At it Again! : Bringing Irish literature to life

At it Again! bring literature to life in a fresh and playful way. The company’s founders, Maite and Niall, allow you to take a literary adventure by exploring Irish writers, their stories and the places that inspired them. Based in Dublin, At it Again! are influenced by mid-twentieth century design and illustration, pop culture and of course, books. The books are targeted at adults, be they local book-lovers or visiting tourists looking for a memento from Ireland.

“We were on a romp in the Dublin mountains when a great little idea came bounding along. With Bloomsday around the corner, we wanted to inspire people to love Dublin and stop fearing Ulysses. Our challenge was to take a big intimidating book and make it fun and accessible.” Within three months, the first title, ‘Romping through Ulysses’, was released. People loved the book so much that the couple was spurred on to tackle other Irish classics. They were, effectively, At it Again! Soon the ‘Romping through Irish Literature’ series was a reality.

The first step had been made, but scaling up the business was another story. Without financial support, the business would not have been able to take on any new customers or large bulk orders, thus significantly slowing down growth. Maite and Niall turned to Microfinance Ireland, who offered them a loan guaranteed by EIF through the EU Employment and Social Innovation programme. The EU programme’s aim is to provide microfinance to vulnerable groups who want to set up or develop their business.

This support has allowed Maite and Niall to scale-up production volumes. As a result, the business can now produce at a lower cost and comfortably fulfil any requests from retailers on larger orders. It has also allowed them to work on re-branding their books and other products. The aspiration is that this will create enough work to hire two part-time employees in 2017 to assist with the workload.

At It Again! plan to continue to grow by expanding their range of guide books and related products as well as improving their presence in the Irish tourist market. They also hope to build on their growing customer base in the United States and the UK. If all goes well, Maite is planning to work full-time on the project.

Company: At it Again! (Ireland)

Type of business: Education; literature; retail

EIF financing: EaSI

Financial intermediary: Microfinance Ireland

For further information about EIF intermediaries in Ireland, please refer to:
http://www.eif.org/what_we_do/where/ie