Connolly recalls being involved in the family business from a young age, growing up as one of nine children on the family farm in Kilkenny. However, when it came to college time, he spent five years at St Patrick’s Pontifical University in Maynooth training to be a priest, before switching the direction of his early career to journalism with a job at the Kilkenny People.
“Really, it was pioneering work, and it was a tremendous privilege. I was lucky that I had the opportunity provided by my father and my brothers and the rest of the management team to be able to drive on and lose money until we could make money in markets as far away as Japan,” he said. “Irish people and Irish businesses have an uncanny ability to be able to work across cultures, and be able to make friends wherever they go,” he said.
“If you understand that, perhaps you might be less judgmental as to how they see the world view. While we can make sure we have ethical standards ourselves, I think we have to spin the positive on it because it’s not really our place; we’re guests in the UAE,” he said. “I think it starts with managing the expectations of siblings, which my dad did very well. Everybody knew their place in the family and knew long before he ever passed on about shareholdings and so on. There is tremendous fairness in the family, where everybody is looked after, but we always prioritise the business as the golden goose,” he said.