‘A matter of days’ from insolvency: How an Irish company came back from the brink

Host Ciarán Hancock is joined by the owner of Moriarty’s, a family run craft shop and restaurant in the Gap of Dunloe in Kerry

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Based in the Gap of Dunloe, Moriarty’s was one of the first SMEs in Ireland to use a new small company rescue process called Scarp, introduced by the Government at the end of 2021. Photograph: David Creedon
Based in the Gap of Dunloe, Moriarty’s was one of the first SMEs in Ireland to use a new small company rescue process called Scarp, introduced by the Government at the end of 2021. Photograph: David Creedon

The Covid-19 pandemic that hit in March 2020 hammered the Irish hospitality and retail sectors.

One company that was directly in the firing line was Moriarty’s a family run craft shop and restaurant in the Gap of Dunloe in Kerry that was largely dependent on American visitors for its business.

The company survived this near-death experience by becoming one of the first SMEs in Ireland to use a new small company rescue process called Scarp, introduced by the Government at the end of 2021.

Having wiped out substantial debts, Moriarty’s is once again thriving, and looking to expand its business beyond the Gap of Dunloe.

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Denis Pio Moriarty is a son of the founders and runs the business with other family members. He joined host Ciarán Hancock in studio to tell his company’s story of surviving the pandemic.

He began by recalling Moriarty’s early days, from its opening in 1964 and its growth story up to when the pandemic hit in early 2020.

Produced by John Casey.