Ciarán Hancock

OK, let's talk about some of the other people you heard from.

Mark Matthews of Julius Bear.

You said he had some interesting messages around the markets today.

So you got to meet the alumni and you also got to meet the finalists.

Who impressed you?

Because as part of this, they all give elevator pitches, don't they?

So they all talk to you for, the group, for three or four minutes, tell you about the business, where they came from, and their hopes for the future.

So who caught your eye?

People in Blanchetown don't seem to be so keen on the drones flying over their houses.

But anyway, I think it's taking off in parts of America.

Now, you got to, as a journalist, of course, you'd be interested in visiting other media and you got to visit the Globe and Mail headquarters while you were over there.

So what shape is the Canadian economy in at the moment?

And, you know, we're here fretting about jet fuel and whether we're going to be able to go on summer holidays and so forth and what impacts they're going to have on airfares and inflation and whatever.

Are the Canadians having similar thoughts as well?

Yeah, the CETA free trade agreement between Canada and Europe is still waiting to be ratified, right?

There have been some issues here, there's some legal challenges and so forth, but effectively it's working in the background.

OK, so that's the mood in Canada.

What about the mood among the Irish entrepreneurs?

There were 150 of you in total, some EY people, a few journalists, but mostly entrepreneurs.

What's the mood among them in terms of