Blood is thicker than water, and it’s also the glue that holds the majority of Irish businesses together. Around seven out of 10 businesses based in Ireland are family businesses; they range from behemoths such as Musgraves, Dunnes and Sisk, to the thousands of smaller enterprises that keep it in the family. Together they contribute more than 50 per cent of Ireland’s GDP, meaning the “mom and pop” shop is not to be sniffed at.
Operating as a family business has advantages and disadvantages. Trust and tenacity are associated with the model, as is financial flexibility, which allows for quicker decision making and lower capital requirements. Indeed, surveys consistently show that family businesses tend to enjoy a high level of trust among their customers and are more likely to have women involved at board or director level. Yet they have unique challenges when it comes to diversity, embracing technology, and building succession plans.
In the digital era, even the smallest family business can have a global reach. Dingle Crystal is one example of a successful Irish company that has remained wholly family owned and run while growing its customer base far beyond its shopfront.
Sean Daly, formerly a master craftsman with internationally renowned glassware manufacturer Waterford Crystal, established Dingle Crystal with his late wife Liz in 1999, moving his entire family to west Kerry. As his five children grew, they all eventually joined the business, working in different roles as it began to expand.
“I’d like to say we are a happy family, but you might say we are a crazy family most of the time,” Daly laughs. “My son Adam came on board after the recession and really got us started on online orders and helped with our marketing and social media, which was all quite new then. He was instrumental in turning the business around after a tough few years.”
Daughters Bella and Rebecca work in Dingle Crystal’s two shops; another son, Shane, is in charge of acid polishing the raw glass that comes in before it is engraved; and eldest son Stephen helps run the factory. The children’s partners have become involved in the business too: Bella’s husband Jonathan is almost qualified as a master craftsman and Shane’s partner Christine is working on packing and shipping. And the business recently moved into producing luxury hand-poured candles in Dingle Crystal engraved glass tumblers, made by Sean’s partner Andrea.
Dingle Crystal – which includes Bono, Garth Brooks and Frankie Valli in its customer base – is an example of a family business that has successfully leveraged digital opportunities. Daly notes that it recently received an award from Shopify for achieving 10,000 online sales in just two years.
Succession can be a key challenge for family businesses, especially where there is unique expertise involved. With one eye on retirement, Daly says he is thrilled that the business will stay in the family.
“I wouldn’t fully retire but now that I have got three people able to cut and polish glass, it means I can take some time for myself without worrying,” he says.
Another challenge for family businesses is that they can often find it difficult to build out their teams and bring in experts from different areas. Multiple members of one family have rowed in to help establish The Skin Diary, a relatively new Irish business.
“We founded The Skin Diary to bring real, science-backed skincare to a market flooded with pseudoscience,” explains dermatologist Dr Clare Kiely, who launched the brand in 2023 alongside her dermatology colleagues. While she had the medical credentials, Kiely immediately recognised the need for diverse expertise, and the founding team naturally expanded within the family.
Simon O’Neill, Clare’s husband, left a senior role at CBRE to become chair and chief executive officer of the company, while his sister Emma brought her operational expertise from News Corp to become chief operating officer. Emma’s husband Glenn Wilson leveraged his background in branding and tech to become chief technology officer.
“Business thrives on trust and commitment – as a family business we’re all deeply invested in making this a success,” says Simon O’Neill.
But for smaller family businesses, the biggest challenge can be achieving a healthy work-life balance. Kiely admits it’s hard to avoid talking shop at the dinner table. “There’s no off switch; we’ll be talking business morning, noon and night,” she says.
Navigating family history and ensuring non-family staff feel equally valued are also key priorities for the company. Yet they feel that being a family business is central to their success.
“There’s a natural competitive edge in families – it drives us to push harder, challenge each other and never settle for second best,” Wilson says.
Well-known Dublin pub and restaurant McGrattan’s opened its doors on Fitzwilliam Lane in 1989. Its owner Dan McGrattan is still at the helm but during this time his son Damien and daughter Dervlia have also joined the business. McGrattan snr has witnessed the ups and downs of the hospitality and pub trades over the past 36 years and admits that the going sometimes got tough.
“The main challenge is making a profit,” he admits. “You are never going to be a success overnight. If you are running a family business, you are in it for the long haul. You never switch off; the business is always at the forefront of your mind seven days a week. And at the end of the day, it is the family reputation that is on the line.”
Close relationships can mean business disagreements can be especially awkward.
“Working in a family business certainly requires additional diplomatic skills but that’s good for business too,” says McGrattan. “But as a family-run business there is no ‘head office’ and we can make management decisions surrounding the business relatively quickly.”
