10 Questions with MC, Writer, Journalist and Consultant, Michelle Daly Hayes

Michelle Daly Hayes is an MC, Writer, Journalist and Consultant with more than 20 years of experience in communications, including Radio, Print, TV and Social Media. Photo: Shauna Kennedy

Michelle Daly Hayes, MC, Writer, Journalist and Consultant with more than 20 years of experience answers 10 questions about her career, challeneges, and what motivates her

Michelle Daly Hayes is an MC, Writer, Journalist and Consultant with more than 20 years of experience in communications, including Radio, Print, TV and Social Media, across five continents.

She speaks French, German and English. She currently sits on several voluntary boards in Limerick and works with leading brands in several countries as an event manager, pr, communications and sustainability consultant.

Michelle produces and presents a weekly business show on www.lccr.ie, Limerick City Community Radio, called Business Focus.

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She also runs several event management and consultancy companies, including Adore It, her own consultancy in Sustainability and Marketing.

Michelle Daly Hayes is also a founder of The Launch Agency, which is a co-operative agency with others in Limerick, helping small businesses. Evelyn Pepperell is another founder of this. This offers pro bono advice clinics and help for start-up businesses, among other services.

As a long-time committee member of The Wild Geese Festival, she is currently working on a Cypher Hip Hop event on June 26th next and also the next edition of The Wild Geese Festival.

She is the recently elected President of Alliance Francais in Limerick, the oldest Alliance Francais in Ireland, where she will serve a 3-year term.

In June 2025, she was selected as the Network Ireland Limerick Solo Businesswoman of the Year, to represent Limerick in the national final.

1. Tell us about your childhood growing up in Limerick.

I grew up in the countryside near Caherconlish with my two sisters, Ella and Grainne, and my brother Padraig. We moved closer to the city when I was in my teens. My parents had a garden shop in town, and I learned a lot of my people skills behind the counter there for years. We all worked there for a time.

I always loved reading and writing. I was forever scribbling some story or some poem too. One day I will get around to drafting my novels.

I still consume books in their droves and love to engage with podcasts, documentaries, and other forms of media. I am that friend who will find out everything about a topic.

I always loved being near water, the sea, or the lake in Killaloe. We are blessed to be living in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I love that within an hour we can be in Lahinch, Killarney, Galway, and so many other lovely places.

 2. When did you first realise you wanted to pursue a career in communication and media?

I knew I wanted to write since I was 10 or so. I was one of those kids with several notebooks and stories and novels started in all of them. I hid out at home and found great solace in writing.

By 16, I had gained some experience at the Limerick Post as a reporter, and I was dead set on a career in journalism. I recently found my very first electronic typewriter in my dad’s house, and I am planning to refurbish it. I finished my BA in History, Politics and Sociology from UL in 2004, but started working as a journalist in 2002. I was incredibly involved in photography and the college paper Focal in UL. I also worked with Wired Radio. While in college, I worked for several years part time as a reporter for The Evening Echo when they had a Limerick edition.

I worked in Ireland, US, Dubai, Brussels, Tanzania and Morocco as a print and TV, Radio business journalist. Then I fell into Internal Communications and Marketing and had a 14-year career in various global medical and pharmaceutical businesses. I completed a master’s in Business Strategy & Innovation in 2014 in DCU and more postgraduates in Digital Marketing in 2020 and Sustainability in 2024.

In 2023, I decided to return to my roots and set up an Editorial, Publishing and Event Management business named “Adore It “in Limerick. I have worked with lots of clients and organisations in the last 2 and a half years, including some governmental departments and NGOs. It is still going strong thanks to many wonderful clients and collaborators.

I have also researched and ghost-authored several books that are currently in the publication process, and I was hoping to write a murder mystery series based in Limerick. But I have not had a chance to write much this last year. It has been so busy!

In 2024, I set up The Launch Agency with Evelyn Pepperrell, we operate a business that utilises Limerick-based talent for events, pr and marketing. It is a bit like a co-operative; the idea is to promote small businesses and create relationships. Providing training and support.

I also began my weekly business radio programme, Business Focus, on www.lccr.ie  in 2024. I have had the pleasure of meeting loads of Limerick businesspeople and giving them the chance to speak about their businesses with that.

3. What were some challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them?

I had awful imposter syndrome for years; I was worried that my own opinion and my work were not good enough. I honestly was my own worst enemy for a long time, and I needed to literally get out of my own way. Having a loving husband, kids, family, and friends has been instrumental. Learning about value-driven work and self-belief without being overly stressed is the key. Trust yourself and trust others.

I also tend to overwhelm myself with voluntary projects. I currently sit on several boards and committees and try not to overstretch too much. Only because if I do, I burn out, I know that then I am no good to anyone.

Knowing my own weaknesses and knowing what I can do to avoid them is really important.

Being healthy is super important too. Trying to help as many people as possible is always my goal but I have learned to do that in a sustainable way.

