Trinity College

Today we went to Trinity College to listen to guest speakers about entrepreneurs in Ireland. It was a humbling experience and a great opportunity to learn how difficult it is to get companies off the ground. I was most impressed by Joanna Murphy, the CEO of Connect Ireland in her presentation.

“There is no magic dust” – Joann Murphy

Joann explained to us how she went from successful entrepreneur, to mother of three, back to entrepreneur. She successfully ran two startup companies and went through many tribulations of investing her own money into a company only to find her accountant had been deceiving her. She referenced Sheryl Sandberg and her book “Lean In” in reference to women pushing boundaries in the workplace. I was grateful today we had two female guest speakers when women only make up 20% of entrepreneurs in Ireland. Joann had a successful career and time to create a family. I found her story inspiring and I hope to meet more role models like Joann during my master’s program.

"Without a struggle there can be no progress." - Frederick Douglass

I was also impressed by the start up IDEA. I was shocked how the company grew and had to let go of some of their clients to keep up with the competition. This would be a very difficult decision for a company to turn away business but sometimes it’s important for the future direction of the company.

After the presentations, we took a tour of the book of Kells. I was disappointed to learn Harry Potter was not filmed there but it could have inspired the scene in the movie.

Time to go check out a Celtics shows to see some authentic Irish dancing.