Three Ireland’s Grants for Small Businesses programme is supporting innovative Irish businesses, from luxury glamping to an ice cream maker using home-farmed cows, and a hand-made hurley manufacturer. There’s also a snail farm, a 3D printing business that creates prosthetic covers for the amputee community, and patented weighted blankets that reduce stress for a good night’s sleep.

The initiative sees 10 Irish businesses each win a grant worth €10,000, made up of €5,000 in cash and €5,000 of products and solutions from Three. The connectivity solutions from Three Ireland’s expert business advisers have been especially welcomed by the award winners.

Janet Conneely runs the Connemara Glamping tourism business in Galway. Of the grant, she said, “It was a massive, massive lift for us to be recognised in this way. It has been such a battle for us just to get started.” As well as welcoming the money, she was relieved to be able to extend wifi to the tents as people expect that service these days.

The Fleming family, located in County Kerry, have been dairy farmers for five generations. Although their pop-up ice cream parlour is mostly seasonal, the Three grant is helping them meet peak season demands. John Fleming of the Muckross Creamery said, “It has been a great boost for us. We have earmarked €4,000 for a bigger ice cream making machine.” He added, “We installed wifi in the shop to facilitate a card reader so we are now able to accept cashless payments. We also put in mobile hotspots to extend the signal coverage. We are able to answer calls wherever we are on the farm.”

Aidan Morgan of A.M Hurleys & Sports is a self-taught hurley maker, using sustainable ash to make eco-hurleys. He recently welcomed Gaelic footballer Rory Beggan as his new business partner to launch a range of sportswear. On the technology side, Rory said, “Three couldn’t have been more helpful. I upgraded my phone and Three set me up with their virtual landline app on the phone. That means I can take calls to my landline on the mobile. I can also switch the landline to an answerphone out of hours if I want. That’s better for work-life balance.”

Click here for more information on Three’s Grants for Small Businesses programme.