The Big Interview: Getting to the Harte of the matter
Scurlogstown native Martin Harte looks after the interests of businesses in the famous Dublin landmark of Temple Bar. His philosophy, he tells JIMMY GEOGHEGHAN, is of never giving up and resilience, developed from a source that played a big part in his life when he was growing up - the Meath Gaelic football team of the 1980s.
When the time comes for Martin Harte to write his autobiography he might consider calling it: 'Why not?' Just that. 'Why not?' It's a term the chief executive officer of the Temple Bar Company used once or twice during a conversation when he spoke to the Meath Chronicle, and it neatly sums up his approach to life.
He often asks that question when he is about to try a new approach in business; when he's sifting through the options available to him, and wondering whether he should or shouldn't take a leap into the dark. No doubt, it's that kind of adventurous attitude that has helped to propel the 45-year-old to the position he is in today, leading a company that is distinctive, even unique.
From Scurlogstown outside Trim, Harte right now seeks to steer the Temple Bar Company (TBC) through some stormy commercial waters whipped up by the pandemic. He is helped in that task by another Meathman, former government minister Noel Dempsey, who is chairman of the company.
Employing 11 people and with an annual turnover close to a million euro the Temple Bar Company is a commercial entity that looks after the interests of a group of businesses in that famous part of the city. It was set up by Harte in 2003 and is based on a concept he saw in operation in the United States.
This is how it works. The various companies in the area pay a fee to TBC who in return provide a plethora of services. They include cleaning the streets, staging various events and festivals, marketing, advertising, dealing with local authorities and lobbying the government of the day.
Over the last 19 years TBC has sailed through some calm waters when the good times rolled. There have been the hard, lean times too including right now as the pandemic still rages. Surely these are the hardest of times. At least that's what you might think - but you would be wrong.
"The lowest point was probably the last recession, that was horrendous, that was awful," he added with meaning. "That was a massive shock because a lot of people lost an awful lot. People became very angry and very depressed. Everyone was angry with everyone else, 2010, 2011, 2012, that was very negative. There was no money, no-one would pay you, you couldn't raise any money. You just couldn't break out of the trap.
"It went from everything to nothing but this isn't like that, maybe in a year's time we might end up back there, I hope not, but this time it's different, this time people are spending money, they're investing. In the last recession everything was cut, everything was negative, certainly for me that was the lowest point."
The Temple Bar Company made it through that recession. It was helped by a resilience Harte has developed from a source that played a big part in his life when he was growing up - the Meath Gaelic football team of the 1980s.
He watched from his Scurlogstown base as Sean Boylan's side emerged from obscurity to become All-Ireland champions in 1987 and '88 - and it had a huge influence on him. In the years since he has thought about what they achieved, how they achieved it - and applied the lessons to his own life.
"You are influenced greatly by how you grow up, by the people you are surrounded by and the people you meet. I've met a lot of positive people, a lot of successful people. I also think back to the 1980s and the Meath team from 1986 onwards and what they achieved.
"They weren't exactly world beaters but they never gave up and no matter what was thrown at them, no matter what storm they entered, they came out and stood up to it. I have to say it was inspirational to me at the age I was at the time. That idea, that you could do anything if you applied yourself.
"We hadn't won anything since the All-Ireland final of 1967 and suddenly we were champions. It was around then also that Ireland started to get into the World Cup. There was that sense of optimism that you could do things.
"Yeah that was all very inspirational, that sense that you have to work hard to stay on the pitch, stay in the game, you may have a bloodied nose but you stay in the game. You don't have to win by 10 points, you just have to win by one. It doesn't matter if the ball just barely makes it across the line or over the bar, once it gets there. That's the important thing and that's what I would say to anyone, keep at it."
He points too to his upbringing in Scurlogstown with his parents, Michael and Nuala, and two brothers and the 'can do' attitude that prevailed in the family culture. "My father was a builder, a carpenter, worked for Trim Urban District Council for the latter part of his life. Dad would have tried anything. He would try to make a rocket go to the moon." Martin says that so far in this crisis the Temple Bar Company have made no redundancies - and there are no plans to let anyone go. It's about digging in, surviving the storm.
