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FORMER PRIMARK DIRECTOR Breege O’Donoghue has been announced as the new chair of the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland (DCCoI).
Earlier this year, O’Donoghue moved on from her role with the budget clothing giant Primark after 37 years with the company.
She joined the Irish-founded company in the late 1970s, 10 years after it opened its first outlet in Dublin city centre.
She oversaw the establishment of its HR operations when the chain had just 24 stores and moved into new international markets.
Last year, the DCCoI completed a year-long programme, called Irish Design 2015 (ID2015), that aimed to showcase Irish design and creative talent internationally in order to increase exports and generate additional employment.
Design & Crafts Council of Ireland chief executive Karen Hennessy said that O’Donoghue’s experience in international markets will help the organisation build on Irish Design 2015.
“Breege’s experience will be invaluable as we chart our course for the coming year in order to reap the benefits of ID2015 and ensure the necessary supports are in place to maintain momentum and exploit opportunities to grow the sector,” she said.
Priorities include developing export markets for DCCoI client companies, addressing the impacts of Brexit and encouraging the strategic use of design for the benefit of society and our economy.
Speaking about her appointment to the DCCoI, O’Donoghue said she wants to ensure the contribution of the design and craft sector to Ireland’s economy is appreciated.
“I have been impressed by the significant achievements of the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland in strategically developing the design and craft industry as an innovative, dynamic and vibrant sector,” she said.
Background
During her 37 years at Primark, O’Donoghue helped the clothing chain expand into new international markets. The company now has over 300 outlets in 11 countries.
In her most recent role as head of new markets at the company, she oversaw Primark’s expansion into the US market. As part of this venture into North America, the company has opened stores in Boston, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Next March, Primark will open its first store in New York on Staten Island.
O’Donoghue stepped away from this role in September to “move on to her next phase of life”, however, she still acts as an ambassador for the brand and is also a non-executive director of cider maker C&C Group.
Written by Killian Woods and posted on Fora.ie
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So we ship peat in from Lithuania instead.. Brilliant government decisions once again
@Geoff Bateman: Why would anyone buy peat from abroad? There are loads of alternatives
@Mickety Dee: I believe this is being done for the horticulture industry.
The bogs are largely gone at this stage. It was over 30 years ago that campaigns were underway by David Bellamy and Dutch groups who were buying up bogs to stop them being destroyed. Bord na Mona have plundered a nations heritage, destroyed in 50 years what nature took 10000 years to produce and as this ecological asset was destroyed all the sequestered carbon was released into the atmosphere to contribute to the greenhouse effect and climate change. They have woken up very very late to their environmental responsibilities.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-26-mn-283-story.html
Absolutely destroyed the bog lands of Ireland with their large scale intensive cutting and yet it’s the small farmer who gets punished.
If a tonne of concrete emits a tonne of carbon how much carbon is emitted by Bord na Mona building wind farms on the bogs considering each pylon can take up to five hundred tonnes to stabilise them. Why are they not forced to go solar. Thanks
@Tony Brady: it’s not really about carbon… it’s about money! And right now wind is the most profitable energy source
@Piggy: Indeed – at the expense of the rest of us via an ever growing list of levies on bills
@Tony Brady: I would assume they’re probably using GGBS rather than Portland cement-based concrete in the builds , it’s becoming industry standard at about 4% of the carbon content with better long term compressive strength. The industry isn’t sleepwalking on that issue
@Brian Carroll: What does GGBS mean to ordinary people not involved in the industry?
We need to allow a certain amount of cutting if we are not offsetting correctly. Specifically in relation to imports from further afield. Bord Na Mona has started to become more environmentally responsible but it needs to up it’s game. Hopefully the China, India, Russia & US can get there acts together and stop pollution of the earth as they are far and away the worst. Ireland does have these wonderful bog lands which are technically lungs for the earth as they are natural carbon sinks. Hopefully as cutting decreases and bogs are allowed to return to more sustainable places we can do our little bit. But if the big polluters like CIRUS continue to act like a virus then we are all fecked.
Has anyone seen this bog rehabilitation in work? I have and it looks like a big waste of time and money to me. In the article BnM mention walkways, amenities etc. being built. Has anyone heard anything about these because I don’t remember hearing anything. I know its early days but would be nice to hear what plans they have in store.
@DK: When you get €108m from government to “restore” bogs, it’s easy do it, or shaping like you’re doing it. How much will government give to private developers who have also been stopped? Those bogs are far less depleted and far better subjects for restoration than the BNM ones. Once again, Irish government policy is on the big fake when it comes to looking good to Brussels.
Government took over a bog near Shinrone around twenty years ago and have allowed it dry out completely, to where restoration now, would be almost impossible.
The BNM “valuation” is as credible as its restoration work. As one esteemed great leader might have said, smokes and mirrors.
@DK: Some lovely walkways and trails, Loch Boora is a prime example
https://www.loughboora.com
@Francis Devenney: Lough Boora is there about 20 years, it has nothing to do with this ‘Just Transition’. Any examples of recent or upcoming walkways or trails?
@DK: The Gap trail in Donegal and Mountlucas are the only other two I’ve done. All three worth doing if you’re into walking.There’s also some really nice bog walks on the Leitrim way, not sure if they’re BnM lands or not,
@DK: why do you think it’s a waste of time?
@DK: It a big con job to say a bog is “rehabilitated” when you plonk an industrial wind farm on it.
If a tonne of concrete emits a tonne of carbon and each turbine takes up to five hundred tonnes of concrete to stabilise it how many tonnes of carbon is being emitted by Bord na Mona and others building wind farms. Why is solar and anaerobic digesters not used by them or is wind more profitable to their investors
@Tony Brady: Wind is the best harvester, not of energy, but of subsidies.
The Boglands if Ireland are also home to many wild birds some of which are endangeed species . Yet the wind turbines cut them to pieces as the birds cannot see the rotating blades .In the US there are reports of pikes if dead birds at the foot of these giant structures which are a terrible eyesore. Also , the carbon footprint of having to manufacture these wind turbines is not always included in the supposed benefits of wind power . Ditto fot the disposal of them after thier useful working life has expired , usually 20 years . Also the ” preparation” of sites on which these wind turbines have been located have caused ” bog quakes” with thousands of tons of turf sliding into rivers and resulting in major fish kills and destroying the spawning areas for salmon and trout for decades . This supposed “Green Technology” is not as green as they would have you believe .
@Tony Duffy: Very valid points you’ve highlighted there. I was quite shocked to hear that a wind turbine has only got an expected average lifespan of 20 years. There really needs to be much more awareness-raising of facts such as these.
Loose monetary policy and wild speculation
Great to read all the positive comments.
If a tonne of concrete emits a tonne of carbon and each turbine takes up to five hundred tonnes of concrete to stabilise it how many tonnes of carbon is being emitted by b na Mona and others building wind farms. Why is solar and anaerobic digesters not used by them or is wind more profitable to their investors
It would be nice to see BnM re-employ people displaced by this transition into new roles in an expanded BnM and more turnover and more jobs in the communities most affected by the stopping of turf cutting and processing.
On another note , an article like this on Coillte could be interesting too.
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