The idea for My Townland came to Ciara when looking for a memorable present for her granny
Ciara Connolly is from Middletown in Co. Armagh and owns a small business called 'My Townland'. The My Townland website enables you to turn your townland into a meaningful, unique and personalised map print.
Due to her upbringing, Ciara is passionate about rural areas and always had an interest in people and places and, through her time spent in Belfast studying geography at Queens,, she also developed a particular interest in mapping. Here we caught up with Ciara to find out a bit more about her, her business and her favourite things about Northern Ireland.Three main attributes you need for the job:I have a background in Geography and a love of where I’m from. A few years ago I attempted to create a townland map print as a gift for my granny. I had always wanted to have my own business and wondered how I could create something out of the things I’m interested in and love. Out of that MyTownland was born.
I couldn’t believe the reaction from one of our customers when she saw a print of her home townland. There were tears from both of us. I love finding out what makes each townland special to each and every customer. How did the coronavirus pandemic affect your organisation and how did you adapt? COVID-19 gave me the time and space to really put the wheels in motion. It enabled me to evaluate what I really wanted to do which then made me take the plunge and start the business.I found out that fear would be the ultimate motivator for me to finally get the wheels in motion with MyTownland, so I felt that fear and did it anyways! I also began to value the importance of slowing down and being more aware of how I spent my time.