Harte - who is married with two children and lives in north county Dublin - says he his a optimist by nature. That too has proved to be an ally. "I believe you have to find the light, you have to find the opportunities rather than the problems. We all know what the problems are but we can change, we can make opportunities and this pandemic has given us opportunities as well."
To underline his stance he points to new venture the Temple Bar Company have become involved in. It's a TV programme aimed at highlighting some of Ireland's tourist delights such as Trim Castle. The idea was to make the programme and distribute it abroad.
Harte thought why not? - and went ahead and promptly stepped out of the comfort zone. "Basically we raised enough money to cover the cost of making the programme. We make money through distribution. It's on per-per-view internationally so there is an income stream, it's not a big income stream, but it's enough to help us stay in business and we are going to make a second one.
In the lead up to St Patrick's Day the programme is freely available across 30 TV stations worldwide and every Irish embassy will also showcase the show. "The amount of people looking at Meath, Ireland and Temple Bar will be huge, and it wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for the pandemic," he adds.
Harte puts it another way: "When life dealt us lemons we made some lemonade out of it."
As another example he points to how in recent years his company organised a very popular live TradFest, showcasing some of Ireland's finest traditional musicians; and indeed Ireland itself. This year a new approach had to be taken. "TradFest went on line in January and we ended up with a bigger audience online than we did have off-line, we had more people coming to the show across the world than we did when it was open so that was great, that gave us an avenue."
The CEO of the Temple Bar Company admits that he has spent many nights awake thinking about the company and where it is going. "I'm an optimist but yeah, of course you worry about every penny going out," he adds. "Running any entity whether it's an non-profit business or a full profit business it's the same energy levels required, the same passion. It's no different to running a football team or running anything. You think about it, you worry about it and I have those sleepless nights, absolutely, many times.
"The older you get you tend to be able to weight things up a little better. Maybe if I was 30 years old again this might be a really depressing time but I'm not. I've learned from the last recession you can survive . You can survive pretty much anything once you have a positive attitude towards things, once you can see opportunities as opposed to just problems."
He points again to his upbringing. "The Meath football team was a huge influence because they were ordinary fellows who raised the county up when there was really nothing happening and in the town (Trim) we had the likes of Noel Dempsey who went on to be a government minister, appearing on TV, all that was a huge influence," he adds.
"It showed us that you can bloody well do what you want to do if you put your mind to it. Why not?" he says. Why not indeed.
MARTIN HARTE ON...
HIS JOURNEY TOWARDS SETTING UP THE TEMPLE BAR COMPANY
"When I did my Leaving I worked in the Wellington Court Hotel for a time, I did a thesis on the development of tourism in Trim and I was fascinated by how Trim could become a tourist location. It didn't have any hotels back then, apart from the Wellington, but there was the castle and all the history attached to it. I always had an interest in tourism and hospitality. I studied hotel management in Athlone went to DIT, did a Masters in planning and development and started to work in Temple Bar Properties in 1998/'99. I worked my way and set up in November 2003 the Temple Bar Company.
ON HOW THE TEMPLE BAR COMPANY CONCEPT WORKS
"We are a non-profit organisation so, for example, if we make a profit that money is invested back into street art or street lighting, Christmas lighting, more marketing or additional events so it's really unusual but the idea that is to maximise the marketing and management of your urban spaces so you get the best value for your area. If you own a hotel, say you give us a fee, we do the marketing, advertising, cleaning outside your business everyday, we're also cleaning your windows every week, it's a full service.
"We are a one-stop shop for everything from lobbying to festivals to cleaning, marketing. It's a very unusual concept. The fee is not a massive sum of money, it's very affordable, much less than your commercial rates on the basis that if everyone contributes an amount it's easier to keep it all going. You don't need to take a lot of money off people."
ON WHAT HE WOULD SAY TO HIS YOUNGER SELF
"If I was talking to my 20 year-old self don't give up on your dream and have faith in yourself. Don't believe you are a superman or superwoman because you are not but you have to stick with it, things arn't as easy as they seem but equally they're not as hard as they seem either. If you have a dream or an objective go for it and don't undersell yourself either. It's easier to move back from a bigger idea than it is for a smaller one. Stick with it, stay on the pitch."