Calling Donegal’s female entrepreneurs to apply for ACORNS business development

Former Donegal ACORNS participant Ciara Shine, of Shines Seafood

placeholder image — Former Donegal ACORNS participant Ciara Shine, of Shines Seafood

Muff’s Barbara Lynch of Four Sisters recently completed the programme. She joins Catriona Doherty of Catriona Doherty Celebrant and Ciara Shine of Shines Seafood as previous Donegal participants, calling on businesswomen to join the programme

Female entrepreneurs from Donegal are being encouraged to submit their applications for the latest cycle of ACORNS, a highly successful development programme to support women living in rural Ireland who are in the early stages of starting their own business.

Muff’s Barbara Lynch of Four Sisters recently completed the programme. She joins Catriona Doherty of Catriona Doherty Celebrant and Ciara Shine of Shines Seafood as previous Donegal participants, calling on businesswomen to join the programme.

ACORNS has been providing support to early-stage female entrepreneurs in rural Ireland for more than a decade and has recently launched the 11th cycle of the business development programme.

The deadline for applications for ACORNS 11 is midnight, September 22. There are up to 50 places available for ACORNS 11. Those wishing to receive an application form should register on the website.

Barbara Lynch initially set up Four Sisters Homeware & Gifts as an online offering from her home in the village of Muff before opening a bricks and mortar store in the village. However, although the business was successful, Barbara realised that she wanted to develop her own products rather than buy wholesale from other brands. So, she closed the physical shop in January 2024, shortened the business name to Four Sisters and put all her focus, time and energy into launching her own range of luxury sleepwear, which she successfully did in October 2024. Barbara’s first collection sold out by January of this year, and she has since launched a new collection. She also secured her first retail customers – City of Derry Airport, La Maison in Letterkenny and Bejewelled at Soul in Strabane, Co Tyrone.

Barbara says: “Being part of the ACORNS programme has been a truly transformative experience. From day one, I felt incredibly grateful and inspired to be surrounded by such a supportive group of ambitious, like-minded female entrepreneurs. The confidence I’ve gained — both personally and within my business — simply wouldn’t have been possible without this journey. The structure and content of the programme were also spot on. It kept us accountable, focused, and motivated to achieve the goals we set right from our very first session. I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to be part of ACORNS — it’s an experience I’ll carry with me always.”

Catriona Doherty set up her business – Catriona Doherty Celebrant – in her native Carndonagh in June 2024. Catriona spent 12 years working in the media industry and held various senior roles, but she was looking for a change of direction and felt that retraining as a celebrant seemed to be a natural next step considering her skillset as a writer. Catriona writes and delivers personalised ceremonies to mark all of life’s memorable moments – weddings, elopements, vow renewals, baby namings, funerals and memorials.

Catriona says, “If you are considering applying for ACORNS, this is your sign to do it. To use (an appropriate!) cliche here… you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. I am a wedding celebrant, and I come from a teaching and journalism background, not a business background. I believe ACORNS bridged the gap and equipped me with the confidence to forge ahead as an entrepreneur, supported every step of the way by a network of intelligent female business owners. Paula and her team run an excellent programme and I’m grateful for the opportunity.”

Participating in the ACORNS Pilot led Ciara Shine to take a more pivotal role in running the family business, Shines Seafood. Being surrounded by other business owners spurred her on to develop the company even further. Shines Seafoods now have a range of 14 retail products, 2 food service products and has recently launched a gifting range. The Wild Irish Tuna was awarded a Great Taste award in 2018 and two more products won a Great Taste award in 2019. As a company, Shines Seafoods were awarded the Guild of Food Writers award in early 2020. Their products are now stocked in over 1000 stores in Ireland across SuperValu, Dunnes, Tesco and many independent retailers.

ACORNS is based on the belief that early-stage entrepreneurs learn best from their peers. Participants interact with each other in the monthly round table sessions, which are facilitated by a Lead Entrepreneur who has first-hand experience of starting and successfully growing a business in rural Ireland.

Only early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland, and who have had no sales before the end of June 2022, are eligible to apply. As ACORNS receives many more applications than there are places available, selection is on a competitive basis.

ACORNS 11 will run from October 2025 to April 2026 and will include six monthly round table sessions, a workshop on understanding financials, a briefing by various development agencies and an end-of-cycle celebration.

There will be no charge for those selected to participate in ACORNS 11, thanks to the continuing support of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the voluntary contribution of time by the Lead Entrepreneurs.

“Following a decade of support from my Department for female rural entrepreneurs under the Rural Innovation Development Fund, I am delighted to launch the latest cycle,” Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Martin Heydon, TD, said. “The programme continues to go from strength to strength and has supported over 550 women in rural Ireland over the last ten years.

“The ACORNS programme is a hugely successful programme, designed to support early-stage female entrepreneurs in rural Ireland. It aims to address the skills, enterprise and capability gaps that female entrepreneurs can face and, in doing so, provides support to help overcome the barriers which often limit entrepreneurial activity in rural areas.

“Encouraging female entrepreneurs in rural Ireland to apply for support under the ACORNS programme, which will help them realise their dreams of starting and growing successful businesses.”