From US advertising to sipping tea in Co Cavan, Sylvia Thompson reports on a major career change
Sean Moran busies himself making us orange pekoe tea in the dining room of the Palladian villa he is looking after for his friend, Australian interior designer and architect John Coote.
Looking out the large Georgian windows across the lakes and woodlands that surround Bellamont House in Cootehill, Co Cavan, he speaks about working in advertising in New York. Just over three years ago, this thirtysomething man from Mulranney in Co Mayo was a global account director for such brands as Martel Cognac. Now, he's selling imported blended green, black and white teas to 'smart, progressive, passionate' restaurants and tea rooms.
How Bellamont House fits into all of this is one of those stories of coincidence and friendship. "When I was younger looking at books on architecture, it was the country house I loved most and once when I was nearby, I wandered up the avenue to have a look at it with my sister - it was closed up at the time. Then, much later, I met someone at a party in New York who had visited the house after John Coote had bought it to use as a holiday house. John and I met later and became friends so when I moved back to Ireland, John said why don't you go and stay at Bellamont."
The eldest of three children, Moran was born in Chicago of Irish parents who returned to Ireland soon after his birth - first to Co Down and then Co Mayo when he was about 11. He attended boarding school in Rockwell College, Co Tipperary and from there went to University College Dublin, taking a BA in psychology.
"I didn't know what to do with my life. My dad is a doctor and I didn't have enough points for medicine but I wasn't interested in the standard 10 or so jobs that were available in the Ireland of the 1980s," he explains.
A chance encounter with two advertising executives in the west of Ireland impressed him. "I thought these people have style. They are smart and living a glamourous life." So he moved to New York, stayed with his cousin and sent off his resumes to the advertising agencies.
Catching the mood of openness towards the young educated Irish immigrants in America at that time, Moran had no problem getting a job. And the following 10 years saw him moving up the ranks of advertising, dealing with bigger budgets, more travel and lots of stylish entertaining.
"I started as an assistant media planner earning about $15,000 a year with D'Arcy, Masius, Benton and Bowels and moved about every two years. My last job was as a global account director for Chiat Day." By then Moran was in the top 5 per cent earners in the US.
"I was that Gucci-wearing showman. You had to live the life in the advertisements, travelling club class, staying in top hotels You fell into this weird sense of self-importance moving from New York to Paris and back to Canada, living in hotel rooms, sometimes waking up in the night not sure what city you were in. It was an insane life but I thrived on it.
"There was this huge personal challenge for me that I could hob-nob with the best of them in the business world and I wanted to live that life but the happiness quotient was going down as the money quotient was going up."
Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the US went into an economic recession and advertising budgets were the first to be slashed.
"I watched the agency lose 50 per cent of its staff in 10 months and then in October 2002, I was called in by a junior human resources person I had interviewed who told me 'you've got one hour in which to pack your bags'. I thought this was the most absurd thing since I had sold some of the best creative concepts this agency had done but I packed my box and walked onto Madison Avenue, thinking this is the best thing that has ever happened to me.
"Most people would have called their headhunter immediately to get another job in an advertising agency but I'd had enough. I decided to take a two-week holiday in the Caribbean - and ended up staying six months on St Barts. I read lots of classic books. I spent days on the beach, quiet lunches with friends and fun evenings."
While there, Sean met a young woman whose energy for selling impressed him. "I thought my entire career has been about selling ideas, concepts, plans, strategies and here is someone who buys and sells jewellery with a passion," he says.
So, back in Mulranney for Christmas, one of those family nostalgic conversations turned to Moran's paternal grandfather, Frank Moran, who sold loose tea along the west coast of Ireland, first from a bicycle, then from a motorcycle and finally from a Model T Ford. The next morning Sean Moran knew he was going to start a tea company.
He began testing his idea offering samples of teas (popular ones included vanilla tea, Japanese green tea with Moroccan mint and Rooibos caramel infusion) at farmers' markets in Dublin. After all his years in advertising, Moran believes word of mouth is the most powerful form of publicity.
"I want to make tea youthful, modern and democratic. Historically [at the upper end of the market], tea was elitist but it is the most commonly consumed beverage around the world other than water," he says, slipping back ever so slightly into advertising speak.
So, how is he coping with his new business? "In terms of income, I've had an indescribable hit and it's lonely setting up a business but I keep afloat. And I'm the happiest I've been in a long, long time," he says.
Meanwhile, teas aside, there's the responsibility of looking after Bellamont which has a staff of three, two brown Labradors and one Irish wolfhound. "John has always wanted to develop the stable block as a showroom of furniture, lighting, textiles, rugs and bespoke plateware," he says. Although keen to join his friend on this business project, Moran would also love to open a tea shop in Dublin.
"It's a question of timing. The rents are so high. At the moment, I'd worry I wouldn't sell enough tea to pay for the parking meter," he says with a laugh.
For more information about Sean Moran's teas, email sip-tea@hotmail.com