Matching on-field endeavor with off-field success is one of the real challenges for county GAA players in business.

 However, it is one being met head on by Tipp hurling star Conor O’Mahony, man of the match in last Sunday’s epic Munster Hurling Championship clash with Limerick and partner in new business venture Irish Bobbles.

 Irish Bobbles is a new start-up business created by O’Mahony along with Mark Carey and Michael O’Dwyer with the former All-Star helping to leverage his frontline sporting profile to help promote the product.

 Irish Bobbles was founded to create a high quality brand of bobble head figurines that promote Irish Culture, History and Sport. They recently launched their first range based on the Gaelic Football and Hurling County Teams. Each Bobble stands at over 8 inches in height and crafted from polyresin and then hand painted.

 Based in Newport, Tipperary, the idea for Irish Bobbles originated from Michael, witnessing the popularity of Bobble heads in America and realising they had never been created for Irish sports. They set about creating an entire range of 66 models, the 32 counties and two special edition Éire Bobbles.

 After spending nearly a year, producing prototypes and the final products, Irish Bobbles were launched on the “Late Late Toy Show” 2011. In January 2012, following the announcement that the Irish Times had picked Irish Bobbles as one of the top Irish start ups to watch in 2012 they had their public launch at the Ireland Show in the RDS, Dublin.

At the event they received widespread media attention and in May, a nomination for Product Start-Up of the Year at the Vodafone Start-Up Awards. The Bobbles are available at various sports stores, gift stores and other retail shops nationwide and on their website www.IrishBobbles.com.

To keep up to date with Irish Bobbles follow them on twitter.com/IrishBobbles and find them on facebook.com/IrishBobbles.

Conor is being supported by the GPA Business Programme.