From Academy to Golden Girl

Having travelled the world as a guest services manager for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, before working as a wedding and events manager for one of the busiest wedding venues in Meath, Sinéad made the decision to shift direction in her career and set up her own travel business. It was 2015 and she was already a customer of a Travel Counsellor, so she knew it was the type of company she wanted to be part of. With the encouragement of her husband Noel, Sinéad joined the Travel Counsellors Academy Training Programme; in October 2022 she became a “Gold Travel Counsellor” making her one of the top earning Travel Counsellors in Ireland and the first to qualify in this category having started out on the Academy programme.

Sinéad says; “Having weighed up the pros and cons of leaving a well-paid job which I loved, versus leaping into the unknown and starting my own business as a Travel Counsellor, the real ‘light-bulb moment’ for me was when I became a mother and I realised that running a business and having a work life balance was achievable.”

Sinéad praises the support she received, and still receives, from Travel Counsellors Head Office in Ireland and the lobal Head Office in Manchester. “For somebody like me, with a strong passion for travel but no direct experience in a travel agency, the Academy Training Programme was a fantastic opportunity. It was a great stepping stone to launch my own business under the Travel Counsellors brand.”

Cathy Burke, Managing Director Ireland adds: “We are so proud of Sinead and all she has achieved in a relatively short time period, considering the recent pandemic. She is a true professional and while she specialises in Cruise holidays, she is now fully embedded in her business and arranges all types of travel for her loyal customer base. Like all Travel Counsellors, you start from zero when you launch your business, but Sinead is living proof that you can go from zero to hero if that’s what your ambition is!”