Jen Kelly found her way to industrial abseiling after working in Melbourne Women’s Circus. After moving to Ireland, she found there was no specific organisation for women in the manual trades, so she set up the social enterprise, Women in Trades Network Ireland (WITNI.ie) to promote tradeswomen online and at events.

Marie has been working with cars since she was seventeen. When she finished school and began her career as a mechanic, it never occurred to Marie that it would be a big deal, or that people would make assumptions about her when they saw her in overalls with dirty hands.

Julie is a freelance Sommelier, co-creator of SommNinja Educational mobile application, EXSTO Cognac Consultant, Deputy Secretary General of the International Sommelier Association (ASI) and President of the Irish Guild of Sommeliers. Sommeliers stock the wine cellars in restaurants and advise customers on wine choices and food pairings.

Emily was taught the art of the job by master cobbler, from a family of cobblers. Working with her hands was hugely satisfying for Emily, however during her apprenticeship she discovered she was allergic to traditional shoe glues.

Suzanne is a stuccodore by trade, restoring decorative plasterwork. Suzanne is driven by passion for the symmetry and elegance of period buildings and their furniture. She loves the materials used and the manual skills that made them.

In 1980, having completed a machine operator and a welding course, Polly took a job in Digital Machines Ireland in Cork – she was the only woman on the shop floor. The following year she became the first woman in Ireland to pass the standard pipe welding exam. She remains in a small minority of women in the job: globally only 5 percent of welders are women.

Danielle is the only female Michelin Star Chef in Ireland. Her career began when she started washing pots in a local restaurant. One of Dannielle’s joys in her work is the thrill that comes from seeing or hearing a restaurant full of all kinds of people and knowing that she is a part of it.