Last Friday, SFA members brought together their staff, clients and business contacts in the Round Room of the Mansion House for the SFA Annual Lunch. They were joined by Ministers, TDs, Senators, senior civil servants, leaders from across corporate Ireland and media representatives for the biggest business lunch of the year.

The event was a social occasion and a celebration of Irish entrepreneurship. This was the main theme of the speech made by Sue O’Neill, SFA Chair. She commended members on their hard work, resilience and success over the last year. She also called on government to act in a more coherent fashion to support small businesses around Ireland.

Attendees also heard from Michael Lauhoff, Director of Business Banking in Bank of Ireland. Michael provided insights into Ireland’s current economic performance and urged small businesses to step up their preparations for Brexit.

Brent Pope was the guest speaker for the event and his speech proved to be the highlight of the day. He drew a number of lessons from his life in rugby, broadcasting and business, focusing on passion and stepping out of your comfort zone.

The press release issued on the day, along with the SFA Chair’s full speech, is available here. Some photos from the day can be found here. A highlights video will be available shortly also.

Thanks to all of you who made it along to the event. If you missed it – we hope to see you next year!