This week we talk to Ciarán about moving to Sligo, having a newborn baby in the lockdown, why he loves forest bathing and his new venture that I am looking forward to joining him on in a few weeks time - The Pillars of Joy 

Company Name & Your role: Otherworld Nature Connection - Founder

Please share your bio and any information about your business: I have always had a deep love and connection to the natural world. Humans are very much a part of that 'natural world'. There is an illusion of separateness between humans and nature. Getting rid of that illusion and helping people to find their place and reconnect to the natural world and their own inner nature is what Otherworld Nature Connection is all about.

I've worked in loads of different roles in my life but have always excelled and loved the jobs that involved dealing with people. Most recently I've been working as a hiking and cycling tour guide with Wilderness Ireland.

I studied Geography, Sociology and Political Science at NUIG. In 2018 I cycled to Devon in the UK to study at Schumacher College in an immersive year-long course in Nature Connection.

In 2019 I was also part of the first group of Forest Bathing guides to be trained in Ireland by the Forest Therapy Institute.

I'm really excited to begin offering my services and experience to the people of the Sligo and the North West of Ireland.

Are you a Sligo Native? If no what is the story of how you moved here?: Nope, I'm from Wicklow. I've always loved Sligo. There's a picture of me as a kid in front of Ben Bulben which I don't remember but apparently loved it. More recently I was lucky enough to come here a lot with work over the years and always loved the atmosphere and spaciousness of the place. I love living here now, its a unique part of the country.

What do you love about living in Sligo?: The vast array of different outdoor landscapes to be explored, the vibe of the place. The numerous beautiful forests too.

If you could wave a magic wand what would you fix or bring to Sligo ie. facilities, shops, restaurants, culture/arts?: I would pedestrianise the town centre and have permanent stalls erected for all of the local artisans and craft makers to sell their wares.

What keeps you awake at night?: My newborn son 

What are you looking forward to in the future in your personal and professional life?: Meeting new people, exploring new places and cultivating stronger community connections and awareness of our place in the natural world.

What are your must-do Sligo recommendations? Restaurants/Walks etc.: The little French cafe in town Le Fournil Sligo and a hike up Knocknarea

How can people find you online? Would you like to make a special offer available for listeners?: www.otherworldnatureconnection.com
@otherworldnature on Instagram & Facebook

10%off Pillars of Joy if they mention they heard about it through Sligo Life

This week we talk to Ciarán about moving to Sligo, having a newborn baby in the lockdown, why he loves forest bathing and his new venture that I am looking forward to joining him on in a few weeks time - The Pillars of Joy 

Company Name & Your role: Otherworld Nature Connection - Founder

Please share your bio and any information about your business: I have always had a deep love and connection to the natural world. Humans are very much a part of that 'natural world'. There is an illusion of separateness between humans and nature. Getting rid of that illusion and helping people to find their place and reconnect to the natural world and their own inner nature is what Otherworld Nature Connection is all about.

I've worked in loads of different roles in my life but have always excelled and loved the jobs that involved dealing with people. Most recently I've been working as a hiking and cycling tour guide with Wilderness Ireland.

I studied Geography, Sociology and Political Science at NUIG. In 2018 I cycled to Devon in the UK to study at Schumacher College in an immersive year-long course in Nature Connection.

In 2019 I was also part of the first group of Forest Bathing guides to be trained in Ireland by the Forest Therapy Institute.

I'm really excited to begin offering my services and experience to the people of the Sligo and the North West of Ireland.

Are you a Sligo Native? If no what is the story of how you moved here?: Nope, I'm from Wicklow. I've always loved Sligo. There's a picture of me as a kid in front of Ben Bulben which I don't remember but apparently loved it. More recently I was lucky enough to come here a lot with work over the years and always loved the atmosphere and spaciousness of the place. I love living here now, its a unique part of the country.

What do you love about living in Sligo?: The vast array of different outdoor landscapes to be explored, the vibe of the place. The numerous beautiful forests too.

If you could wave a magic wand what would you fix or bring to Sligo ie. facilities, shops, restaurants, culture/arts?: I would pedestrianise the town centre and have permanent stalls erected for all of the local artisans and craft makers to sell their wares.

What keeps you awake at night?: My newborn son 

What are you looking forward to in the future in your personal and professional life?: Meeting new people, exploring new places and cultivating stronger community connections and awareness of our place in the natural world.

What are your must-do Sligo recommendations? Restaurants/Walks etc.: The little French cafe in town Le Fournil Sligo and a hike up Knocknarea

How can people find you online? Would you like to make a special offer available for listeners?: www.otherworldnatureconnection.com
@otherworldnature on Instagram & Facebook

10%off Pillars of Joy if they mention they heard about it through Sligo Life

Today’s guest is a very special and inspirational lady. Doreen is from Glasgow and moved to Sligo when she was 68 to retire. This weekend she turns 85.  

