Skibbereen sailor Mia (33) has launched a safe space for singles to connect, writes EMMA CONNOLLY.

A YOUNG woman from Skibbereen is channelling her global experiences into new ventures after returning home to West Cork.

Mia Connolly (33) has launched a new space for single people to create connections, have a social outlet and hopefully meet a partner along the way.

Plus N-one came from her own experience of returning to West Cork after living overseas in Australia, New Zealand and Spain for six years.

‘Returning home just over a year ago has been a much bigger adjustment than I ever imagined it would be. Although West Cork will always be home, finding your feet again after building a life overseas is not always easy,’ admits Mia, an intrepid sailor who has competed in some of the world’s toughest races.

The motivation behind Plus N-one, Mia said, is to bring back more in-person connection and a little bit of old-fashioned chivalry.

‘I’m hoping to bring people together in person and create a community where people can build friendships and have a social outlet. If people meet their match through the group, that is fantastic. If they don’t, hopefully they still have a group of people they can connect with and talk to about the realities of being single, rather than feeling like they are the only one experiencing it,’ she said.

‘If I could positively impact even one person’s life through this group, I would be extremely happy.’

Since returning home, Mia has also launched her own consultancy business called SEOL - inspired by her entrepreneurial parents – mum Mary Deasy, who runs her own hair salon, and her father, whose computer shop she grew up working in.

At the wheel racing in Sydney Harbour.

It’s designed to help businesses understand their systems, improve their processes and get more value from the technology available to them.

‘Over the years, I noticed the same pattern again and again,’ said Mia, who has 12 years’ experience working across IT, business systems and digital transformation. ‘Businesses were often running on systems that worked on the surface, but underneath were clunky, manual or far more complicated than they needed to be. Fixing the surface never really fixed the underlying problem. ‘The goal is not to add more technology for the sake of it. It is about simplifying processes, improving efficiency and making sure systems work properly for the people using them.’

The name SEOL comes from the Irish word seol, meaning to move forward, set direction, begin and also to sail, and came from Mia’s love of sailing.

Sailing has always been part of Mia’s life. Growing up in West Cork, she spent much of her childhood on the water with her family, including regular trips around Fastnet Rock, with Cape Clear Island feeling like a second home.

‘Sailing has played a huge role in my life, teaching me resilience, how to stay calm under pressure and how to keep moving forward even when conditions are uncertain,’ said Mia who has sailed competitively since 2010.

When she moved to Australia in 2018 at the age of 27 – on her own and without knowing anyone –  she was able to take her passion to the next level and joined the crew of the high profile Australian inshore and offshore racing yacht Zen.

‘I had been sailing all my life, but this was a completely different level. Every spare second I had outside work was spent on the water. It really was a dream come true. However, a year later my visa came to an end and although I had been told I could stay longer through sponsorship, it all came crashing down when that visa was declined, right before the Sydney Hobart yacht race, a race I had spent the previous year training for several days a week. I moved everything to Auckland, NZ, and started my life again,’ she said.

That was an enormous blow, even if Mia was able to make it back to complete one of the hardest and most prestigious yacht races.

She went on to sail on similar calibre boats in NZ, and then COVID hit.

Mia climbing the mast.

‘New Zealand had some of the strictest border restrictions in the world during Covid. It was 3.5 years later that I finally got to fly home and see my loved ones, my parents and sister and brother-in-law for the first time. To this day, when I think that I went that long without seeing my family, who I am very close to, it gives me shivers from head to toe. If that doesn’t build resilience, I don’t know what does,’ she said.

During that time she gained permanent residency in NZ.

‘It’s a piece of paper that means more to me than anyone will ever know. An achievement that comes with a lot more than just residency. It represents survival through COVID, watching my dreams around me fall apart, while on the other side of the world, starting my life from scratch yet again,’ said Mia.

Her next move was to Spain for a year, but not before she nearly detoured to West Cork.

‘Before I started living in Spain, I flew to Panama from NZ, joined a 44.7-metre superyacht, went through the Panama Canal and sailed to Jamaica, across the Atlantic, stopped in the Azores and finally Falmouth. We very nearly had to stop in Baltimore due to the weather conditions, and the entire of West Cork would have crowded the pier. I could almost see it!’

Now, back in her native West Cork for over a year, Mia honestly says the ‘transition of being at home is a lot harder than I ever imagined it could be’.

‘I have moved countries a few times by myself and started my life from absolute scratch each and every time, but nothing is harder than starting from scratch in your own hometown. Leaving home is a brave move, but no one tells you that the hardest part is learning to find home within yourself. It isn’t easy. There are setbacks, disappointments, and knockback after knockback,’ she said.

Sailing remains a huge part of Mia’s life, and she hopes to continue spending time on the water in West Cork, the place where her love of sailing began. ‘But I didn’t come home just to work, but to bring my experience back to the businesses and community that shaped me. These are my people. This is my place. I’m excited for what’s to come.’

• Follow @plus_n_one on Instagram to join the local group.