A TRAVELLER woman from south Dublin has said she hopes her success in establishing a dress making business will act as inspiration for other Travellers.
On Thursday November 8, Margaret McDonagh (42), who lives in Ballybrack, officially opened her new dress making business
‘O’Brien’s Fine Designs’ at Anglesea Lane, off George’s Street Upper, Dun Laoghaire.
Margaret, a talented seamstress, dreamed of starting a dress design and dress making business and is now making occasion wear such as clothes, shoes and accessories for weddings, communions and christenings.
The mother of seven realised her dream of setting up her own business following her participation on the
‘Entrepreneurs4Change’ business course.
The course was piloted by the National Traveller Money Advice and Budgeting Service, Dublin Simon, and the South Inner City Community Development Association.
The Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Enterprise Board also provided Margaret with funding to help establish the business.
Margaret said the Enterprise4Change course provided her with the knowledge and self-confidence she needed to set up the business.
“The course was very hard but I kept at it,
? she said.
“I learned an awful lot about how to manage a business and things like putting money in the bank. It gave me the confidence to say to myself that I would be able to set up a business and to have the faith that people must believe in me. Even now when I come down to the shop I still can’t believe that I am here.
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Margaret said she hopes that her efforts to establish her own business will inspire other young Traveller women to start up their own enterprises.
“One of the reasons I wanted to set up my own business was to show other Traveller women that there is more to life than just getting married and having a load of children,
? she continued.
“You can be a business woman and you can be successful. I am after going through the mill and back to get to where I am now but hopefully things will work out.
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Liz Daly, spokesperson for the National Traveller Money Advice and Budgeting Service explained that the Entrpreneurs4Change course was aimed specifically at a number of disadvantaged groups such as Travellers, homeless people and the long term unemployed.
“Participants are taught how to devise a business plan and a business pitch and the course itself is quite interactive,
? she said.
“Those taking part were also brought through each step of their business plan and they had a mentor.
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A dozen participants begun the course in 2011 but Margaret was the only one to have completed it.
Elizabeth Davidson, Community Employment Officer at the Southside Travellers Action Group in Sandyford said it was
“encouraging
? that Margaret had stayed the course and established her own business.
“Margaret has been involved in our young people’s programme for the last few years and she has always wanted to develop her own business and we would have encouraged her to do so,
? she said.
“In today’s climate it is encouraging that Margaret has set up her own business. The subtext of this is that Travellers experience such discrimination that self-employment is often the only solution to finding employment for them.
“We wish Margaret the very best. She has worked extremely hard and she deserves every success. Her tenacity and courage for setting up a business provides a great example for other Traveller women.
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