Seamus and Maureen Hughes
After nine years in the pub trade, husband and wife team, Seamus and Maureen Hughes, decided it was high time for a career change. Seamus, who is from Cavan originally and Maureen from Leitrim, leased a public house in Cootehill from 1991 to 2000 which “we ran quite successfully, and gained a lot of experience in dealing with the public.”

Seamus proceeded to do a diploma course in computers and Maureen a diploma for mature students while rearing their four children – Óisin, Blaithin, Fiachra and Naoíse.

During this time, Seamus’s parents, who run a clothing factory in Cavan, were having to outsource their garments for embroidery. Seamus and Maureen, who were keen to open their own business, approached his parents about starting an embroidery business – where they would provide all the embroidery requirements for the factory. “My parents were very positive about this suggestion, so we got in touch with our local TD, who in turn put us in touch with the Cavan Partnership. We put together a business plan for the new venture which was to become known as Celtic Casuals.”

“As with all new businesses you need a fair amount of capital to start off and we were put in touch with First Step. We set up a meeting with First Step and even though we were nervous, we were positive as we had our homework done and knew there was a gap in the market for embroidery services.” First Step granted Celtic Casuals a loan which allowed Seamus and Maureen purchase the necessary embroidery machines. Celtic Casuals is located in Corbeagh, Cootehill, Co. Cavan and at present casualsSeamus and Maureen take care of the day-to-day running of operations.

“We hope in the future Celtic Casuals will represent a strong image of quality Irish garments. We want to create a brand that people will want to be seen in, like Nike and Adidas. We intend to develop the brand name and logo as a benchmark for our garments so that it will become embedded in the public consciousness. Similar to Aer Lingus, Guinness or the GAA, we hope Celtic Casuals is associated with Ireland and quality. Obviously as business grows we’ll be employing more staff.”

Celtic Casuals,
Dromore West,
Cootehill,
Co. Cavan
Tel: +353 87 256 0759
www.celticcasuals.com