity!  Non-stop doom and gloom! Non-stop rhetoric which could only fuel fear and anger while stifling hope and ambition.

In that time, the people of this country have hauled Ireland back from the brink.  Thousands and thousands of jobs have been created and there have been amazing and incredible personal success stories.  These success stories are the news we need to hear about.  These are the stories of great genuine Irish people from all walks of life which should be published and heralded and which should serve as an inspiration to us all.  They should be put out there to demonstrate what can be achieved despite all the rhetoric which said it was not possible.

Over the last while I have met with some of the leaders of the biggest multi-nationals in this country, all down to earth genuine Irish people who are leading up some of the biggest operations in the world and doing a damn good job.  Genuinely successful people who are proving to be an inspiration and who are very focused on making their companies the most successful they can be so that more and more local people can sustain and gain employment.  Every time I walk away from one of those meetings I am inspired.  These are truly inspirational people in our society.

In the Limerick region there are the Limerick for IT and Limerick for Engineering groups, two forums/groups with the aim of creating more and more jobs locally and developing/ up-skilling local people to fill them.  The people who make up these groups are leaders in the IT and Engineering industries in Limerick.  They have full-time onerous jobs and still give their free/personal time to drive the Limerick for IT & Engineering groups.  In particular, the main driving forces behind these groups are inspirational figures.  They have such a passion for developing the industries and people in their Limerick region, it is truly incredible.  It is inspirational and amazing to be a small part of what they are trying to achieve.

There are the people who took the unprecedented decision, during the worst recession to ever hit this country, to risk everything and start up their own businesses.  They invested themselves and their futures in various ventures despite being told they were crazy at the time.  They and their companies have come out the other end massively successful.  They give employment to thousands of local people.  Most of all they give inspiration to us all that it is possible if we believe and are driven to make it happen.

Then and most inspirational of all we have the ordinary people who had their lives shattered 6\7 years ago when the recession hit.  Despite all the rhetoric we could buy into, these people have bucked the trend and transformed their lives for the better by taking difficult life-changing paths.  Many hundreds have come through our doors over the last 6 years, broken and living in fear of what lay ahead for themselves and more importantly for them, their families!

Thank God they didn’t buy into the doom and gloom merchants.  Thank God they bought into the message that they were great people who just needed a small bit of help, direction a confidence boost and a break and that there was hope and opportunities down the line.  People who were hugely successful in a given industry for many years took the very daunting decision to completely change track and get up-skilled in another discipline.  Younger people who had never worked and who had no prospects!!!! They got stuck into very difficult courses and programs and got themselves skilled and accredited in areas where there were job opportunities.  When we get feedback from these people saying that their lives and more importantly the lives of their families\children have been changed we are inspired!

We are inspired to keep doing what we are doing because all of these people demonstrate that there is hope, there are opportunities, and the future can be bright if we choose to be INSPIRED.