Who is Joanne Sweeney-Burke?
Introduction:
A native of Downings, I now live in Churchill. I’m married to Tom from Galway and have a 13 year old daughter Sophie. I am new to politics and am probably not your typical candidate. I am young, female and I am not of a long line of Fine Gael stock.
However, I am a young person deeply affected by the state of our country, disillusioned by the lack of hope for the future and struck by how many people are disenfranchised by the lack of democracy. It seems to me in this county that if you don’t vote for the status quo your voice does not get heard.
So I am a metaphor for change. I am of the people and care deeply about Donegal, about my community and about people. My background is packed with examples of making change happen and bringing people with me. And this is what I offer to you and bring to Fine Gael.
I also believe that my standing in this election and fighting for a place on Donegla County Council is a strong sign that young people just like me are desperately looking for change and looking to Fine Gael for hope.
My Background:
I grew up in Downings and am the third youngest in a family of eight. I was educated at Scoil Naomh Bríd and Milford Vocational School. My mother worked in the home while my father is a farmer.
Professional History:
1. Academic
- BA English, Sociology & Politics, NUI, Galway
- Higher Diploma Communications – PR, Print & Broadcast Journalism, NUI, Galway
- MA Journalism, NUI, Galway
- Certificate in Television Production, Direction & Presentation, Bill Keating Centre, Dublin
- Diploma in Management, Chartered Management Institute
- Certificate in Counselling, North West Counselling Services
2. Professional
- Broadcast Journalist Highland Radio 2001-2004
- Freelance contributor Today FM, INN, RTE, Downtown Radio (Ulster) 2001-2004
- CEO Letterkenny Chamber 2004-2007
- Lecturer in PR at LYIT 2005-2006
- Regional Development Executive, Chambers Ireland (BMW region) 2007-2008
- CEO Strawberry Media, Letterkenny March-October 2008
- Self-Employed, MD of MEDIABox, new multi-media company established in October 2008 in Letterkenny
Personal
- Come from a working class background
- Single Parent at the age of 17
- Returned to study Leaving Cert when Sophie was 6 weeks old
- Lobbied for legislative changes to Third Level Education which discriminates student parents under the age of 23
Professional Membership
Full Member Public Relations Institute of Ireland
Full Member Chartered Management Insitute
Full Member National Union Journalists
Examples of Projects Undertaken
Throughout my career I have undertaken many projects which I believed were critical to the economic, cultural and/or social fabric of society and I made sure they were a success. I have been able to carve out a reputation for myself in Donegal, that when I say I will do something, I mean it. Below are some examples of what I have been involved in:
- CCTV
I wrote the CCTV application and spear-headed the campaign for Letterkenny Chamber in 2003/2004 when funding was announced by the Department of Justice for the Community Broadband Scheme. Letterkenny Chamber was the first Chamber in the country to be successful in the scheme and in fact the application was set aside as one of the best applications received during that round of funding, so much so that I was referred by Pobal (the administering body) by other Chambers for advice.
- Casual Trading
Letterkenny had an issue relating to casual trading and in particular chip vans who dotted the main street area causing litter, noise pollution and sanitary problems. Not to mention the fact that they traded openly against rate payers while they paid a fee of ony 100 euro annually to trade. The Chamber embarked on a lobbying campaign to have the Town Council’s archaic by-laws changed and after almost a year we were successful.
- Broadband
As a resident of Churchill, a rural village 8 miles from Letterkenny, I was extremely frustrated with the lack of broadband provision in the area. After a year and a half investigating all potential opportunities for broadband I had a conversation with a neighbour of mine who felt the same way as I did. She works for an American multi-national in town and I had just started working from home for Chambers Ireland. However, it was a complete disaster as I could not connect with the outside world. So we decided to embark on a campaign for broadband for the entire area spanning an area from Newmills, just two miles from Letterkenny to Glenveagh National Park which brings in over 10 villages and dozens of townlands.
With much investigation we quickly realised that Donegal County Council’s 1 million euro investment in Broadband in the county had originally included Churchill and the surrounding areas. However, when we questioned this we did not get clarification on why it had disappeared from subsequent maps. We organised a public meeting in the area on 22nd September of this year and we had 65 people attend.
We highlighted the main issues, invited public represenatives, Eircom and a broadband installer, Norh West Electronics who won the County Council’s contract to provide broadband in rural areas of Donegal. He told us that if we could generate enough interest in broadband he would set up masts in the area if it was economically viable.
Bernie and I set about distributing broadband application forms with an accompanying map and explanatory document and delvered them door-to-door and in shops in the area (see attached).
