The interaction and meeting so many people, I love that every head coming in the door is different.

We now have two barber shops on Castle Street. The business was an acorn and grew and grew.

My sister also went into the business, my brother hated it and did something else.

My wife Catriona takes care of appointments and employees, our son Conrad is a full-time barber with us after two years at a top salon in Toronto and our daughter Grace does our social media when not at her main job with Formula 1 doing corporate events for Ferrari.

I did ladies hairdressing at my sister’s salon, then when I was around 20, when my father Sean was 70 and wanted to take it easier, I realised I’d rather be up at the barber full-time.

We are in the service game but there are hotels, and there are hotels – there are barbers and there are barbers.

From day one I was told to provide good service every single time and listen to customers.​

No tangle teamwork

I’m up at seven, it’s all go in our house with everyone going into the same shop and on the same agenda. Breakfast is muesli or two bananas and coffee.

We live a three-minute drive from town and hit the shop by 8.30am. We give 30-minute appointments and I’ll often be booked up but if there are walk-ins we squeeze them in as Catriona is brilliant at leaving gaps.

We opened the second shop in 2017 for appointments only, but since Covid most people make a booking.

It’s usually 8.30pm when I’ve finished and set up for the next day but I’ve no problem waiting on for good, regular clients or coming in before work.

We all take an hour lunch break. I go, then two of the lads and then another two go.

There are great cafes on the street. We ring them to see what they have and they drop it up.

I relax in the kitchen. I used not to take the hour, but if you don’t, you slump. I’ve better concentration and energy.

I got into weddings a few years ago, I wanted to do something bespoke for the men; the ladies were going off getting the nails done, the lads not getting anything.

It spread by word of mouth. We could have six or seven coming in for the full shave and they book the shop out. It’s great fun. They often bring the photographer. We have coffee anyway but a full whiskey service is available.

I don’t eat a big dinner when I get home from work, just something light. We watch TV, and try to get out walking and I love gardening, in Covid I did loads of gardening.

I spend a lot of time walking and playing golf. Every Sunday morning I play golf and in another two weeks I’ll get out in the evening playing twice a week. There is a load of lads in Castlebar I play with and I’m involved with a team that has won a few All Irelands. ​

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Extended bank holidays

With the family in the same business, taking holidays is difficult.

With so many staff they need their four weeks off so we squeeze something in in the quieter times.

I’m not too worried about it. We get enough of a break because after Covid I brought in that following a bank holiday we get the Tuesday off also.

It gives our staff with young children enough time off and my own family enjoys it too.

The extended bank holidays have been great for team morale, everyone finds it mighty.

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Image conscious

When I started out there was not a gym in the country but people are very image conscious now.

Once upon a time most men and lads would get three haircuts a year but now it’s every few weeks. Not just young lads, everyone.

We only stock our own products now, we work with a cosmetics company. We have beard oil, shampoo, creams, everything.

The kids come in and show us what they want on TikTok or Instagram.

With the bleached hair I tell them to get their mother to give me a ring – at times this is done in garages by other lads, then they come in with orange hair and it takes two hours to sort.

The mullet is very popular again, the mohawk, not as much, but we get asked occasionally. Everything goes now in modern day men’s hairdressing.

We do lots of colour. The lads are always ringing us up asking if we do highlights. They were big in the late 80s and the 90s; then they died a death. That’s not the only trend back; some lads are getting perms now, more so teenagers.

I never thought when I was 55 I’d see the perming again.

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Low staff turnover

We have one girl with us 18 years, from Poland, and another from Belarus – she left for a while, came back and has been with us 20 years all in.

The rest of my staff have been here five or six years. I’m very lucky with them and we have an apprentice with huge potential.

I’m on the Barber Society of Ireland and it’s great – we will finally have a proper training programme starting in 2024.

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Industry challenges

There’s an awful lot of shadow economy in the ladies hairdressing and the barbers now. It has always been there and it always will be and it hurts business. Running a business, there are huge overheads, we pay our dues. After Covid the hairdressers got really hit, a lot of employees went off to houses, looking to make money on the side.

We do have two openings but I don’t know why I am particularly finding it hard to find staff. All the people in my industry say the same, some business people have given up. They say people now only want to work one or two days. We keep on going.

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Family ties

We are a very close family. The business knotted us together from a very young age.

My sister Maura’s hairdressing salon is on the same street. Her son and daughter are also hairdressers. She is off work at the moment as she got a diagnosis.

Maura is a fantastic person, a great hairdresser with a great clientele. We can’t see her at the moment in the hospital because of Covid regulations, which is very tough.

We are constantly planning ahead and changing. We do this as a family. I’m just after refurbishing one of the shops and I’m planning to refurb the other.

If you plan properly you get plain sailing. That’s what my grandfather taught my father and what he taught me. I’ve been very lucky, it’s been plain sailing.

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