Glenkeen Farm spread over 5,500 areas is located in Connemara an EU area of Special designation for conservation on the West Coast of Ireland ‘Wild Atlantic Way’ tourist trail.

Glenkeen Farm is a sheep farm micro enterprise open to visitors which allows guests to experience the workings of a typical Irish Sheep farm. The farm boasts a Café and craft shop. 12 different kinds of experiences are available, from sheep shearing and wool spinning demonstrations to sheep herding and wool dying, traditional turf cutting, guided historical walks focusing on the Great famine, or traditional Irish singing and dancing. 55,000 visitors are welcomed every year with a large percentage coming from overseas.

In 2017 Catherine O’Grady, the owner and manager of this small family business took part in the Empower Programme an education and training intervention to increase the numbers of female entrepreneurs in the West of Ireland through peer-to-peer learning, coaching and mentoring by industry experts. Online marketing was a significant aspect of this 12-week programme. The programme was delivered through blending learning involving both online and in person sessions.

Networking with other similar female business owners is a very important dimension.  Catherine credits the programme with providing access to experts in every field of business including Digital Entrepreneurship and says the mentoring sessions were a major boost to the business operation. The programme has provided her with a network of other entrepreneurs she can call on for support.

The free programme was jointly funded by the Irish Government and the ESF, Employment Inclusion and Learning Fund. It is offered by the Atlantic Technical University Innovation Hub which opened in 2005 to offer incubation supports such as office space, research, education and training as well as networking and collaborative opportunities to start-up businesses in the local area.

Digital Entrepreneurship is an essential fixture of this very remote rural micro-enterprise. Online Marketing has made it possible for this traditional Irish sheep farm to diversify most effectively and in doing so provide the visitor with a most unique Irish Rural Tourism experience.