Mary McKenna
@MMaryMcKenna
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Co-founder and Chair of @AwakenHub group, entrepreneur, pollinator, people collector, MC, connector, non exec, cheerleader, investor, mentor, border dweller
Co Tyrone/Co Donegal 🇮🇪
Joined February 2009
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Pinned Tweet
My 5 min guest address to the
#SharedIsland
Dialogue
I talk about:
🚀unlocking the economic power of women
🚀how
@Entirl
&
@InvestNI
could benefit from stronger links with
#socialenterprise
🚀how talent is equally distributed but opportunity isn’t
5
9
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There’s a quare difference between a 14 hour day where you have a few meetings, meet someone for lunch, maybe go to an evening event, walk in between places & a 14 hour day where you sit at your desk with headphones in on Zoom all bloody day
24
24
586
Yes - sorry to show off but it’s official - I am Europe Business Angel of the Year 🎉🎉🎉
Thanks for the support friends!!! And greetings from Berlin ☘️🇩🇪🇮🇪❤️
Thanks
@AwakenHub
@band_ev
@AwakenAngelsHQ
@BAEurope
@anneravanona
@UKBAngels
@IBN_Berlin
@BritishBBank
@Inter_Trade
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25
389
My calls today finished at 4.15 & my choices were to either collapse on the sofa & sleep or reach for my boots & head for the shore - I’m getting better at making the right choices!
#Inishowen
(a rainbow is never far away)
15
10
387
For anyone that cares about this - railways how they used to be in Ireland north & south & railways how they are today - check out NI & the NW …
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I bought our late Mum a pair of fine silk-lined black leather gloves about 30 yrs ago in Allders when I used to work in Croydon ... she never really wore them as she was always “saving them for best “ - now I wear them to the beach every day & think of her - use your “best” stuff
12
7
275
Very pleased to be appointed to the Board of
@WesternDevCo
by Minister
@HHumphreysFG
- looking forward to getting started & making the NW & W of Ireland even more awesome 🚀🚀🚀
59
15
201
Going thru more of our late mum’s boxes this week I found my own official graduation photo from 1980 ... slightly cringing but hell - it’s Friday night & you’re all my friends ... enjoy at my expense !!!
19
0
148
Some news for a Monday am - I’ve joined the
@tradegovuk_GEP
team at DIT as Northern Ireland’s first Dealmaker - an opportunity to source interesting & innovative global founders & bring them to NI to grow their businesses was too good to miss …
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21
147
I’m more than halfway through a very busy 10 day project today - wrapped up & ran out to the shore for an hour at lunchtime - fresh air, sea breeze, raindrops & rainbows - head showered & all senses fully re-engaged
#powerofthesea
8
8
139
Big pod of dolphins in
#LoughFoyle
this evening … magical
#Inishowen
#Donegal
(wait to see the wee one jump) (
@haircut1200
@McveighOlivia
@ClareMcGee80
@killaney
@maryannpierce
@jkhoey
)
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11
127
After 9 months away having its engine rebuilt the Fig is back … I am one happy person today … great to be mobile again & have my lovely wee car back 💚
21
5
120
Last evening I received one of the coveted
@NWBizAwards2018
in
@CityHotelNI
along with my compadre Mr Conor Lynch for the work we’re doing at
@stmarysderry
on our
#entrepreneurinresidence
programme - thanks NW friends & colleagues for your encouragement - great start to June 💙
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16
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I found this piece in the surf yesterday - isn’t it lovely
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0
119
Plans for
@AwakenFund
to back early stage Irish
#femalefounders
via
@IrishTimes
@ChasTaylor
<~ thanks Charlie for the
@AwakenHub
piece & mention of
@Its_Elemental
- shoutouts for my co-founders
@scrowley88
@marycarty
@ClareMcGee80
& also
@DeniseMcQuaid
9
31
109
Bellarena to Castlerock - surely one of the world’s most scenic bits of railway - looking over
#LoughFoyle
to
#Donegal
- slotted in between the Foyle & magnificent
#Binevenagh
@NITouristBoard
10
6
110
What a delight it was to meet you
@KateNicholl
- Belfast is SO lucky to have such a charming, engaging, articulate & knowledgeable Lord Mayor - wishing you every success for the remainder of your term & a massive massive thank you from the
@tradegovuk_GEP
team
3
4
102
I’m not criticising anyone - it’s great to have a go at your own
#startup
& sure if you don’t have a go ... you’ll never know - but it brought home to me how hard it really is to start & then grow a sustainable business ... don’t be enchanted by the fairy stories - it’s hard 2/2
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12
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Women - go & get yourself on a board - any board - the sooner you get immersed & understand how it works the better
#Inspirefest
3
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103
Living & working in
#Donegal
is amazing - this is the view from my desk in
#Inishowen
this afto - tuning into
#DonegalConnect
’s innovation stream
#loveDonegal
- heading over to the beach 250m away after I finish work today - we moved back from London 4 yrs ago - best thing ever
7
6
101
Was it just for men? No women in the NI tech sector???
