Ignite the west: incendiary talks ignite Westport

We thought the following information regarding Ignite the West might be relevant to those who attended and are interested in Northwest Connects. Ignite the West takes place next Friday May 7th in Westport.

Ignite

In the seanchaí tradition, tales were
 never written down. They were passed on by word of mouth by a seanchaí
 through storytelling conventions peculiar to the Irish folk tradition, 
fusing all the imaginative skills and lyrical power to keep the
 audience engaged.

For the seanchaí, storytelling was a business. He 
used his skills to earn his living. A glimmer of those old seanchaí
ways is re-emerging in the new networking phenomenon, Ignite the West – a new series of talks to showcase the region’s resources of
imagination and entrepreneurship which kicks off at 8pm on Friday 7
May at the The Mill Times Hotel in Westport.

Ignite the West promoters Steve Daley and Dermot McCabe are bringing 
the sensational Ignite formula – that has spread like wildfire across 
over 200 cities across the world – to the West of Ireland. Ignite The
 West is a cabaret event that harnesses our collective imagination to
 champion new business opportunities, inspiring lessons learned,
 ambitious social projects and some hilarious gibberish to make
 everyone laugh at breakneck speed. Ignite aims to become the social 
event in the West’s calendar for those who want to share new ideas 
over a beer; encapsulated in the Ignite motto: “Enlighten us, but make 
it quick.”

Speakers have 5 minutes to get their idea across – with twenty slides 
which revolve every 15 seconds on the screen. There’s no time for
 waffle. You get up there and tell your tale.

The range of speakers at the first Ignite The West gig is guaranteed 
to fire your imagination.

Here’s just a few of our intrepid speakers
lined up for the opening night:

Ex-drummer with the Saw Doctors, Johnny Donnelly, will be rattling off
 his personal story of Galway’s Volvo Ocean Yacht stopover in 2009. As 
founder and managing director of event productions company Arcana, 
Johnny was responsible for the hugely successful celebrations that
 showcased Galway as an entertainment mecca second to none in the
world.
All the way from Dublin, the man steering the national ideas 
competition Your Country Your Call – PR man Padraig McKeown of Drury
 Communications – will be explaining what makes a PR man tick; as will
 the inimitable brand guru Mark Conguista, Head of Interactive at Irish 
International BBDO and Proximity in Dublin. Web technologist Alastair 
McDermott – a native of Newport – will be enlightening us on his own
 journey from programming geek to internet entrepeneur.

Mayo woman Clare Carroll will be sharing her vision for oddjobgiant, a
new website that helps you find local tradesmen for odd-jobs at home
and in the office. Furniture designers Alan Flannery and Colin Gannon
- who don’t take either the world or themselves too seriously – will
 showcase ideas behind their new start-up Groove Furniture. Then Travis 
Zeray, founder of ClewBayOutdoors.ie, will whizz through his vision 
for outdoor tourism in Mayo.

Achill artist and surfer, Shane Cannon, will enlighten us on the zen
of creativity. Before local optician Clodagh McGovern makes a
spectacle of herself. Other Mayo speakers will include Fintan Conlan
(One Man and His Van), smart energy pioneer Colm Rochford of 
Powersavvy, and Fiona Hoban who wants to take a weight off your mind! 

Justin Knecht, a self-described design evangelist and entrepreneur,
born in the US but brewed in Ireland since 2006, is based at the 
Centre for Design Innovation in Sligo and will be revealing how good
 design can help you find the perfect pint.

Other confirmed speakers
from the North West include creativity trainer, Heather James; serial
 entrepeneur and social media trainer, Johnny Beirne of 
downloadmusic.ie; and telecoms & broadband evangelist, David Mullins.

Ignite the West is for anyone who wants to laugh, talk and be
 inspired. Whether you want to start your own business, find local
partners for a new opportunity or have a wild and wonderful passion
 that you want to share, – or simply fancy a fun Friday night out; 
these talks are designed for you. Come along and enjoy the buzz!

Admission is a nominal €5 – and the enlightenment is free!

An Explosion Of Ideas Promises To Enlighten The West Of Ireland

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