Pictured Back row, left to right: Micheal Sheppard (Duty Manager), Steven O’Hanlon, Gary Carroll, Tara Ruane (Acorn Candle Makers), Terry Kelly (Sales and Marketing Manager). Front Row, left to right: Lisa McNulty, Donna Clarke, Noreen McConville, Kirsty Wilson, Gemma Clarke, Micheala McAleavy (Acorn Candle Makers).
A Newry-based charity and social enterprise, Bolster Community work alongside individuals, families, and the community, to support improved opportunity, health and well-being for those who need it.
The charity provides several of these services in the Slieve Gullion region in which Killeavy Castle Estate is located, giving the partnership great synergy and reflecting the values of Killeavy Castle Estate which place a huge emphasis on supporting local.
Speaking about the partnership, Sales and Marketing Manager at Killeavy Castle Estate, Terry Kelly said: “Killeavy Castle Estate is proud to support Bolster Community and the fantastic work that they do. Bolster Community’s commitment to giving back and supporting the local community, and its commitment to sustainability with regard to its Acorn products, strongly align with the values of Killeavy Castle Estate and we are looking forward to partnering with the organisation for a second year.”
Acorn, the social enterprise element of Bolster Community, creates scented products including candles, fragrance diffusers and wax melts which are all handmade in Northern Ireland by a community of young adults with additional needs.
As part of Killeavy Castle Estate’s partnership with Bolster, it commissioned Acorn to create a signature range of scented products for use across the property at Killeavy Castle Estate with Acorn spending a year developing a unique scent, ‘Gullion Oaks’, which captures the essence of the nature and relaxation of the estate and the Ring of Gullion that surrounds it. The ‘Gullion Oaks’ range of products is available for guests to buy at Killeavy Castle Estate with profits from the sales being reinvested into support programmes to help vulnerable individuals and families throughout the Newry, Mourne and Down region.
Commenting on the idea behind the commissioning of a scent from Acorn, Duty Manager at Killeavy Castle Estate, Michael Sheppard said: “Scent-ology is a smell reminding you of a place, a person, or a memory. Certain smells evoke recall and nostalgia, like the smell of your Granny’s kitchen or the way a perfume can remind you of a certain someone.
“We wanted to create a signature scent that would remind people of Killeavy and we worked with the guys at Acorn to develop this, which resulted in the creation of ‘Gullion Oaks.’ This scent is used throughout the hotel and we hope that it will invoke feelings of relaxation and contentment with our guests and visitors.”
Jacinta Linden, CEO of Bolster Community added: “It has been a pleasure working with the team at Killeavy Castle Estate this past year, bringing the ‘Gullion Oaks’ range to life and having the opportunity to bring the Acorn brand to a whole new audience of guests and visitors Killeavy Castle Estate. We have achieved so much this year and we are really excited about what this year has in store for our partnership.”
To celebrate the continuation of the partnership, Killeavy Castle Estate hosted members of the team from Bolster Community, including some of the Acorn candle makers at the estate where they enjoyed afternoon tea, by way of thank you for all their hard work to date.