Down To Business

Down to Business was coming to you from Green Acres in Wexford this week where amongst many other great guests, Bobby had the chance to catch up with a few local business people of note - namely Vinny Doyle of 'Cry Before Dawn' and Doyle’s Motors & Samantha Kelly aka the 'Tweeting Goddess'.

Bobby was out and about at Rosslare Europort, one of the beating hearts of Irish trade and transport.

There he spoke to Glenn Carr, Director of Commercial Business Units at Iarnród Éireann, Port Authority for Rosslare Europort to find out about what has been happening at the port and what the future might hold.

Kevin Dundon is instantly recognizable from the many successful cookery shows he has fronted and who has also had a 25-year love affair with Dunbrody House in Wexford.

Kevin joined Bobby in Green Acres in Wexford to chat about how he is getting on.

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair this week is Sean McKeown, Director of Fota Wildlife Park.

It seems that Irish Banks are all upgrading their forecasts due to rising ECB rates and in tandem with that the government sold a further 5% in AIB this week.

If this keeps up there may soon be a call for the government to do away with pay caps and bonuses.

To make sense of this and some other business stories from the week, Bobby is joined by Joe Brennan, Market’s Correspondent with the Irish Times.

Many of us have to decide the path we take in our professional lives soon after we leave school.

But for professional sportspeople, that fork in the road comes much later.

So, to talk about the challenges of finding their way after leaving the world of professional sport, Bobby is joined by:

- Mick Dowling, Former Olympic Boxer

- Marcus Horan, former Ireland, and Munster Rugby player

- Cliona Foley, Freelance sportswriter & presenter of OTB's Off The Bench Podcast

Continuing this week we’re profiling some of this year’s finalists in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in the run-up to the Awards night on November 30th and look at some of the issues facing entrepreneurs.

This week Bobby was keen on looking at the entrepreneurial experience itself and how sometimes it can be a lonely road and certainly not for the faint-hearted.

Bobby is joined by:

- Caroline Dunlea of Core Optimisation

- Louis Copeland of Louis Copeland and Sons

- Johnny Walker of HaloCare & Jinga Life

Bobby was out & about at Art Source in the RDS, Ireland's premier art fair, featuring hundreds of Irish and International artists and galleries.

There he spoke to organisers and artists alike to find out all about it.

Whether it's a statement piece or just something that you can wear out on a daily basis, fashion underpins so much of how we express to people who we are.

It’s an industry that has exploded in recent years with more and more quality being made available to people of all walks of life and so with that in mind, Bobby wanted to find out a little bit about how the Irish fashion sector is faring.

Joining Bobby is:

- Silvana Landa McAdam, Co-Founder and CEO at LANDA Handbags

- Fashion designer, Heidi Higgins

- Caoimhe Murphy of Caoimhe Murphy Design

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair this week is Séamus Clancy, CEO at Repak.