This morning, innovative technology company
@CatalystNI_
spoke with Secretary of State
@BrandonLewis
. They discussed the vibrant economic growth of the NI technology sector and the opportunities that are available for global & local businesses👇
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7
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After months nowhere near my hairdresser … the mop has been dealt with today 💚💚💚 Ridiculously happy 😎😎😎
13
0
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@seansherlocktd
That’ll be one of the reasons why muggins here (aka one of his neighbours) is down at
#SweetNellies
every Sunday morning collecting bags of rubbish off the beach
#Donegal
#plastic
1
2
96
My 4.30pm zoom was cancelled so I headed to the beach - what a great call - waves, boats, rainbows & perfect light - & back home with a clear head - enjoy your evenings folks!
7
3
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Remember folks - networking only when you need something is a flawed strategy …
4
9
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Is anyone (everyone?) else exhausted from overfilling their days with calls? Seriously considering taking the whole of June off ...
13
1
91
Everyone posting up on
#LinkedIn
the successful highlights of their incredible year ... I doubt anyone gives a **** (sorry not sorry)
16
1
93
Sorry to be so vain about my hair everyone but the couple of hours I spent in the chair today & the before & after pics speak for themselves - my hairdresser is Paula at Hairizon in
#Dungannon
& she operates the fastest scissors in the West (
@haircut1200
)
#TirEoghain
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0
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I love living in a
#Donegal
fishing port on the
#WildAtlanticWay
in
#Inishowen
- Merry Christmas from
#Greencastle
6
12
90
When you live in an Irish fishing port, of course there’s a Christmas boat ...
#Inishowen
#Donegal
#yohoho
5
7
89
Tyrone woman achieves first with investor wins at two separate events in Berlin and London via
@irishnewsbiz
<~ thanks for the coverage
@EmmaDeig
&
@irishnewsbiz
(
@BritishBBank
@Inter_Trade
@UKBAngels
@band_ev
)
7
17
91
10 years ago this evening I was at the White House for
#StPatricksDay
- I met
@BarackObama
AND
@POTUS
&
@MichelleObama
hugged me - that was quite a night!