We talk about how the pandemic reminded her of the time she was sent away from her family during the war. She moved from the city to the country to live with another family for five years.  

She shared what activities are available for her as an older person, how welcome she has felt since moving here and what she is looking forward to in the future.  

Today’s guest is a very special and inspirational lady. Doreen is from Glasgow and moved to Sligo when she was 68 to retire. This weekend she turns 85.  

We talk about how the pandemic reminded her of the time she was sent away from her family during the war. She moved from the city to the country to live with another family for five years.  

She shared what activities are available for her as an older person, how welcome she has felt since moving here and what she is looking forward to in the future.  

I know Aisling through the wonderful Sligo Women in Business Community  - https://www.swibn.com/ as it turns out we have a lot in common.

On the show we talked about her life growing up in Sligo, working and travelling the world, opening the cafe, how she got into the world of oysters and her plans for the future. 

Aisling Kelly from Sligo grew up on Stephen street dad had the punchbowl lounge & my mum had two boutiques in town.
Worked in travel after studying it in college. Have travelled all over the world & as you came home due to heartbreak in 2014. My lovely dad passed away and his premises were vacant so I decided to leave Dublin and open it as a coffee shop. I gave my notice in on a Wednesday & on Friday at a wedding in Sligo met my now-husband. I know my dad had a hand in it and I also believe I am in business with him. The coffee shop is open since November 2014 & in August 2018 I launched the Sligo oyster experience. Covid19 has given me a chance to catch my breath and really focus on the business, the gaps & opportunities. I am a curious person who loves to learn, grow and contribute. I am passionate about women including myself having the courage to live the life they were meant to and that is my goal every day step by step.

Are you a Sligo Native? If no what is the story of how you moved here?: 

Yes lived above the pub and then Tonaphubble

What do you love about living in Sligo?: 

The pace of life. The opportunities. The people. Nature.

If you could wave a magic wand what would you fix or bring to Sligo ie. facilities, shops, restaurants, culture/arts?: 

More boutique's & people living in the town centre as we did years ago. For people to enjoy walking through our home town. I would love it if we could raise everyone's confidence & therefore awareness and let everyone's light shine

What keeps you awake at night?: 

Ideas, not having enough time to get everything done therefore feeling overwhelmed. Wishing I could afford a really good manager of the cafe on my wavelength.
Injustice like black lives matter and animal cruelty really upset me. I would like my business to be successful so.i can contribute more.

What are you looking forward to in the future in your personal and professional life?: 

Building our house. Watching Kelly our 1 year grow and making her a priority.
Sligo becoming internationally known for oysters and maybe a yearly festival.
WB's serving great coffee and food and growing the online business that I am about to launch.
Personally I would like to make exercise a priority in my day & to keep up meditation & gratefulness daily. I have a habit of taking on way too much and it's self-sabotage.
I would love to be an acorns mentor
Laughing, loving and sharing
Oh and that my business is profitable

What are your must-do Sligo recommendations? Restaurants/Walks etc.: 

Benbulben walk.
Horse riding on the beach
Coney island

How can people find you online? Would you like to make a special offer available for listeners?: 

www.wbscoffeehouse.ie
www.sligooysterexperience.ie

Enter sligolife to get 10% discount :)

I know Aisling through the wonderful Sligo Women in Business Community  - https://www.swibn.com/ as it turns out we have a lot in common.

On the show we talked about her life growing up in Sligo, working and travelling the world, opening the cafe, how she got into the world of oysters and her plans for the future. 

Aisling Kelly from Sligo grew up on Stephen street dad had the punchbowl lounge & my mum had two boutiques in town.
Worked in travel after studying it in college. Have travelled all over the world & as you came home due to heartbreak in 2014. My lovely dad passed away and his premises were vacant so I decided to leave Dublin and open it as a coffee shop. I gave my notice in on a Wednesday & on Friday at a wedding in Sligo met my now-husband. I know my dad had a hand in it and I also believe I am in business with him. The coffee shop is open since November 2014 & in August 2018 I launched the Sligo oyster experience. Covid19 has given me a chance to catch my breath and really focus on the business, the gaps & opportunities. I am a curious person who loves to learn, grow and contribute. I am passionate about women including myself having the courage to live the life they were meant to and that is my goal every day step by step.

Are you a Sligo Native? If no what is the story of how you moved here?: 

Yes lived above the pub and then Tonaphubble

What do you love about living in Sligo?: 

The pace of life. The opportunities. The people. Nature.

If you could wave a magic wand what would you fix or bring to Sligo ie. facilities, shops, restaurants, culture/arts?: 

More boutique's & people living in the town centre as we did years ago. For people to enjoy walking through our home town. I would love it if we could raise everyone's confidence & therefore awareness and let everyone's light shine

What keeps you awake at night?: 

Ideas, not having enough time to get everything done therefore feeling overwhelmed. Wishing I could afford a really good manager of the cafe on my wavelength.
Injustice like black lives matter and animal cruelty really upset me. I would like my business to be successful so.i can contribute more.

