It’s more than just business, it’s a bond built on trust and a passion for creating something together. This Mother’s Day, Irish Country Living celebrates some dynamic mother-daughter duos around Ireland who are uniting generations for a common goal in their sights.
Isabel’s Place and Ardmore Jewellery, Dungarvan, Co Waterford
Meet Marie Ronayne and Isabel Ronayne-Healy, a mother and daughter team working together in a different way. Marie is a goldsmith and founder of Ardmore Jewellery and her daughter Isabel is the owner of Isabel’s Place, an Irish design and gift shop in Dungarvan, Co Waterford.
Before opening Isabel’s Place, Isabel worked with her mum at Ardmore Jewellery. “In 2018, we started working together and I built the new website and started social media,” says Isabel. A strong online presence massively helped Marie’s business to grow.
“I was happy making jewellery and I was just selling by word-of-mouth but when Isabel came on board, things really started to take off,” says Marie.
After a few seasons of doing markets and pop-ups together, Isabel decided to open her own gift shop at the end of 2019, stocking over 100 Irish brands.
Stronger ties
Opening the shop did not mark a departure from Marie’s business, rather creating stronger ties between the two.
“We knew opening the shop was going to be a big collaboration. We planned it together. The point was to have my own source of income and a shop but also have a home for Mum’s jewellery,” explains Isabel.
“At the start when my resources were quite limited, I was very dependent on Mum for help. She was my first member of staff and in the lockdowns, Mum was at the shop nearly every day with me doing online orders.” Marie continues to help out in the shop two or three days a week.
Jewellery is one of the biggest sections in Isabel’s Place, and Marie is in control of jewellery stocks, suppliers and buying. She also uses the shop as a space to meet her own clients for consultations. While Marie stores some of her jewellery making equipment there, she also has a goldsmith studio in Ardmore.
Marie’s business experience came in useful for Isabel, and the duo picked suppliers and attended buying shows together.
Younger customer base
“Mum was such a big help to me when I was opening the shop. I hadn’t a clue about books and accounts and insurance,” says Isabel while Marie replies, “Isabel keeps me on track and informed about what a younger customer base would want. When I’m designing anything new, I design it in mind for the shop and how we retail it and how it will fit with a younger customer base.”
Leitrim Hill Creamery, Drumcong, Co Leitrim
Lisa Gifford runs Leitrim Hill Creamery with her daughter Gypsy Gifford, daughter-in-law Richelle South, and granddaughter Shiloh Gifford-South. \Naomi Lee
Leitrim Hill Creamery is a multigenerational goat farm and creamery in Drumcong with a connection to family ties both past and present.
Honouring her heritage, Lisa Gifford manages the small holding with her daughter Gypsy and daughter-in-law Richelle in the same county from which her grandparents emigrated for America in the early 1900s.
The trio live together on the farm, alongside Gypsy and Richelle’s daughter, Shiloh, and they produce small-batch, artisanal raw milk cheeses and ice cream using milk from their herd of 20 goats, as well as from local partner farmers.
“The milk is sourced based on a relationship with the farmer, their care of the animals and the land,” says Gypsy. “When people get something from Leitrim Hill Creamery, that item can be traced back to the farmer.”
Since opening in 2022, the trio have been busy. Over St Patrick’s weekend, they launched their ice cream cart in Carrick-on-Shannon market, where it will be stationed for seven days a week until September. Their ice cream is flavoured using seasonal and local products, like rhubarb, apple, gorse, gooseberries and elderflower.
Running a family business while sharing a home is not without its challenges, but Lisa puts their success down to the fact that each woman has their own skill set.
Professional arena
“We’re lucky that each of us comes from another professional arena,” says Lisa. “I’m a nurse and I became a university professor. Richelle is chief operating officer. She runs the marketing end of things and was a director producer in Los Angeles. Gypsy has the Culinary Institute of America background and is a professional chef.”
“Each one of us brings something different to the table, and that has to be respected. I would say respect for talent is important.”
Richelle adds that working together as a family means that conversations are more honest, which can accelerate decision-making.
Working together
“If you’re working with a group of strangers, you have to get to know them. When it’s family, you can say anything and you don’t have to tiptoe around things. You’re already way ahead when it comes to relationship building, which is vital for working together.”
