A GALWAY man’s novel business idea is “keeping the home fires burning” Stateside.
Galway city teacher Dermot Ryan attended a family christening last February where a DVD of a log fire was playing on a flatscreen TV over the fireplace. It was then Dermot hit upon the idea of creating an Irish turf version.
He had DVDs made by Castlebar firm, CD and DVD Duplication Ireland, and packaged them himself.
Dermot attended a trade show in New Jersey where all the Irish and Celtic shops in the US do their buying for the year.
“I only got into that show because there was a cancellation in the hotel. I stayed in room 911 because nobody else over there wanted to,” he said.
At the trade show he met Dianne O’Connor, who owns Creative Irish Gifts, the biggest seller of Irish products in the world. She was so impressed by the DVD she asked that it be included in their autumn catalogue.
Then shopping channel QVC, which is beamed into 94 million US homes, came calling and Dermot was invited to come on the show and sell the product during a Rose of Tralee special.
He had now sold 5,000 copies of his DVD with orders continuing to pour in. His website is getting hits and orders from all over the world.
‘It’s still hard to believe how quickly things have taken off,” Dermot admitted.
He said that there were initial problems getting the right type of turf for the DVD.
“It can be difficult to get proper hand cut turf because the fellas who cut it don’t want to give it to you! Eventually a bit of hard cash made a few people in Carraroe very happy.”
The DVD was filmed in Cloonacauneen Castle, on the outskirts of Galway city.
“Filming it in this great location makes a huge difference. People in America want this product because it’s something that they can’t recreate in their own homes,” Dermot said. The DVDs also come with a peat incense to recreate the smell of burning turf.
Ronan Courell from CD and DVD Duplication Ireland said that he was intrigued by Dermot’s idea when it was first pitched to him.
“I thought it was so mad that it might actually work. It’s the kind of thing that people will kick themselves for not thinking of.”
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