What are you looking forward to in the future in your personal and professional life?: 

Building our house. Watching Kelly our 1 year grow and making her a priority.
Sligo becoming internationally known for oysters and maybe a yearly festival.
WB's serving great coffee and food and growing the online business that I am about to launch.
Personally I would like to make exercise a priority in my day & to keep up meditation & gratefulness daily. I have a habit of taking on way too much and it's self-sabotage.
I would love to be an acorns mentor
Laughing, loving and sharing
Oh and that my business is profitable

What are your must-do Sligo recommendations? Restaurants/Walks etc.: 

Benbulben walk.
Horse riding on the beach
Coney island

How can people find you online? Would you like to make a special offer available for listeners?: 

www.wbscoffeehouse.ie
www.sligooysterexperience.ie

Enter sligolife to get 10% discount :)

Our guest on the Sligo Life Podcast used to be a criminal defence attorney in Australia (acting in high profile murder cases etc). Then she went into the public service in Australia (attorney generals department) for another ten years, where she worked on some very interesting Task forces and a Royal Commission.I first met Fiona through Sligo Women in Business

On the show we talked about when Fiona moved to Sligo in 2014 for a complete change of pace, and opened up her own business on O'Connell Street, making chocolate bouquets (as you do!).

After four years of hard grind she left to do freelance work, first for The Model (as their Operations Coordinator) and more recently for SWIBN as a co-facilitator of their monthly meetings

Recently Fiona has started working for The Sligo Folk Park as their manager.It was so lovely to catch up with Fiona and I do hope you enjoy our chat  too. Here are some notes from our interview  . . . .

Are you a Sligo Native? If no what is the story of how you moved here?: Where do I begin! I'm Australian! My husband is from Belcoo, Co Fermanagh and on our trips home to visit his family, (commencing 2001) we would go for day trips and fell in love with Sligo (I even bought a dress in one of the shops that I christened Sligo - I still wear it!!).

In 2013 we bought an apartment here that we intended just to use when we came for our yearly visits. We had a month here in summer that year, and it was glorious. One morning we were asleep in the Peace Park near the Cathedral (sleeping off a hangover from the night before) and we woke up to Jugglers, Tightrope Walkers and a Punch and Judy Show. The Cairde Arts Festival had set up around us while we slept and it was truly magical. I remember saying to Brendan that I had never felt that happy anywhere in my life. We returned to Australia but nothing was the same. One night, a documentary about Benbulben appeared on the TV. I am not religious, but that is the closest I have ever had to a spiritual awakening. I burst into tears, and we started that night to look for a house with a view under the mountain. We ended up buying our house in Rathcormac sight unseen, over the internet, because it had such magnificent views of Benbulben (again, as you do!!)

When we turned up with the removalist truck, we had to race ahead to see the floor plan so we could tell the removalists where to put things like beds and couches. It was madness, but it was strangely liberating.

I said to my best friend in Australia when we made the decision to move: If you are fortunate enough to have been born in a country where you have both the money and wherewithall to try something new with your life, so that you may be even one fraction happier, don't you owe it to yourself to try.

What do you love about living in Sligo?: It's easier to say what I don't love. The weather.

I love absolutely everything else. The scenery. The people, The community spirit. The neighbourhood camaraderie. I love that the town is big enough to provide everything you need, but small enough that you can't walk down the street without someone knowing your name. It's the perfect size for an extrovert who also likes her own downtime - you can hide if you need to, but be as sociable as you like the rest of the time.

If you could wave a magic wand what would you fix or bring to Sligo ie. facilities, shops, restaurants, culture/arts?: A change in the way the town is reported to outsiders. (the rest then follows).

I come from a city (Canberra) where the outside world mocks the place, but the locals are passionately defensive of it, and will support it to the ends of the earth as a great place to work, live and raise a family. In Sligo that position is almost reversed. Tourists and outsiders can't believe how beautiful Sligo is and how they have never heard abou

Our guest on the Sligo Life Podcast used to be a criminal defence attorney in Australia (acting in high profile murder cases etc). Then she went into the public service in Australia (attorney generals department) for another ten years, where she worked on some very interesting Task forces and a Royal Commission.I first met Fiona through Sligo Women in Business

On the show we talked about when Fiona moved to Sligo in 2014 for a complete change of pace, and opened up her own business on O'Connell Street, making chocolate bouquets (as you do!).

After four years of hard grind she left to do freelance work, first for The Model (as their Operations Coordinator) and more recently for SWIBN as a co-facilitator of their monthly meetings

Recently Fiona has started working for The Sligo Folk Park as their manager.It was so lovely to catch up with Fiona and I do hope you enjoy our chat  too. Here are some notes from our interview  . . . .

