by Sienna Fahey | Jul 2, 2026 | Arts and Culture, Circular Economy, Enterprise Development, Innovation, Portumna, Portumna Fayre
Join us on Patrick’s Street for a day of fresh, local flavour — meet the makers, growers and artisans behind Portumna’s food scene.
Sunday, 5th July 2026 · 12 pm to 3pm · Patrick’s Street, Portumna, Co. Galway.
On the Day — Sunday 5th July
11:00am — Live on Galway Bay FM with Valerie Hughes
12:00pm — Market opens to the public
12:15pm — Official Switching-On Ceremony
12:45pm — Interview: Lough Derg Signature Sandwich
1:15pm — Ollie Turner live on Galway Bay FM
1:20pm — Interviews with Gaelforce and Water Wellness Day
2:00pm — Hurling Championship review with Johnny Kelly, Damien Hayes and Liam Gordon
2:45pm — Interview: Medieval Pageantry
Live music, cookery demos and family activities are running throughout — come down and catch the whole day on Patrick’s Street!
Food and Drink
- John Lancaster – Jam
- Dora – Pickles
- Lorin – Bread
- Whiskfree – Gluten-Free Treats
- Cinnamon Vanilla
- Slieve Aughty Honey
- Fox Covert Farm
- Ice Cream Peddler
- Organic Farm Veg Lough Derg Signature Sandwich Chilli Sauce Maker (Birdhill)
- Mary Stacks Fields of Athenry – Showcasing Their Produce
- Brigid Kinsella – Home Baking
- Lough Derg Signature Sandwich
Arts and Crafts
- Kerry Kissane & Vanessa Patterson
- Laura – Arts and Crafts
- Lillie – Knitting
- Patricia Lynch – Knitted Baby Cardigans
- LS Loft – Cards
- Palm-Free Soap
- Sceal Lorrha
- Brigid Kinsella – Arts and Crafts
Clothing and Vintage
- Avia – Vintage Clothing –
- Mary Stacks – T-Shirts & Printing
- Anna – Clothes
Books and Family Fun
- Workhouse – Books
- Lancaster Lego – Lego Display
Patrick’s Street Comes Alive!
Portumna Food Fayre started as a simple idea — get the town’s producers, makers and neighbours together on one street for one day. What it’s grown into is something bigger: a chance to taste, browse and chat with the people behind South Galway’s food and craft scene. Rain or shine, the stalls go up, Patrick’s Street comes alive, and Portumna does what it does best — shows up for its own.
“There’s nowhere quite like Patrick’s Street on Fayre day — the whole town turns out, and you can taste it in every stall.”
Patrick’s Street closes to traffic for the day as local food producers, artisan makers and growers set up stall for Portumna’s Food Fayre. Expect fresh seasonal produce, homemade goods, and a chance to meet the people growing and making food right here in South Galway — plus live music / cookery demos / kids’ activities.
Meet the farmers and growers bringing fresh, seasonal produce straight from South Galway to your table.
Fresh, homemade and homegrown — jam, bread, honey, pickles and produce from South Galway’s own kitchens and farms.
Original art, knitwear, cards and crafts, handmade by the people who make them.
Vintage finds, clothing, gifts and a Lego display for the kids — a stall for every taste.
Every stall on the day is an independent local business. Shopping here keeps it in the community.
by Galwaywildgeese@gmail.com | Sep 1, 2025 | Digital Transformation, Enterprise, Enterprise Development, Innovation, Recurring Series
Start-ups aren’t born only in cities. Across Ireland, small towns and rural villages are proving that creativity, resilience, and ambition can thrive far from the traditional centres of enterprise.
From agri-tech breakthroughs to artisan cheesemakers, rural innovators are making waves locally and globally.
This post kicks off a new recurring series spotlighting entrepreneurs whose ventures are rooted in community but brimming with ambition.
MartEye (Galway): Reimagining the Livestock Mart
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced marts to close their doors, Galway start-up MartEye stepped up with a digital solution that kept farmers connected to their livelihood. Built from Portershed, the city’s collaborative innovation hub, MartEye turned the age-old auction into a modern, online marketplace.
Today, more than 120 marts across Ireland and the UK use the platform, handling over €4.5 billion in trade since 2020. What began as a crisis response became one of the great agri-tech success stories of rural Ireland—proving that local solutions can scale fast when they meet a real need.
Manna Drone Delivery (Oranmore, Co. Galway): Innovation Takes Flight
In the small town of Oranmore, residents look to the skies not for weather signs but for their dinner. Manna, a start-up specialising in drone delivery, chose Oranmore as one of its pilot sites to test the future of logistics.
