Dublin Program Turns 10, Helped Launch 1,000+ Entrepreneurs

For ten years, a small community program in North Dublin has been quietly changing lives by helping everyday people turn business ideas into reality.

StartUp Ballymun launched in 2016 with a simple mission: give people in Ballymun and North Dublin the knowledge, connections, and confidence to start their own businesses. A decade later, it has welcomed more than 1,000 attendees and become Dublin's longest-running community entrepreneurship initiative.

The program was founded by Liam Barry from Dublin City Council and Billy Linehan from Celtar Advisers. They wanted to create a space where aspiring business owners could learn from people who had actually done it, not just talked about it.

That approach worked. Over the years, attendees have heard from more than 90 speakers who shared real stories about starting businesses, finding customers, and navigating setbacks. The focus has always been practical experience over theory.

This year's tenth anniversary event on June 10th features an impressive lineup of entrepreneurs who represent modern Irish business. Deirdre McCarthy built a financial literacy platform called FLIT.ie. Keith Walsh created ExamRevision.ie to help students prepare for exams. Joanna Frivet founded LegalMoov to make legal services more accessible.

The program is also bringing back Gavan Walsh, founder of iCabbi, who previously spoke at the event. His taxi dispatch software company grew from a local Irish startup to serving operators in dozens of countries worldwide. He's the first entrepreneur invited back as a featured speaker, showing how much the program values long-term relationships.

The Ripple Effect

What makes StartUp Ballymun special isn't just the speakers or the success stories. It's the ecosystem it has built around entrepreneurship in North Dublin.

Representatives from Enterprise Ireland, local business partnerships, and innovation hubs attend each event. These connections often prove as valuable as the formal program, giving entrepreneurs direct access to funding, mentorship, and resources that can move their businesses forward.

The program has survived and thrived through economic ups and downs, a pandemic, and rapid technological change. That consistency matters, especially in communities where entrepreneurship resources aren't always easy to find.

Dublin City Council's sustained support through the Ballymun Area Office has been crucial. That long-term commitment created stability, allowing the program to evolve while staying true to its mission of supporting local entrepreneurs.

The 2026 event tackles the real challenges business owners face today: rising costs, economic uncertainty, and rapid change. The theme "Steering a Business in Choppy Waters" reflects what entrepreneurs are actually dealing with, not what sounds good on paper.

Ten years of showing up, connecting people, and sharing knowledge has proven that building entrepreneurship doesn't require massive budgets or flashy programs—just consistent support and genuine commitment to helping people succeed.