We put up posters and set up an email address and gave people our mobile phone numbers. Last week we submitted 60 completed applications forms to NWE and we are hoping to get masts installed in the near future. We have also had contact from a Satellite broadband company in Co. Kildare who will attend a public workshop to advise us of their service. Meanwhile, we are continuing to lobby Eircom to get our exchange live and the cables upgraded.
- Entente Florale 2008
As CEO of Strawberry Media I was contracted to undertake the Marketing, PR and communications for the Entente Florale 2008 competition in which Letterkenny represented Ireland in the large town section. We produced a DVD, brochure, map, PR campaign and event managed the event on Friday 8th August. Letterkenny had been part of this competition on three previous occasions but never won a gold medal. This year Letterkenny won the coveted gold meal and I am confident it was in no small part due to our involvement.
- Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann
I volunteered as PRO of Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann in 2005. It was the first time the event had ever been staged in Letterkenny and our success that year would determine if we would get it back in 2006. It was a massive logistical and financial project attracting 20,000 people to Letterkenny with an economic value of three million euro. It was a major success and we generated publicity world-wide with journalists attending from across Ireland, Europe, the US and Australia. The event did return in 2006.
- Earagail Arts Festival
I undertook the PR and Advertising consultancy for the 2008 Earagail Arts Festival, Ireland’s third largest festival programme. It is Ireland’s only county-wide multi-disciplinary festival and is invaluable to the local economy and to the promotion of the arts in this county.
- Certificate in PR at LYIT
In 2002 I approached the Irish Academy of Public Relations (IAPR) with a view to bringing the first ever PR course to Donegal. After many meetings with the IAPR and Letterkenny Institute of Technology I lectured the Introduction to Public Relations certificate to 20 students in 2003, this was followed by another course in 2004 when 15 students attended. The course was very successful and had a 100% pass rate.
- Chamber of the Year Award 2006
When I joined Letterkenny Chamber in 2004 it was an organisation with a poor reputation, struggled for membership and the future looked bleak. By 2006 membership had increased by 200%, and we won the Chambers Ireland’s Best Annual Achievement at the Chamber of the Year Awards. By the time 2007 arrived membership was at the 300, the highest in the Chambers 40-year history. I was frequently interviewed on local and national radio stations on various business issues as a result of our strong reputation.
- 2008 Shell Livewire Young Entrepeuner of the Year Finalist
In August 2008 I was short-listed as one of five finalists for the Western Region in the Shell Livewire Young Entrepeuner of the Year Awards (for business people under the age of 31). While I could not compete in the finals in October it is an accolade I am very proud of considering my work with Strawberry Media. The company was profitable after 3 months and had a host of succesful projects and high profile clients. I left the company in October to pursue my own business.
- 2009 Special Olympics Ulster Regional Games
(see attached information brochure)
2009 will be an historic year for Letterkenny as it hosts the first ever Special Olympics Ulster Regional Games. The event takes place from 12-14th June in Letterkenny and will involve 800 athletes competing in aquatics, athletics, basketball and ten pin bowling.
An estimated 7,000 people in total will descend on the town for the three-day event. The athletes who win at the Regional Games will then represent Ulster at the National Games in Limerick in June 2010 and the World Games in Athens in 2011. So making history will begin right here in Letterkenny.
The total cost of the Games will be in the region of half a million euro all of which will be re-invested in the local economy over 3 days. Not only that but the Games requires the input of 1500 volunteers.
For the past seven weeks I have been volunteering my own serivces and it is expected that I will be announced Director of Games for the 2009 Games in the coming days over-seeing this massive logistical project and 1500 volunteers.
Network Connections
Throughout the past number of years I have developed strong working relationships with a number of organisations and indivdiuals that still exist today. Below are some examples:
• Letterkeny Chamber (Membership 300)
• Chambers Ireland (Ireland’s largest business representative organisation)
• Special Olympics Ireland
• Local, regional and national media
• North West Tourism
• North West Chambers of Commerce Initiative (representing 12 Chambers in Donegal, Derry & Tyrone)
• Letterkenny Institute of Technology
• North West College, Derry
• An Garda Siochana, Donegal
• IDA Ireland
• Enterprise Ireland
• Donegal VEC
• Physical & Sensory Disabilities Group, Donegal
• Mulroy College, Milford (I am an ambassador for my old secondary school giving talks to students, offering work placements and doing the school’s PR on a voluntary basis)
• Member of Letterkenny Rotary Club (2006-Present)
• FAS
• Letterkenny Town Council
• Donegal County Council
• A-CEART (Road Safety lobby group)
• Letterkenny Tidy Town’s Committee