S6E3: Allan Mulrooney – Surfing the Wave to the West of Ireland
As Chief Executive of the Western Development Commission (WDC), Allan Mulrooney is a tireless advocate for the Western Region of Ireland, promoting social and economic development for the counties of Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Roscommon, Galway, and Clare.
Why go west? Allan points to the region's mix of the old and the new, how it fosters a work-life balance, the contrast of beautiful natural areas and vibrant cities, its expanding broadband internet and innovation-spurring connected hubs--and some of the best surfing in the world!
Growing up in Strandhill, just west of Sligo, Allan first paddled out into the surf before he was a teenager—the water was cold, but then the sport wasn’t cool. It sounds pretty cool when Allan tells of traveling the world with a few surfboards and a guitar on his back.
Talking to Allan, you see career threads spinning out in all directions—surf bum, web publisher, social enterprise entrepreneur, community advocate, business development executive, communications professional—and all those threads come together in his leadership role at the WDC, where he and his team work to tell the region’s compelling “Work Smarter, Live Better” story.
Join us as we head west with Allan for an audio tour of the scenic beauty, appealing lifestyle, expanding business ecosystem, dynamic innovation hubs, vibrant cities and peaceful towns, growing business opportunities, emerging career possibilities, growing economy, and all that’s best about the West.
But if surfing is your draw, Allan cautions it takes “more courage or madness” than he has to tackle the forty- and fifty-foot “mutant” waves off Mullaghmore Head!
Links:
Allan Mulrooney
- Twitter / X
- Websites:
o gostrandhill.com (Co-Founder at)
o gostrandhill.com/strandhill-indonesian-relief-fund (SIRF Charity)
Western Development Commission
00:00 - Introduction
04:06 - Relocating Irish Stew HQ to the West of Ireland
06:35 - Strandhill Sligo Surfing Origins
09:25 - From Surf Bum to Businessman
16:48 - Towards the Western Development Commission
24:13 - Scope of WDC Activities
28:24 - Selling the New West of Ireland
34:26 - The Importance of Digital Hubs
38:08 - The Impact of the Wild Atlantic Way
41:34 - Housing in the West
46:00 - Key Infrastructure Needs in the West
49:50 - Marrying the Old to the New
51:43 - Seamus Plug
54:38 - John and Martin Recap
56:11 - Credits
Allan Mulrooney
CEO
Alan Mulrooney is the CEO of the Western Development Commission (WDC). Prior to taking that role, Alan served as Head of Communications and Atlantic Economic Corridor Development at the WDC for over three years. Preceding this he worked at IDA Ireland, the State’s inward investment promotion agency that is tasked with growing and sustaining FDI in Ireland. Allan has held several senior positions in private sector companies including the telecommunications sector, in public relations and has long been involved in community building projects across the Northwest focused on tourism and the growth of micro-enterprises.
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