On Wed 4th March, The Castle Bookshop in Castlebar played host to a special event. A large crowd turned out to join author Colum MacDonnell at the launch of his book, “From Blackfort to Bosnia”.
As a former head of the Irish Exporters Association, the author is well equipped to give an insider’s view of the internationalisation of Ireland’s economy over the forty year period to 2013.
The book documents the author vast experience with different business cultures around the world. Lessons and experiences are shared, from dealing with Arab businessmen to Italian importers. Analysing our present economic statutes, he raises important questions about Ireland’s foreign direct investment strategy.
As a graduate of TCD, Colum joined Córas Tráchtála to promote exports to the UK in the wake of the Anglo-Irish Free Trade Agreement. He led trade missions to Latin America, East Africa, the Caribbean and Serbia amongst many others.
Calum grew up in Blackfort, outside of Castlebar. He played football for St. Gerald’s College and Castlebar Mitchels and won gold with Mayo’s Minor team in 1953.
