Seán Davoren: ‘I’d like to write the next Pulp Fiction – and I tell remarkably bad sheep jokes’

The Clare Echo is proud to be media partner of The Clare Business Excellence Awards. In the lead-up to the Gala Awards ceremony on Thursday, November 19, 2026 at the Rine Hotel, The Clare Echo is doing a Business Spotlight series sponsored by AMQ Accountants and Auditors. This week, we speak to Seán Davoren of Caherconnell Stone Fort & Sheepdog Demonstrations.

When you were smaller, what did you want to be when you grow up?

Initially I wanted to be a writer – but it turns out my spelling is dreadful!

Tell us about your career progression to date?

I’ve had what I’ve heard tactfully referred to as a portfolio career. I’ve always been happy to ride my luck careerwise and mostly it’s worked out. Post-graduation from college, I started working for Friends First an insurance company which is now part of the Aviva group. I worked in re-insurance there which is insurance for insurance companies. It was a fascinating job and I loved it to the extent that I set up my own business consulting in that area around 2010. I consulted for insurance companies for a few years, building models of the potential consequences of catastrophic events and similar risks, subsequently I transitioned to work in aircraft leasing.

There I did things like building models to value aircraft and models describing the uncertainty surrounding those values. It was an interesting and enjoyable job which I frequently got to describe as “working with models” – which was fun.

I exited that business in 2019 and decided to return to Clare to look after our family business Caherconnell Fort and Sheepdogs in the Burren in county Clare. Of all the things I’ve done tourism is probably my favourite.

What’s the most enjoyable aspect of what you do?

I love meeting people; most of my previous jobs were less social. Our visitors at Caherconnell are almost universally lovely, and we have great fun meeting them every day.

What motivates you?

I like to continually improve at whatever I’m doing – I always think you can be a little bit better tomorrow than you are today.

What advice do you have for your 15 year old self?

Don’t worry about it – do the things you enjoy, it’s all going to work out.

If you weren’t in this job, what do you think you’d be doing now?

I’d hopefully be working with models !

What’s your greatest life or career achievement to date?

I don’t tend to think about it this way – I hope that when I’m done doing what I do now we will have created something sustainable that helps maintain a sustainable rural community in my home place. If we succeed in doing that I’ll be so proud of that achievement.

Who or what is the biggest influence on your life?

My first job was a huge influence in my life. I started working in insurance in 1999 just before Y2K. It was a fascinating time, and I worked with an endlessly fascinating and eccentric group of people all of whom were much cleverer than I was. I was like a sponge, I learned a huge amount and those experiences were very formative for me.

What’s the life dream now?

When I’m done with what I do now I’d like to write Pulp Fiction, I suspect I lack the necessary talent though.

How do you switch off?

I don’t. I don’t believe in downtime and I don’t believe in work life balance – just do something you love and keep doing it. When you stop loving it go do something else.

When are you at your happiest?

When I get home in the evening, I turn off the phone and have dinner with my wife.

Do you have any hidden talents?

I tell remarkably bad sheep jokes – does that count?

What might we be surprised to know about you?

I might well be the worst golfer you know.

Is there anything else that you’d like to share?

I was talking to someone earlier this year who made a great point to me. She said, “You know, the reason we choose to live in Clare is because of the lovely things you can see and do all around here, but there’s not much point if you don’t get to see and do them”.  It really resonated with me as it’s something I’m guilty of. I’ve been making a concerted effort to enjoy Clare more since then and doing so has improved my quality of life significantly.  Enjoy Clare more – there are great things to see and do here.

Our website is caherconnell.com our phone number is 065 7089999 and we open daily from March 1st to November 2nd. We host sheepdog shows daily at 11.10 & 2.10pm with guided fort tours before and after each show.

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