{"id":355544,"date":"2026-03-20T04:43:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T04:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/355544\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T04:43:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T04:43:09","slug":"ennis-start-up-provides-just-the-tonic-at-clare-enterprise-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/355544\/","title":{"rendered":"Ennis start-up provides just the tonic at Clare Enterprise Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edel Breslin of \u00d3ir Tonics. Photograph: Kirsty Lyons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

CO Clare will be represented at the 2026 National Enterprise Awards this June by Ennis and Ballyvaughan-based enterprise \u00d3ir Tonics.<\/p>\n

Founded by Edel Breslin in 2022, the health and wellness brand was named overall county winner at the National Enterprise Awards County Final, held in the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis last Thursday. Breslin also received the Outstanding Female Entrepreneur Award.<\/p>\n

The event, hosted by Local Enterprise Office Clare, recognised the county\u2019s strongest micro\u2011enterprises across innovation, sustainability and export potential.<\/p>\n

AlphaSpec Ltd in Shannon, owned by Nikolaos Mylonas, won Best Innovation for its work in precision engineering and CNC manufacturing.<\/p>\n

IFF Plastics Ltd in Cree, represented on the day by General Manager Sharon Barrington, received the Green for Business Award for its closed\u2011loop recycling system that converts single\u2011use farm and ocean plastics into fully recyclable products. The company now recycles more than 1,000 tonnes each year.<\/p>\n

Riwaka Custom Interiors Ltd in Ennis won Best Export Potential. Founded by New Zealand native Kel O\u2019Loughlin, the company specialises in bespoke automotive interiors, handcrafted furniture and commercial aircraft interior work.<\/p>\n

\"\"Noeleen Fitzgerald, Director of Finance, Investment & Enterprise, Cllr Pat Daly, Chairman Economic strategic Policy Committee SPC, Ellen Kelly , Oirr Tonics, (Outstanding female entrepreneur and overall winner and Bernadette Haugh, Head of Enterprise, Local Enterprise Office Clare at the Old Ground Hotel Ennis. Photograph by Eamon Ward<\/p>\n

\u00d3ir Tonics will join businesses from Ireland\u2019s 30 other local authority areas at the National Enterprise Awards Final in Dublin\u2019s Mansion House on 18 June, competing for a share of the \u20ac80,000 prize fund. Past Clare representatives include Indigo (2025), Atlantic Clinical Packaging (2024) and Wild Irish Seaweeds (2023).<\/p>\n

Cllr Pat Daly (FF), Chairman of Clare County Council\u2019s Economic Strategic Policy Committee (SPC), congratulated the participants, adding, \u201cThese awards show the drive and talent that exists in Clare\u2019s business community. It is great to see local enterprises growing in confidence and making their mark.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noeleen Fitzgerald, Director of Finance, Investment & Enterprise, Clare County Council, said Clare had a strong and ambitious enterprise community. \u201cClare has a vibrant enterprise sector, and it is important that we recognise and support the innovation and ambition of our local businesses. Through Local Enterprise Office Clare, many small companies are receiving the guidance they need to start, grow and compete in wider markets. The National Enterprise Awards are a valuable opportunity to showcase the strength of entrepreneurship across County Clare\u201d.<\/p>\n

Bernadette Haugh, Head of Enterprise at LEO Clare, said the awards highlighted the work of small firms across the county. \u201cThese awards celebrate the achievements of our micro\u2011enterprise sector, which we work with every day. They highlight the determination and creativity of small business owners across Clare who have benefited from our programme of financial and training supports. We are proud to recognise their success and to showcase the strength of local enterprise in every part of the county.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Pictured at the National Enterprise Awards County Final in the Old Ground Hotel (l-r) Noeleen Fitzgerald, Director of Finance, Investment & Enterprise, Clare County Council; Councillor Pat Daly, Chairman of Clare County Council\u0092s Economic SPC; Nikolaos Mylonas, AlphaSpec Ltd; Kel O\u0092Loughlin, Riwaka Custom Interiors Ltd; Ellen Kelly, \u00d3ir Tonics; Sharon Barrington, IFF Plastics Ltd; and Bernadette Haugh and Theresa Mulvihill-Killeen of LEO Clare. Photo Eamon Ward. No repro fee.<\/p>\n

Speaking about the naming of Edel Breslin as overall winner, Ms. Haugh said \u00d3ir Tonics had grown from a simple idea into a distinctive Clare brand. \u201cEdel\u2019s story is a great example of what can happen when local knowledge and enterprise support come together. She started developing her first tonic during the pandemic and has built \u00d3ir Tonics into a business with real identity and potential. She has shown resilience and imagination, and it\u2019s clear her products are resonating with customers. We are delighted to see her take the top award this year\u201d.<\/p>\n

The adjudication panel for this year\u2019s County Final included Michelle O\u2019Grady (Enterprise Ireland), Gert O\u2019Rourke (New Ventures Manager, University of Limerick) and Damien Barrow (Curtin O\u2019Friel Accountants). The county final carried a prize fund of \u20ac6,500, with awards of \u20ac1,000 presented for each category winner and an additional \u20ac2,500 being presented to the overall winner.<\/p>\n

Funding for the Local Enterprise Offices is provided by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland, and further details about the supports on offer to small businesses are available through www.localenterprise.ie\/clare.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Edel Breslin of \u00d3ir Tonics. Photograph: Kirsty Lyons.\u00a0 CO Clare will be represented at the 2026 National Enterprise…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355545,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[161445,72,161446,161447,191,61,60,161448,97871,161449],"class_list":["post-355544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entrepreneurship","tag-bernadette-haugh","tag-business","tag-clare-local-enteprise-office","tag-edel-breslin","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-noeleen-fitzgerald","tag-oir-tonics","tag-pat-daly"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355544\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}