Editorial: ‘Isn’t it mad that it is now five years since COVID-19 took over?'

I was driving to Cork this day five years ago when I started to get nervous. Liveline was on the radio and I was listening to an Irish guy who was under quarantine in his apartment in Bergamo in northern Italy.

There was fear in his voice as he spoke about this virus that had taken over the city, a tension as he spoke about only leaving his home for essentials like food and medication. The city was officially in lockdown.

The whole thing sounded so bizarre. I glanced in the rear view mirror at my eight-week old baby, and thought, that will never happen here, will it? Less than two weeks later and our country was also in lockdown.

Isn’t it mad that it is now five years since COVID-19 took over our world? For some, it changed everything, for others life has gone back to normal. It was a time of fear, loneliness, isolation and for many, heartbreak. When we were restricted to 2km, my family in Cork felt a million miles away. The simple act of a warm embrace never felt so powerful.

But it wasn’t all bad. There was the explosion of sourdough cultures and banana bread, it was the earliest summer in memory, like Mother Nature knew how badly we needed the sun. And in the quiet moments, when people had a chance to breathe, to think, fantastic ideas emerged.

International Women’s Day

For Peigín Crowley, who is on our front cover, it was the start of a wellbeing and skincare brand that has gone global. We featured Peigín in Irish Country Living this week three years ago, when Ground Wellbeing was really taking off. Now, five years since her idea started growing legs in lockdown, her brand is in spas, in five-star hotels across 20 countries and the business had a turnover of nearly €1m last year – and they are looking to double that this year.

Peigín is just one of the many inspirational women that we feature in the paper this week, as part of International Women’s Day (8 March). Janine Kennedy profiles some inspiring women in Irish farming and food, women that are innovating, pushing boundaries and making their mark in industries that have been, for the most part, male-dominated.

Achieving success, especially when it’s your own business that is built from the ground up can be a lonely road. When the ACORNS programme was first launched 10 years ago, no one could really anticipate its success in supporting women in running a business in rural Ireland.

Sarah McIntosh writes that the initial idea was focused on business plans and marketing strategies. However, the real strength has been the networking support, mentorship and the sharing of ideas that has given women the skills and confidence to pursue their ambitions.

It’s not just women in business that we are celebrating. Katherine O’Leary announces the arrival of her first granddaughter, a beautiful baby girl called Katie, her little namesake.

Her heart is bursting with pride and we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate International Women’s Day.

Welcome to the girl gang, Katie.