Little Collins is the perfect plant-based CBD spot in Galway. We reached out to JP and Ide to find out more about the opening of their second location, in Kilkenny. Here is what they had to say…their connection to Ireland and the Ireland CBD industry for wholesale isolates and flower
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What made you choose Kilkenny as your new location?
Kilkenny is a vibrant city in Ireland's south-west. Easily accessible to Dublin and only 2.5 hours from Galway, it has always been in the back of our minds for Little Collins #2. ( Hopefully, this one doesn't get raided by the police) As an aside, it turns out one half of Little Collins has direct ancestral routes in Kilkenny as well — and it's not even the Irish half of LC that does! Little Collins is owned by a husband and wife team, JP and Ide. JP is Australian born, Ide is Irish. JP's ancestry, however, is firmly Irish (full name: James Patrick O'Brien). And it turns out, the maternal genetic matriarch of the Australian O'Brien's I come from was a woman by the name of Ellen Murphy. After we'd signed the lease, my mother back home informed me about the Ellen Murphy story…
Ellen was a 16-year-old orphan in a Kilkenny Workhouse when she managed to get a ticket on a ship destined for Australia as a part of the re-location schemes at the time. This was 1848, Ireland was ravaged by famine and Ellen, as a 16-year-old female orphan, travelled 3 months across the open water on a ship, to escape that reality into another vastly different one, in Australia. The 900+ people who remained in that Kilkenny Workhouse tragically perished not long thereafter. She then met an Irish man by the name of Michael Green, from Liscannor, Co Clare, and thus began the Australian O'Brien's from which I come.
Ellen Murphy's name plus the names of every other individual who spent time in the Kilkenny Union Workhouse is on a plaque at the workhouse site and museum at McDonagh Junction, Kilkenny City, this present day.
What can customers expect when they walk through the doors?
When customers walk through the door, they can expect a positive, health-orientated cafe, where the house-favourites are a ‘Melbourne-style' CBD latte or a cup of organic hemp tea. Our range of premium full spectrum products is also on offer, as well as home made CBD edibles.
We promote a family-friendly, open, non-judgemental environment. Good vibes!
What are your hopes and dreams for the new store?
Our hopes and dreams for Kilkenny LC are, well firstly, to run as green a business as possible and also stay afloat! After this, we've already put in place plans to revitalise the pedestrianised area adjacent to the shop. The old hoarding there will soon be replaced and we'll commission an artist to create something on the new fencing too.
We'll look to sponsor local community-based ventures (Parkrun Kilkenny reach out if you're reading! Haha). We're going to launch our Cannteen brand in Kilkenny.
LC Cannteen represents the next stage in our product development, and is centred around house-made (Cheffy-made!) hemp nut butters, balms, cooking oils, massage/recovery oils… Bringing cannabis into everyday life.
We will also be scaling out our online business. Little Collins Couriers – our own, 100% private and safe delivery service which was created in response to the aggressive and totally unwarranted actions of Customs in this Country when they entered the homes of innocent Irish civilians for legal farmed hemp – is growing fast.
We have a significant focus to scale this part of our business as quickly as possible. With an industry seemingly on the line amidst telling signs of a legislative push towards synthetic cannabis, strength in numbers and wide proliferation of this safe, non-addictive plant is indeed our best defence. Who knows, we may currently be conducting the largest successful clinical trial in history over here.
The Extract wishes the best of luck to JP and Ide with their new shop and we cannot wait to visit!
*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in any interview featured on our site are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the opinions & views of The Extract as a whole.