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0
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Lady Sylvia Hermon: 'DUP do not speak for the NI majority'
1
15
88
Great Friday news - extremely honoured to be announced last night as UK Business Angel of the Year - passed across by the incredible Andrea Sinclair - thank you to all at
@UKBAngels
for a wonderful evening - it was
@AwakenHub
’s 3rd birthday yesterday & feels like planets aligning
12
12
91
It was 4 years ago today that we left London's
#Southbank
to move back home to
#Ireland
- the world we now live in has become almost unrecognisable in that time with first
#Brexit
& now
#COVID
- glad to be in
#Donegal
now & for the foreseeable
12
4
88
Tomorrow we kick-off Donegal’s very first technology accelerator Donegal Scale-X - looking forward to our cohort teams meeting each other & getting started - excited for the summer (
@clydehut
@BrianMarrinan
@jptnrs
@DonegalLEO
@donegalcouncil
@DonegalDaily
@DonegalDigital
) 🚀🚀🚀
12
16
89
Ahhh - 12 yrs ago today I joined Twitter - it’s brought me online friends that I’ve later met in real life (not one single bad one yet from hundreds), it’s led to two way recruitment & work opportunities, delivers news & humour, keeps me up to date with my wider network - love it
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0
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I was going to work this afternoon ... but it was a beautiful day ... so we went to the beach instead ... & I’m so glad we did
#Inishowen
#WildAtlanticWay
#smallpleasures
7
3
86
Good luck with the sale
@LearningPool
- proud to have started a company with so little in
#Derry
that has grown so significantly
11
7
83
Happy, happy
#IWD2020
to the many amazing women in my life. Be kind to each other & for the
#Entrepreneurs
- never ever miss a chance to give another
#femalefounder
a shout out
#liftasyouclimb
#PayItForward
#payitback
5
25
84
I’m 4 followers away from 10k - wow! I love
#Twitter
- I joined in Feb 09 as the result of a bet & almost 10 yrs later I’m still here - it’s brought me work, new friends, new networks, a bit of craic, rapid breaking news & it allows me to keep loose ties with many - I love it 💚
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11
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Our mum had scarlet fever when she was a child in the 1930s & was in isolation in Dungannon hospital, our granda used to walk to & from Dungannon from Coalisland every day for weeks just to wave to her through the hospital window (
@haircut1200
)
4
8
82
Picture postcard perfect out & about walking this afternoon in
#Inishowen
Also four seasons experienced in the space of 2 hours & a rainbow thrown in for good measure
#home
#heaven
#SweetNellies
#Greencastle
#Donegal
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4
81
SO depressing that overseas corporates like Caffè Nero are making huge amounts of money from the UK population (in their instance £334 MILLION) but they pay ZERO corporation tax - this company information is in the public domain & we have a choice about where to spend our money
5
26
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Yes - I’m in New York - am here until Friday lunchtime - anyone who wants to have a cuppa & a natter drop me a line
#lookingforward
8
4
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It’s Friday, it’s nearly the end of March, we’re 3 months into
#lockdown2
, we’re 12 months into living through a global pandemic, we’re all tired & a bit grumpy & just trying to make a living & get through - everyone is doing their best - only kind tweets on Twitter today please!
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5
80
In another long day yesterday I escaped from my desk for a brief hour after 8pm … this was my reward - breathtakingly beautiful with sea mist & the colours of the wild flowers - from me to you this Wednesday morning
#Donegal
#LoughFoyle
#Inishowen
#Binevenagh
#WildAtlanticWay
5
3
80
Some thoughts on how to immediately improve prospects for
#Derry
's tech scene - my latest blog <~ shoutouts for
@AwakenHub
@DigitalDNAHQ
@iamstartacus
@Its_Elemental
@derry_group
@InCharge_HQ
@ITUS_Tech
@afloanalytics
@portershed
@WesternDevCo
@oxfoundry
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Here’s
@haircut1200
’s view of our local beach yesterday - what a beautiful day out we had ... & hardly a soul in sight
#Donegal
6
6
80
Someone from Scotland asked me yesterday how we’ve managed to bring 2,000 women into the
@AwakenHub
community in only 2 years with zero marketing budget … my answer … 5 co-founders with huge networks, positive word of mouth referrals &
@maryannpierce
as our global diaspora amb
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7
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1
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Great to go into Derry today but sad knowing it’s one of the very last drives in my
#Fig
that I’ve had for the last 13 years
#figlove
#sadgoodbyes
12
4
77