“When we started, we had a conversation about how we’re going to be living and working together,” explains Gypsy. “Sometimes you have your mother-daughter hat on when you’re talking to each other. Sometimes you have your business hat on and you have to preface a challenging conversation with ‘I’m coming to you from a business standpoint.’ You have to be able to distinguish.”
“Creating very clear roles is important and deciding who is in charge of what,” Richelle agrees.
Harp Duets, Co Longford
Edel and Alida Loftus of Harp Duets.
Musicians and music teachers, Edel and Alida Loftus work and play together in a one-of-a-kind harp duo, Harp Duets, based in the midlands. “We’re the only mother-daughter harp duet in Ireland,” says Edel.
Edel and Alida have been performing together since Alida was six years old. “I could see from an early age that Alida was very gifted musically,” says Edel. “Alida gave her first performance in Powerscourt House, then in Westminster, and she played in the National Concert Hall when she was seven,” says Edel.
“When I was performing abroad, Alida didn’t want to be left behind. I gave her the arrangements and she learned them, so she came on tour with me.”
“God love her, she hasn’t got away without me since,” adds Alida, laughing. “Mum never made me feel like I had to follow in her footsteps, but I had a real love for music and couldn’t stay away from it.”
“She came along for fun,” says Edel, “but it turned out it was actually what she wanted. She learned the industry and had hands-on experience from a tiny age.”
Harp Duets developed organically over the years and now the mother-daughter team play all over Ireland, in some of the country’s most beautiful cathedrals, castles and estates.
Weddings
“We both absolutely love performing and we do lots of corporate events and weddings,” says Alida. “Music is such a special thing to have for events and we really enjoy creating those special memories, both for ourselves and for the people that we work with.”
Edel and Alida play a wide range of music, including Irish, jazz, classical and even Disney, which Edel jokes that “adults love”.
“People assume one kind of music. They see the harp and they think classical and then Alida comes out and plays Star Wars.”
“I know everyone has a different opinion on working with family but we’ve always had a very close relationship,” says Alida. “We get on really well. We can still have our disagreements but they never last long and are usually solved with someone making the other a cup of tea.”
It’s more than just business, it’s a bond built on trust and a passion for creating something together. This Mother’s Day, Irish Country Living celebrates some dynamic mother-daughter duos around Ireland who are uniting generations for a common goal in their sights.
Isabel’s Place and Ardmore Jewellery, Dungarvan, Co Waterford
Meet Marie Ronayne and Isabel Ronayne-Healy, a mother and daughter team working together in a different way. Marie is a goldsmith and founder of Ardmore Jewellery and her daughter Isabel is the owner of Isabel’s Place, an Irish design and gift shop in Dungarvan, Co Waterford.
Before opening Isabel’s Place, Isabel worked with her mum at Ardmore Jewellery. “In 2018, we started working together and I built the new website and started social media,” says Isabel. A strong online presence massively helped Marie’s business to grow.
“I was happy making jewellery and I was just selling by word-of-mouth but when Isabel came on board, things really started to take off,” says Marie.
After a few seasons of doing markets and pop-ups together, Isabel decided to open her own gift shop at the end of 2019, stocking over 100 Irish brands.
Stronger ties
Opening the shop did not mark a departure from Marie’s business, rather creating stronger ties between the two.
“We knew opening the shop was going to be a big collaboration. We planned it together. The point was to have my own source of income and a shop but also have a home for Mum’s jewellery,” explains Isabel.
“At the start when my resources were quite limited, I was very dependent on Mum for help. She was my first member of staff and in the lockdowns, Mum was at the shop nearly every day with me doing online orders.” Marie continues to help out in the shop two or three days a week.
Jewellery is one of the biggest sections in Isabel’s Place, and Marie is in control of jewellery stocks, suppliers and buying. She also uses the shop as a space to meet her own clients for consultations. While Marie stores some of her jewellery making equipment there, she also has a goldsmith studio in Ardmore.
Marie’s business experience came in useful for Isabel, and the duo picked suppliers and attended buying shows together.
Younger customer base
“Mum was such a big help to me when I was opening the shop. I hadn’t a clue about books and accounts and insurance,” says Isabel while Marie replies, “Isabel keeps me on track and informed about what a younger customer base would want. When I’m designing anything new, I design it in mind for the shop and how we retail it and how it will fit with a younger customer base.”