4. With a career spanning more than 20 years, what has driven your passion for communication?

I love people, I love to hear their stories and to appreciate their stories. It is always their words, experiences and never mine that are important. As a reporter, I learned that I was only as good as I told someone’s story for them. Listening is so important.

I studied Mass Communications in University of South Carolina and was gobsmacked with the number of projects, work, and everyday relationships that demand effective communication skills. I see all the time; how small miscommunications can cause problems.

The core basics of good communications can make or break projects, brands, and people relationships.

 5. Embracing diverse cultures is important to you; how do you think Limerick’s openness helps push that passion?

I have lived in many places and countries around the world. I was always keen to learn about the local culture and to open my mind and heart to other people’s points of view.

Limerick is today one of the best cities in Europe to see and meet new people. We have new people coming here for work, for play, to live their lives every year. I love the melting pot of Limerick’s various diaspora, the Brazilians, the French, those from Ukraine that are changing our food, retail, sport, and business spaces, and so many more.

I have worked in Limerick with people from all over the world, Argentina, India, Nigeria, Syria and many more. And worked globally with many others, diversity makes our life richer.

We see organisations like Doras and Sanctuary Runners flourishing here. It is great to see Limerick people opening their arms and welcoming people of all nationalities, cultures, and religions. I am a lazy runner but love to join the Sanctuary Runners when I can.

 The Limerick Anti Fascism organisations and the Limerick Palestine Freedom community, among others, are all working to ensure that our ‘Cead Mile Failte’ is still alive and well today, which makes me proud.

Limerick has always been a welcoming place where innovative ideas flourished, think of the Limerick Soviet and even back to Jacobite times, and it is great to see that still strong today too.

6. Your involvement with voluntary groups and festivals plays a large role in your career. How do you find the balance?

It is not always easy, but ensuring I can do my best for any project is essential. I have volunteered with all kinds of groups and organisations, and there is a rich opportunity for anyone to come along, learn skills and meet new people here in Limerick.

I was recently elected President of Alliance Francaise Limerick. The organisation is a cultural and educational outpost for French people in the Midwest for the past 81 years. I am delighted to help people who move here from France and work with a talented team in the AllianceFrancasie to develop the use of the French Language.

I love organising table quizzes, coffee mornings and training opportunities, whether for private clients or for charities. It is loads of fun, and I get to talk to people and hear their stories.

7. What did it mean to you to be selected as the Network Ireland Limerick Solo Businesswoman of the Year?

I was so honoured to be selected as Limerick Solo Businesswoman of the Year in 2025. It really was a huge shock, and it took me a few days to really get my head around it. I am so delighted to represent Limerick at the national finals in Dublin next week, and the winners will be announced in Killarney in September.

As someone who runs their own business and often works alone, I do understand the power of networking and going outside your comfort zone. Having been PRO of Network Ireland Limerick for the past two years, I understand how putting yourself out there can really reap benefits.

The reaction of all of the members of Network Ireland Limerick has been amazing and I have loved it. The support has been just fantastic.

 I want to encourage other people to work on their dreams, to build their own businesses or to make a change if that is what they want. I was inspired by some of last year’s winners and previous winners. I see the importance of being seen, I would like to give someone else a boost too.

8. What is the most rewarding project you have worked on to date?

There are so many, I do have a real soft spot for The Limerick Wild Geese Festival, which was started by Dr Loic Guyon in 2019. It is a small but interesting festival combining history, French, and Limerick. Three of my favourite things.

It has grown to having over 2,000 people involved each year and adding over 1million euro to the Limerick Economy. However, that is because of an amazing team of organisers, vendors, local people, and people who attend the events.

I love anything to do with charities too, in 2023 I abseiled down the side of Thomond Park for St Gabriels School, I have done the GLR several times. I enjoy doing something like an event that will benefit a cause.

9. What advice would you give someone looking to start their career in communication and media?

Just go for it, go, and ask if you can help, get working, volunteering, and interning. There are loads of people who would like to help you and can give you experience, paid and otherwise.

If you can volunteer to do social media for a local charity or club, you can learn by doing.

Do not wait for a gold-plated invitation; just make a plan and go ahead.

10. What is your favourite thing about Limerick?

I love the sense of humour. There is a dry wit that Limerick people have that is so unique and so special. Nowhere else in the world can someone insult you and your forebearers and make you feel so complimented.

Whenever I come home and have the chance to go and meet people here, I am reminded that we have some of the funniest people in the world here on our doorstep. I am thinking of Mike Finn, Pat Shortt, the late Jon Kenny, Bernard O Shea, and many others.

Other than that, who does not love the riverside in Limerick, the three-bridge walk, and all the wonderful things that happen close to it. I recently participated in the very first Limerick Plein Air festival for artists to come and paint on one day in the city. The images and the paintings were unbelievable, you forget how beautiful the city is.

My other weakness is the odd time I get to pop in to Mother Mac’s and sample some Writers Tears whiskey. Oh, the irony….