There must be something in the water at the Monahan household in Athenry. We don’t often hear of a teenager who has established a business, built an online presence and an engaged audience, and has done all of this while continuing to excel at their schoolwork. To have two in the same household who are doing just this is really something quite special.
Brother-and-sister duo Cormac and Alice Monahan have ambition, drive and determination that will almost certainly guarantee success in later life. But the siblings aren’t waiting around to find out. At 18 and 13, the pair have already laid impressive foundations and have built two brilliant businesses that must surely be the envy of their peers.
Leaving Cert and second year students respectively at Presentation College Athenry, Cormac and Alice each have creative flair and an infectious entrepreneurial spirit in bucketloads. Cormac has been successfully running Esker Timber Creations since 2023, while Alice followed in her brother’s footsteps, setting up Purely Crafted in the summer of 2025. Both students will bring their products to this year’s Local Food & Craft Gift Fair at the Black Box Theatre in Galway on Saturday and Sunday, November 28 and 29.
Cormac’s business offers a range of fabulous bespoke timber planters and decor to elevate outdoor spaces at homes and gardens. He also develops seasonal gifts and decorations, and of course, Christmas offers opportunities to bring festive figures to market.
Alice, meanwhile, works with resin to create stunning personalised seasonal favourites, decorations and elegant and practical gifts. Her range features everything from serving trays to premium chessboards, and from decorative and functional resin coasters to bookmarks, keychains and so much more besides.
Back in 2023, Cormac got involved with the National Student Enterprise Programme through the Local Enterprise Office (LEO ) Galway. With encouragement from his Business Studies teachers, Monica Moroney and Margaret Brennan, and support from LEO Galway, he went on to win the Sustainability Award and the Overall Intermediate Award at the National Student Enterprise Programme 2024.
Alice watched her brother’s success from the sidelines and began to attend craft fairs and events with Cormac across the region. With an eye for creativity and colour, she started to hatch her own business plan, and last year, aged just 12, she took a leap of faith to turn her hobby into her own enterprise. In March this year, she won first prize in the Junior Sales and Marketing Category in Galway for the National Student Enterprise Programme, before progressing to take the national title too.
For Cormac, the garden and patio planters have become his staple offering over the last number of years, and he also takes specific orders for bespoke animal and farm themed pieces. On request, he has created some fabulous sand and water tables for children, as well as garden seats, animal compounds, and other garden attractions.
“At local markets, people would ask if I could create a planter of a favourite animal or pet and I love working on bespoke pieces. Of course, sometimes people will ask for just a standard planter, but I always wanted to make sure my offering was different – something you couldn’t just pick up in a regular store,” Cormac explained.
His Christmas product mix includes everything from Santa and Mrs Claus figures to angels and cribs, and from snow families to garden signs, and lots more. Alice makes the most of the seasons too, and her beach-themed products were particularly popular during the summer. “I’ve always loved experimenting with resin and I really enjoy trying different things, mixing colours and creating something really unique,” Alice said.
“The whole experience has taught me confidence, responsibility, financial skills and problem-solving. Age shouldn’t be, and isn’t, a barrier to starting something meaningful,” she added.
Cormac carries out all of his work from a shed in the garden that he has made his own. “For the outdoor pieces, I use pressure-treated timber and they get a minimum of three coats of paint. I’ve also used the income to invest in my tools so I’m using the best and most reliable tools on the market,” he said.
And now, Alice has her own space too, having taken over a garden room at the family home in Athenry. The versatility of resin allows her to create some really gorgeous handmade and personalised gifts, and she spends a lot of time researching new ideas and finding interesting ways of developing new products.
Understandably, mum Helen is incredibly proud of everything they have already achieved, and the fact that they both have the maturity to match their talent means there are no arguments about time management. “We live in the countryside and we’re lucky that we have the space here to allow them each to have their own area to work and experiment. They spend all their time looking at and researching new ways of doing things and their efforts have stood to them. When they put their mind to something, they’re 100% committed, whether that’s study or business, so their schoolwork doesn’t get neglected either,” Helen stressed.
With that in mind, Cormac and Alice will spend the week of this year’s Local Food & Craft Gift Fair in school, before joining the rest of the traders to greet the Saturday and Sunday shoppers. The Fair will take place over six days at the Black Box Theatre, from Tuesday, November 24 to Sunday, November 29. It will feature up to 60 Galway food producers, artists, and craftspeople, and is expected to attract in the region of 15,000 visitors across the six days.
