Achill Expo showcases island entrepreneurial spirity

EXHIBITION Sinéad and Vincent English from the Achill Heritage Centre were at Expo Achill. See page 12 of Notes for more pics from the event.

Anton McNulty

Over 30 business and community groups from across Achill took part in Achill Expo 2017 with over 1,000 people passing through the doors on Bank Holiday Monday.

Following on from the success of last year’s inaugural Achill Expo, this year’s Expo exceeded expectations with large crowds attending the event to sample and learn about products and services supplied by local Achill businesses.

Achill Expo 2017 took place at Achill Island Brewery located in the ÚdarΡs na Gaeltachta Business Park in Bunacurry with 35 exhibitions on show which was an increase on last year as was the number of visitors on the day.

SeΡn Molloy of Achill Tourism who organised the event said the Expo allowed businesses and groups in the parish no matter how big or small they were to showcase their product to the wider community.

“The idea of the Expo was to allow local businesses and groups to showcase their products and make the public aware of them and give them an opportunity to support them. There was an overwhelming reaction to the Expo with many people not realising there was so much going on.

“They knew of a certain amount of businesses and may have been aware of the business but did not know who was behind them until they met them at the Expo. It is fine if you have a shopfront or in the middle of a town but if you are trying to start a business in rural areas it can be hard to generate customers. No amount of advertising or Facebook pages will achieve that level of exposure you get by meeting people and that is what the Expo is about,” he said.

Community organisations

As well as businesses putting their products on show, there were a number of community organisations such as the Achill Coast Guard and Achill Lifeboat who were exhibiting their equipment to the public. Sporting clubs like Achill GAA, Achill Rovers and the Achill Wheelers Cycling Club also had exhibitions during the day.

One of the most popular exhibitions was the Achill Island Brewery who were giving free samples of their new Achill Red Beer which they plan to put on sale in the coming weeks.

Mr Molloy said the feedback from the businesses was very positive with the majority saying they will definitely be back for next year’s event.

“We were delighted that Achill Brewery and ÚdarΡs were able to accommodate us this year because there isn’t another venue in Achill big enough to accommodate us. There is no doubt that the Achill Expo will run again next year and we are confident it will be back bigger and better.”