Today having to use Microsoft Teams has almost driven me over the edge - it is so rubbish & clunky - why when Microsoft have so much money & such access to resources would they build something so awful
19
2
71
I spent today clearing through some more of our late mum’s boxes & I must have processed thousands of pieces of paper today - happy & sad, interesting & mundane - but this photo of
@haircut1200
& me snapped in May 1987 is a corker & literally SCREAMS 1980s 💚💚💚
6
1
76
Massive congrats to my friend
@jaynecbrady
who’s just been announced as the new Head of the NI Civil Service … a masterclass in how to do 0-60mph in 3 secs or less - what a phenomenal leader Jayne is & how lucky we are to have her working in our public sector 🚀🚀🚀
#allchange
4
5
77
Gorgeous at the beach this morning - I love this little corner - this is for anyone who misses the sound of the waves & the tide coming in (sound on)
#WildAtlanticWay
#Donegal
10
7
75
Watching the tributes for Lyra coming in - I am so very sad to hear this news - she was such a kind & innocent wee soul
#RIPLyra
4
6
70
Update: Looks as if we will be getting home to Ireland
@JFKairport
@AerLingus
#thankyouGod
Thanks for all the lovely messages everyone XX
15
0
71
Coverage of the
@AwakenHub
announcement of our imminent all Ireland
@AwakenFund
angel syndicate ... for anyone who hasn’t yet been out to buy their Sunday Business Post
#femalefounders
#femaleinvestors
#AngelInvestment
#startups
#irishstartups
- thanks
@ChasTaylor
🙏
Want to know what is happening in Irish
#tech
and
#innovation
? Business Post has stories you won't find anywhere else including:
- A big interview with
@N1dunne
on
@polymateriasltd
's plan for plastic pollution
-
@AwakenHub
confirms syndicate to back women entrepreneurs (1/3)
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73
Stood in the road in this cloud of perfume for a full 5 minutes this evening with my eyes closed - better than any mindfulness exercise
#honeysuckle
#irishsummer
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2
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Angered & saddened by the crocodile tears of all political parties - if they actually cared about any of this they would work harder (or maybe just work?) to improve the lot of us poor ordinary citizens of Northern Ireland - we truly live in a strange country
1
5
67
A couple of my photos taken in the
#WhiteHouse
on St Patrick's night 2011 - the gathered (Irish) crowd loved
@JoeBiden
that evening - he stayed behind & chatted away to us at the after party - it was a delight to meet him - what a great day today has turned out to be :-)
5
1
69
Margaret McKenna (nee Shields) 19 Aug 1929-19 Aug 2016 - always did things in her own sweet way - missed every day (
@haircut1200
@McveighOlivia
)
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1
69
Gorgeous big
#Donegal
sky tonight - can’t believe it’s already getting ready to get dark - summer sure is flying in ...
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5
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I see hundreds of investment pitches every year - I always ask why when there are no women on the senior team (or in the entire team even!) - the worst & frequent answer I receive is that “they’ve looked but there aren’t any suitably qualified women”
15
8
67
I am the custodian of our late mother’s house plants - I remember arriving at her door for Christmas 2014 holding two small cyclamens - a red one & a white one - here’s the red one snapped this morning - all set for Christmas (can people live on through their plants? I think so)
8
0
65
That’s been quite a week - just boarding my 4th & last
@easyJet
flight of this week - Scotland bound & looking forward to a couple of days of complete & utter peace 🙏
Have a wonderful weekend friends & thank you for all the really lovely messages everyone sent this week.
7
2
66
I heard someone described today as the person “who only comes back to you when they need something” - ugh - don’t be that person - no matter how busy you think you are -
#networking
is more give than take
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10
67
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5
67
Depressing conversation today with a female founder whose mentor introduced her yday at a pitching competition as a “girl” - please think about how you use language & stop calling female founders or team members “girls” or “the girls” - it’s demeaning & undermining
#startups
8
14
68
I see they've made a film about
#LyraMcKee
- I came across this photo of the two of us a couple of weeks ago - I'd never seen it before - it was taken during
#Culturetech
in
#Derry
in either 2012 or 2013 - lovely photo of Lyra - I still can't believe what happened to her
6
2
64
Thinking about writing a blog on the jobs that no-one knows exist - I’ve had two occasions this month when someone has said to me - Oh - I didn’t realise people did that ...
11
3
65
And that, my friends, concludes 13 consecutive weeks of travel … mostly on
@AwakenHub
&
@AwakenAngelsHQ
business … and our minds are now turning to thoughts of holidays - thanks
@FlyLoganair
for getting
@ClareMcGee80
& me back to
#Derry
in time for Friday evening tea!
