1973 Bray County Wicklow…
Many exciting and brave things were happening in the coastal town of Bray, just 12 miles south of Dublin. For one thing, Ardmore film studios were well and truly established on the International scene having opened its doors a few years previously.
Some of the big name directors that worked with Ardmore Studios were, John Boorman, Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Howard, Mel Gibson, Neil Jordan, Stanely Kubric, and Jim Sheridan.
A young woman, Mary O’Brien took the brave step and opened a boutique flower shop, calling it Mermaid Flowers ( a nod to the waters of the Irish sea a few feet away) and began a relationship with the town and it’s famous visitors that would span more than a generation or two.
Her son Patrick came into the business in 1995 showing a talent for design Paddy headed to the UK where he trained and honed his profession as a florist. For the next few years he worked in France, Holland and New York (in the world famous Windsor Florist on Lexington Avenue).
Returning home Paddy, now an international designer, had ideas for Mermaid. He started importing directly from the auctions in Holland only the best blooms and plants he could buy, exotic flowers Ireland had never seen before. He is still one of Ireland’s leading flower importers.