Are you a Sligo Native? If no what is the story of how you moved here?: Where do I begin! I'm Australian! My husband is from Belcoo, Co Fermanagh and on our trips home to visit his family, (commencing 2001) we would go for day trips and fell in love with Sligo (I even bought a dress in one of the shops that I christened Sligo - I still wear it!!).

In 2013 we bought an apartment here that we intended just to use when we came for our yearly visits. We had a month here in summer that year, and it was glorious. One morning we were asleep in the Peace Park near the Cathedral (sleeping off a hangover from the night before) and we woke up to Jugglers, Tightrope Walkers and a Punch and Judy Show. The Cairde Arts Festival had set up around us while we slept and it was truly magical. I remember saying to Brendan that I had never felt that happy anywhere in my life. We returned to Australia but nothing was the same. One night, a documentary about Benbulben appeared on the TV. I am not religious, but that is the closest I have ever had to a spiritual awakening. I burst into tears, and we started that night to look for a house with a view under the mountain. We ended up buying our house in Rathcormac sight unseen, over the internet, because it had such magnificent views of Benbulben (again, as you do!!)

When we turned up with the removalist truck, we had to race ahead to see the floor plan so we could tell the removalists where to put things like beds and couches. It was madness, but it was strangely liberating.

I said to my best friend in Australia when we made the decision to move: If you are fortunate enough to have been born in a country where you have both the money and wherewithall to try something new with your life, so that you may be even one fraction happier, don't you owe it to yourself to try.

What do you love about living in Sligo?: It's easier to say what I don't love. The weather.

I love absolutely everything else. The scenery. The people, The community spirit. The neighbourhood camaraderie. I love that the town is big enough to provide everything you need, but small enough that you can't walk down the street without someone knowing your name. It's the perfect size for an extrovert who also likes her own downtime - you can hide if you need to, but be as sociable as you like the rest of the time.

If you could wave a magic wand what would you fix or bring to Sligo ie. facilities, shops, restaurants, culture/arts?: A change in the way the town is reported to outsiders. (the rest then follows).

I come from a city (Canberra) where the outside world mocks the place, but the locals are passionately defensive of it, and will support it to the ends of the earth as a great place to work, live and raise a family. In Sligo that position is almost reversed. Tourists and outsiders can't believe how beautiful Sligo is and how they have never heard abou

Bernard moved here in 2008 and has created a first of a kind music industry platform, that ties together Distribution, Publishing and equity crowdfunding.

Here are some of the questions I asked him on the podcast.

He is a huge fan of Strandhill and Sligo and shares all about his journey with fanled.ie 

What do you love about living in Sligo?: 

It has everything IE mountains, forest, the sea all within in 10 min drive, plus the music culture is alive and well in this County.

If you could wave a magic wand what would you fix or bring to Sligo ie. facilities, shops, restaurants, culture/arts?: 

I would thin out the number of committees which look after Tourism Arts and Culture events.

What keeps you awake at night?: 

Excitement about getting things done the next day...

What are you looking forward to in the future in your personal and professional life?: 

Getting the business brand so we can solve the value gap in the music industry, and taking a holiday as I can..

What are your must-do Sligo recommendations? Restaurants/Walks etc.: 

Go for a Surf in Strandhill followed by an amazing meal at Stoked restaurant, then up to the Dunes Bar for open mic is the perfect day for me.

How can people find you online? 

Get me at [email protected], and if any of you listeners what to go to the website they can sign up to our platform and they will receive a discount when we do launch.

Bernard moved here in 2008 and has created a first of a kind music industry platform, that ties together Distribution, Publishing and equity crowdfunding.

Here are some of the questions I asked him on the podcast.

He is a huge fan of Strandhill and Sligo and shares all about his journey with fanled.ie 

What do you love about living in Sligo?: 

It has everything IE mountains, forest, the sea all within in 10 min drive, plus the music culture is alive and well in this County.

If you could wave a magic wand what would you fix or bring to Sligo ie. facilities, shops, restaurants, culture/arts?: 

I would thin out the number of committees which look after Tourism Arts and Culture events.

What keeps you awake at night?: 

Excitement about getting things done the next day...

What are you looking forward to in the future in your personal and professional life?: 

Getting the business brand so we can solve the value gap in the music industry, and taking a holiday as I can..

What are your must-do Sligo recommendations? Restaurants/Walks etc.: 

Go for a Surf in Strandhill followed by an amazing meal at Stoked restaurant, then up to the Dunes Bar for open mic is the perfect day for me.

How can people find you online? 

Get me at [email protected], and if any of you listeners what to go to the website they can sign up to our platform and they will receive a discount when we do launch.