5
2
65
Over the moon to spend a couple of days in
#Cork
with my friend &
@AwakenHub
co-founder
@scrowley88
… we’re here at
#LFDTSummit
& we don’t care if it’s raining 🖤💛
8
3
65
Today I’m composing an email to one of my primary school teachers - he taught me in the last two years of primary school at St Peter’s PS, long since demolished in Lord St Doncaster - & had a massive influence on my life - so I’ve found him on the internet & I’m going to tell him
5
1
62
Heartbroken tonight in California to hear the news from home - RIP
@LyraMcKee
- I have known you since you were 17 - always fun, always a good person, always looking for the scoop, always interesting, always kind - this should not have happened 💚
7
5
63
I’ve spent the hottest day of the year clearing our late Mum’s shed - today I found their wedding album inside a waterlogged black bag full of rubbish - miraculously it is unscathed & the photos are as bright as the day they were taken in June 1957 :-) (
@haircut1200
)
7
1
61
The best age to become an entrepreneur is 40 <~ this from me in
@Irish_TechNews
5 years ago - a lot has changed but a lot remains the same (this one is for you
@RemoteRose
)
4
8
63
“Fix your website before you start talking about
#blockchain
” says
@MTBracken
on government digital transformation
2
14
61
In a Dublin coffee bar last week I sat at the next table to someone whose boss was conducting her performance review loudly & publicly - if it was you please leave that job - you are too good for it & him
4
9
55
Reinstatement of the Derry-Dublin flight can’t come quick enough for me - this week I did Moville-Dublin (5.5 hours on the bus incl 1.5 hours just to get to Derry) & Dublin-Derry (6 hours on the bus because we broke down in Carrickmacross - transport infrastructure pitiful in NW
5
8
59
It’s a year ago today since I arrived back from NYC in a hurry & took up (what I thought was) temporary residence in my porch for work - this morning I’ve been reflecting on all the positive learnings the last 12 months has offered - & there have been many
4
1
60
Wow - what a day to spend outdoors - this is the beach at Stroove (An tSruibh ... Stream of Sorrow) today - not a soul there (was everyone in Moville
@Liam_Skelly
?)
#GoodFriday2021
#Inishowen
#WildAtlanticWay
#my5km
10
0
61
And then ... I’d been thinking about Ambassador
@DanMulhall
& his wife Greta this morning & wondering how they are doing ... so I decided to make this little video for them as I was walking as I know they’ll be missing the beautiful Irish coast & the sea ...
1
4
59
Lovely walk this evening to one of our very local
#Inishowen
beaches - I really appreciate more than ever what a gorgeous corner of
#Donegal
we live in
5
0
59
Pleased as punch to report this evening that we have a few positive incoming enquiries for our 3 women founded
#startups
as result of this week’s
@digitalirish
webinar 🚀🚀🚀 (
@InishowenAlgae
@Its_Elemental
@JourneyProtect
)
#yeehaw
Gratitude to
@maryannpierce
&
#NYC
friends 🙏
5
8
60
I’m sure the Caribbean’s lovely ... but on a day like today
#Donegal
ain’t half bad 💚 (We were onto the beach less than a minute after I filmed this - not another soul there - the golfers will be back with us tomorrow)
5
3
59
Delighted to announce that I am one of the
#entrepreneurs
selected to work with the EU during 2018 as a member of the EIC SME jury - looking forward to seeing the projects & meeting other jury members
6
6
59
Listened to the tinkling of the shells rolling in the surf today for 20 minutes or so - good for the soul - you can have a wee listen too
9
8
60
I love to see the wee Christmas fishing boat come out at this time every year - Merry Christmas from
#Greencastle
Co
#Donegal
… one of Ireland’s live fishing ports
#home
#Ireland
#Christmas
#Rudolph
2
10
59
Thanks everyone for all your kind & lovely birthday wishes - I spent my special day on
#Rathlin
with
@haircut1200
@McveighOlivia
&
@VurichDhu
#seals
#puffins
#lighthouses
#ducks
#fun
#tea
#fishandchips
@RathlinFerry
20
2
60