What started as an experiment in convenience quickly gained global attention. Manna’s service proved drones could safely and efficiently deliver food within minutes—earning the company $25 million in funding and positioning rural Galway at the cutting edge of technology.
The lesson? Small towns aren’t just places where innovation happens—they can be the testbeds that shape how the world works tomorrow.
Killeen Farmhouse Cheese (Portumna): Global Recognition from Local Roots
A short drive from Portumna town, Killeen Farmhouse Cheese shows how rural craftsmanship can reach the world stage. Founded in 2004 by Marion Roeleveld, Killeen produces award-winning goat and cow gouda from locally sourced milk.
From the kitchen table to global acclaim, Killeen has taken home top honours including Supreme Champion at the Irish Cheese Awards and medals at the World Cheese Awards. Their story is one of passion, perseverance, and the power of place—demonstrating that international success can emerge from the fields of East Galway.
Lessons from Local Entrepreneurs
What unites these very different stories—digital platforms, drones, and artisan food—is the way they blend local insight with global ambition.
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Solve local problems first. MartEye started by meeting farmers’ immediate needs.
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Use small towns as proving grounds. Manna showed that rural Ireland can be a global testing lab.
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Stay rooted in authenticity. Killeen proves there’s global demand for products that carry the flavour and story of place.
“Innovation doesn’t always look like skyscrapers or city accelerators. Sometimes it looks like a mart yard with Wi-Fi, a drone buzzing over Oranmore, or a cheesemaker in Portumna perfecting her craft.”
What’s Next in the Series
This is just the start. In future posts, Start-up Stories from Small Towns will spotlight more entrepreneurs—those leading in sustainability, creative industries, healthcare, and digital enterprise. Each story is proof that innovation isn’t confined to cities: it belongs everywhere.
by Galwaywildgeese@gmail.com | Sep 1, 2025 | Enterprise, Enterprise Development, Innovation
Start-ups aren’t just born in big cities or tech parks. Across Ireland’s small towns and villages, entrepreneurs are building businesses that are innovative, resilient, and deeply rooted in community. These ventures often emerge from local needs, creative sparks, and the determination to make rural life not just sustainable, but thriving.
Why Small Towns Breed Big Ideas
Smaller communities bring unique advantages for start-ups:
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Strong local networks where trust and word-of-mouth support can accelerate growth.
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Lower costs of living and working, making it easier to test ideas without huge overheads.
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Rich cultural and natural resources, which can inspire products and services tied to place.
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Supportive ecosystems like LEADER, Local Enterprise Offices, and the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.
When entrepreneurs tap into these strengths, their businesses carry a story that resonates well beyond their town borders.
Stories from the West
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The Courthouse Hub, Portumna — not just a co-working space, but a launchpad for digital entrepreneurs who want to live locally and work globally. Already, freelancers and start-ups are moving projects forward from its hot desks and meeting rooms.
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Food & Craft Start-ups — from farmhouse cheesemakers in East Galway to design studios in Clifden, rural entrepreneurs are proving you don’t need to leave your town to reach international markets. Platforms like Shopify and Etsy make global customers just a click away.
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Green Energy Innovators — community-led renewable projects, often started by small groups of determined locals, are positioning rural Ireland at the forefront of climate-smart enterprise.
The Challenges
Of course, starting up in a small town isn’t without hurdles:
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Access to funding can be patchy.
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Broadband infrastructure, while improving, still lags in some areas.
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Recruitment can be difficult, especially for specialised roles.
Yet these challenges often become part of the story. Entrepreneurs learn to innovate around constraints, making their ventures more adaptable and resilient.
Support Systems That Matter
Aspiring entrepreneurs in small towns don’t have to go it alone:
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Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) provide mentoring, funding, and training.
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ConnectedHubs.ie links over 300 co-working and innovation spaces across the country.
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Enterprise Ireland offers scaling supports for high-potential start-ups.
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Community groups and cooperatives often provide shared facilities and collaboration opportunities.
Inspiration for What’s Next
When we highlight the achievements of entrepreneurs in small towns, we create a ripple effect. Local stories can inspire others to take the leap, turning hidden ideas into visible ventures.
Innovation doesn’t always look like skyscrapers and venture capital. Sometimes it looks like a converted barn, a refurbished courthouse, or a kitchen table in a Galway village.
Conclusion
The future of enterprise in Ireland isn’t confined to Dublin or Cork. It’s also unfolding in towns like Portumna, Gort, Athenry, and Tuam — where small-town entrepreneurs are making waves with global ambition and local roots.
These start-ups remind us that creativity, resilience, and opportunity live everywhere!
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