Athlone's Conor up for prestigious entrepreneur accolade this week

Athlone's Conor O'Loughlin first came to prominence as a rugby player, lining out with distinction for Buccaneers and Connacht.

However, his hugely impressive strides in the world of business may even surpass his achievements on the field of play.

The Cornamagh native set up Glofox, a software system which helps operate gyms and other fitness businesses, in 2014, and the company now employs more than 150 people.

As a result of its success, Conor is a finalist in the international category at the 2020 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year awards, which will be held as a virtual event from Dublin's RDS tomorrow (Thursday) evening.

These prestigious all-Ireland awards are not the first to recognise the local man's accomplishments in business, as he won the 'Ireland's Best Young Entrepreneur' award in April 2018.

Now living in Dublin, Conor (37) is a son of Ann and Ray. A past pupil of the Marist College in Athlone and St Saran's in Ferbane, he played football with Garrycastle and rugby with Buccaneers while at school, before deciding to concentrate on rugby in his mid-teens.

He joined Connacht at the age of 21, lining out for the province for a number of years before a hip injury brought his rugby career to a premature end at the age of 28.

Along with former Connacht teammate Keith Matthews, Conor set up Core Sports Management Company in 2012, before going on to establish Glofox two years later.

The company's software gives the owners of gyms and fitness businesses "the tools that help drive sales and engage their members in addition to growing and retaining revenues."

Glofox software is used in over 3,000 businesses across 60 countries, and its website states that it has helped a range of fitness brands "retain 85% of their member revenue during Covid-19 by adding online workouts and on-demand content."

Commenting on the 24 finalists for the awards this week, Roger Wallace, partner lead for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year programme, said: "2020 has been a challenging year so far for many businesses but we know that if there is one group that will rise to that challenge, it's our island's entrepreneurs.

"The judges have selected an exceptional group of businesspeople from a very impressive pool of nominees. This year we’ve seen lots of newer, cutting-edge tech and life sciences businesses nominated, as well as more established and traditional players."

Kiernan Structural Steel Ltd, based outside Longford town and operated by Frank and Dolores Kiernan, is the only Midlands-based business to have reached the finals.

The overall winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year award will be announced during the online event in the RDS tomorrow.