There are almost as many different types of hurleys as there are hurlers, but it used to be hard for players to find their dream hurley. Not any more, as new entrepreneur Daithi O’Regan explains, in a chat with allaboutbusiness.ie about his company Handcrafthurleys.com and his exposure on Dragons’ Den.

Half a million hurleys are sold annually in Ireland, but until recently, up to 30% were made abroad. “The imported hurleys might look the same, but they are not,” says Daithi. “The Irish hurley makers leave planks of wood for 18 months to dry out and season. Only then do they make the hurleys. They know their timber and they know their hurleys.”

Every hurley on Handcrafthurleys.com is handmade by a dedicated artisan hurley maker, of which there are just over 100 in Ireland. The hurleys can be customised by the makers, who are all members of the Irish Guild of Ash Hurley Makers.

Hard-to-find hurleys
Daithi’s family has long been involved with Gaelic games and Daithi played hurling to inter-county level. Hurlers tend to be particular about the type and style of hurley they use and Daithi noticed players were having problems sourcing their preferred hurleys, because clubs often bought in bulk and because the makers could be hard to contact. He ran a trial sale of hurleys on a club website and quickly saw high volumes being sold.

Taking help and support
When Daithi was made redundant in 2009, he decided to launch Handcrafthurleys.com and run it full-time from Listowel, Co Kerry. He found out what help was available to start-ups and was sure to avail of it.

“I got great help from Shannon Development and from the Endeavour programme,” he says. “Anyone starting a business might think they can do it all themselves, but you can’t. The help is out there, so you might as well make use of it.”

To gain exposure, he applied to Dragons Den and appeared in the series. One of the Dragons, Sarah Newman, was so impressed she offered Daithi €20,000 for a 15% stake in the business.

Not only did his appearance on Dragons’ Den help his business financially, it also raised his profile quickly with the hurley makers of Ireland, most of whom only sold to local clubs before Handcrafthurleys.com was set up.

Hurls around the world
Daithi is already sub-contracting a considerable amount of work, including technical support and website maintenance, graphic design and varnishing. Many of the hurley makers involved have also had to take on staff due to increased demand.

Ireland is obviously the largest market for hurleys, but Daithi is also exporting to the UK, America and Australia. “A team in America, for example, could have players from Cork, Kilkenny or other counties and they would all prefer different styles of hurleys. With Handcrafthurleys.com, they have a choice. A team could order 20 different hurleys.”

Building the business
In addition to selling sports-grade hurleys and decorative picture hurleys, Handcrafthurleys.com has been expanded to sell hurling gear, including helmets, gloves, sliotars [hurling balls] and jerseys. “I’ve got licenses to sell Azzurri, O’Neill’s, Intersport and other brands,” says Daithi.

He is also taking a course in strength and conditioning, and hopes to further extend the business around club’s requirements for tours. “I want the site to be a one-stop shop for whatever a club requires,” he says.

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