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Font: OFFALY• Din Medium COUNTY COUNCIL • Din Regular OFFALY – IRELAND’S HIDDEN GEM

Offaly is gaining a reputation as a destination for Irish businesses, including the country’s burgeoning film industry.

ake another look at Offaly. This county is quietly making strides and Tappearing on the national radar in areas such as enterprise and innovation, tourism, food and FilmOffaly has film. The new tourism brand for the launched a new county, Offaly – Ireland’s Hidden campaign to boost Gem, taps into this and encourages film and television production in Offaly visitors to discover for themselves the wealth of natural amenities, cultural attractions and local charms. The Hidden Gem brand is also employed) may live in the greater apt when describing the vibrant area (or other urban area) business culture in Offaly. The county FILMOFFALY, WHICH IS and commute against the traffic has a strong heritage of energy OFFALY’S FILM COMMISSION flow to work in Offaly. This trend is production and manufacturing. AND A PROJECT OF OFFALY already popular in London and is now Employment in both ESB and Bord COUNTY COUNCIL showing signs of popularity in this na Móna has resulted in generations SUPPORTS FILMMAKERS midlands county. of skilled fabricators. Many of those AND ACTIVELY PROMOTES Orla Martin also spoke about employees then went on to create LOCATIONS AND CREW. “sector specific” locations. For green their own successful engineering and enterprises, there is Rhode Business manufacturing businesses. Emerging Park (near Edenderry), which has been enterprise sectors in industrial design, of Commerce in delivering business established on the site of a former ESB food, software and renewable energies initiatives. power station. It has 13 serviced sites, are accompanied by a growing cluster Head of Enterprise, Orla Martin with an option to tap into the national of Enterprise Ireland and IDA- spoke to us about some of the county’s grid. For Offaly’s growing food sector, supported companies strengths as a business location. fledgling businesses can head to Ferbane These include a central location, good Food Campus. It has an industrial COUNTY STRENGTHS connectivity and quality of life making kitchen, incubation units and a Businesses in Offaly are supported by it a great place to live and work. From dynamic business manager, Donal Egan, Offaly County Council, through the most parts of the county, cities like on hand to assist with new product Local Enterprise Office (LEO). The Limerick, and Dublin are just development. Meanwhile in , Local Enterprise Office is the ‘one stop an hour’s drive away. This is a valuable The Junction Business Innovation shop’ for all Government supports for asset for businesses looking to operate Centre has hot desk facilities, office anyone looking to set up or expand in national and international markets. suites and business supports for people their business and create jobs in Furthermore, its central location looking to set up a business in the areas Offaly. The LEO has a close working provides an opportunity for workers of design, software and renewables. Set relationship with other development to ‘reverse commute’. This emerging up in 2015, The Junction has a number agencies, private sector and Chambers trend is where employees (or the self of award winning clients, including

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ticketing software developer Future Ticketing (www.futureticketing.ie). The facility itself has been nominated for the 2016 Excellence in Local Government Awards. Tourism jewels include Clonmacnoise, Lough Boora Discovery Park, Birr Castle, Tullamore DEW Visitor Centre and the Slieve Bloom Mountains. Chief Executive Anna Marie Delaney explained to us about Birr Castle Gardens is home to their plans to develop the blue way the largest treehouse in Ireland connecting 90km of the Grand Canal running through Offaly with the bordering the west of the county, and the potential to link sites within Ireland’s Ancient East. Offaly’s Mossfield Cheese is one of a number of high quality food and drink products produced at Mossfield Organic Farm are also garnering national and international recognition. The growing list includes Mossfield Organic Cheese, AWARD WINNERS Wild Irish Foragers, Glenisk and, of IN OFFALY course, Tullamore D.E.W. whiskey. 2016 NATIONAL ENTERPRISE AWARD: Applied Concepts Ltd – ON SET IN OFFALY www.appliedpi.com Another hidden gem is Offaly’s growing 2016 BANK OF IRELAND START UP AWARD reputation as Ireland’s ultimate film Craft Category: location, with credits such as Becoming Syrup produced by Wild Irish Foragers, Truzees – www.truzees.com Jane, Garage, Pure Mule, Eden and A a small, family-run business in Offaly Nightingale Falling to name but a few. 2016 STUDENT ENTERPRISE AWARDS: Senior Category, Innovation Award: Situated in the heart of Ireland, Offaly Daniel Carroll, Caballis Equine Ltd. boasts a unique landscape, good road Gleeson added: “The landscape and rail infrastructure, and plenty of itself is distinctive...I would have no 2016 STUDENT ENTERPRISE AWARDS: experience and enthusiasm in hosting problem at all coming down here and Intermediate Category, Innovation Award: film productions. The northeastern shooting again, or rather that I would Adam Henry, Josh Dunican, part of the county is located within look forward to it. We had a great Oisin McGuire, Farm Friendly Feeder. the commuter belt, with the southern experience down here.” and western parts bordering the Slieve As part of FilmOffaly’s recent 2015 BEST ENVIRONMENTAL TOURISM Bloom Mountains and the River relaunch, the aim is to show that as well INNOVATION AWARD: Lough Boora’s Discovery Park – Shannon – delivering ease of access as having surreal landscapes including www.loughboora.com alongside stunning scenery. boglands and waterways, there is also FilmOffaly, which is Offaly’s Film scope for more urban films. FilmOffaly 2016 IRISH FOOD WRITERS GUILD AWARD: Commission and a project of Offaly has a location database that includes Wild Irish Foragers – www.wildirishforagers.ie County Council, supports filmmakers institutional style buildings and and actively promotes locations warehouses, all of which can be 2016 INTERNATIONAL and local crew. In partnership with found on their newly designed website, CHEESE GOLD AWARD: FilmBase, FilmOffaly offer an annual www.filmoffaly.ie. Mossfield Organic Cheese – www.mossfield.ie bursary to writers; the winning script Great strides are also being made is then produced as a short film made in celebrating and promoting 2016 PLUMBING & HEATING, in Offaly. One such film was Noreen filmmaking in the county. Taking INDUSTRY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: directed by Domhnall Gleeson and place across Birr town in October, Stephen Grant, Grant Engineering – starring Brendan Gleeson. Speaking OFFline is a film festival dedicated to www.grantengineering.ie on filming in the county Brendan making and screening quality films Gleeson explained: “Everything that we in the Irish midlands. Last year’s needed was there – it was there by hook winner went on to win an Oscar for his For more information on what Offaly or by crook.” film,Stutterer . has to offer, visit www.offaly.ie

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