Leitrim Hill Creamery, Drumcong, Co Leitrim
Lisa Gifford runs Leitrim Hill Creamery with her daughter Gypsy Gifford, daughter-in-law Richelle South, and granddaughter Shiloh Gifford-South. \Naomi Lee
Leitrim Hill Creamery is a multigenerational goat farm and creamery in Drumcong with a connection to family ties both past and present.
Honouring her heritage, Lisa Gifford manages the small holding with her daughter Gypsy and daughter-in-law Richelle in the same county from which her grandparents emigrated for America in the early 1900s.
The trio live together on the farm, alongside Gypsy and Richelle’s daughter, Shiloh, and they produce small-batch, artisanal raw milk cheeses and ice cream using milk from their herd of 20 goats, as well as from local partner farmers.
“The milk is sourced based on a relationship with the farmer, their care of the animals and the land,” says Gypsy. “When people get something from Leitrim Hill Creamery, that item can be traced back to the farmer.”
Since opening in 2022, the trio have been busy. Over St Patrick’s weekend, they launched their ice cream cart in Carrick-on-Shannon market, where it will be stationed for seven days a week until September. Their ice cream is flavoured using seasonal and local products, like rhubarb, apple, gorse, gooseberries and elderflower.
Running a family business while sharing a home is not without its challenges, but Lisa puts their success down to the fact that each woman has their own skill set.
Professional arena
“We’re lucky that each of us comes from another professional arena,” says Lisa. “I’m a nurse and I became a university professor. Richelle is chief operating officer. She runs the marketing end of things and was a director producer in Los Angeles. Gypsy has the Culinary Institute of America background and is a professional chef.”
“Each one of us brings something different to the table, and that has to be respected. I would say respect for talent is important.”
Richelle adds that working together as a family means that conversations are more honest, which can accelerate decision-making.
Working together
“If you’re working with a group of strangers, you have to get to know them. When it’s family, you can say anything and you don’t have to tiptoe around things. You’re already way ahead when it comes to relationship building, which is vital for working together.”
“When we started, we had a conversation about how we’re going to be living and working together,” explains Gypsy. “Sometimes you have your mother-daughter hat on when you’re talking to each other. Sometimes you have your business hat on and you have to preface a challenging conversation with ‘I’m coming to you from a business standpoint.’ You have to be able to distinguish.”
“Creating very clear roles is important and deciding who is in charge of what,” Richelle agrees.
Harp Duets, Co Longford
Edel and Alida Loftus of Harp Duets.
Musicians and music teachers, Edel and Alida Loftus work and play together in a one-of-a-kind harp duo, Harp Duets, based in the midlands. “We’re the only mother-daughter harp duet in Ireland,” says Edel.
Edel and Alida have been performing together since Alida was six years old. “I could see from an early age that Alida was very gifted musically,” says Edel. “Alida gave her first performance in Powerscourt House, then in Westminster, and she played in the National Concert Hall when she was seven,” says Edel.
“When I was performing abroad, Alida didn’t want to be left behind. I gave her the arrangements and she learned them, so she came on tour with me.”
“God love her, she hasn’t got away without me since,” adds Alida, laughing. “Mum never made me feel like I had to follow in her footsteps, but I had a real love for music and couldn’t stay away from it.”
“She came along for fun,” says Edel, “but it turned out it was actually what she wanted. She learned the industry and had hands-on experience from a tiny age.”
Harp Duets developed organically over the years and now the mother-daughter team play all over Ireland, in some of the country’s most beautiful cathedrals, castles and estates.
Weddings
“We both absolutely love performing and we do lots of corporate events and weddings,” says Alida. “Music is such a special thing to have for events and we really enjoy creating those special memories, both for ourselves and for the people that we work with.”
Edel and Alida play a wide range of music, including Irish, jazz, classical and even Disney, which Edel jokes that “adults love”.
“People assume one kind of music. They see the harp and they think classical and then Alida comes out and plays Star Wars.”
“I know everyone has a different opinion on working with family but we’ve always had a very close relationship,” says Alida. “We get on really well. We can still have our disagreements but they never last long and are usually solved with someone making the other a cup of tea.”
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