With the proper support, many Irish brands operating in today's franchise market have the potential to follow O'Briens Sandwich Bars and others onto the international stage and, in doing so, make a significant contribution to the Irish economy - and the numbers are likely to grow.

The Republic of Ireland's economic growth since the late 1990s and the recent economic revival in Northern Ireland has attracted many international franchise businesses. According to a recent survey from the Irish Franchise Association, turnover in the franchise sector increased by over 500 per cent in 10 years since 1997 with twice as many franchises active in Ireland in 2006 as there were in 1997. These international franchise businesses have raised the awareness of and, indeed, expertise in franchising within the Irish business community.

At the same time, Irish people have become more discriminating about the quality of products and services that they buy. Businesses trading in Ireland now have to deliver much higher levels of quality and service just to survive in the Irish market. This means that they are better prepared and more likely to succeed when the time comes to expand in international markets.

Finally, as the Irish economic growth rate slows, the more ambitious Irish businesses are forced to look to international markets such as UK, continental Europe and even the far East, Australia and New Zealand for increased growth and lower costs.

Irish franchise businesses benefit from the international reputation that Irish business people have for being good people with which to work. We speak English, we are well educated, we work hard, we have a strong economy behind us and we like to enjoy ourselves on occasion. Emigration over many hundreds of years means that there are many tens, if not hundreds, of millions of people worldwide with strong connections to Ireland, providing a ready market for Irish businesses. Even better, those businesses can take advantage of the international reputation that Ireland already enjoys for quality food, great pubs and exquisite craftsmanship.

Given the current trends, it is highly likely that many more Irish businesses will follow "in the footsteps of O'Brien's" in coming years, adopting the franchise business model to drive international expansion.

The O'Brien's Sandwich Bar idea was conceived when Brody Sweeney came upon the idea of an Irish themed sandwich bar while visiting the USA. Today's pretenders have many different origins:

Munster Tool Co
Martin McMahon and Donal Healy founded Munster Tool Co in 1980 to distribute specialised tools to the automotive industry. In 2004, they reinvented their business as a franchise building on almost 50 years' combined experience in the automotive market and have built a network of nine franchises to date.

Donatellos
A family run business, Dan Foley and his brother Brian have been serving fresh, nutritious food to the families of Cork since 1991. Having opened four directly owned outlets, they started development of their franchise concept and plan to open their first franchise in early 2008.

Zumo
Cathal Power founded Zumo Juice Bars in 2000 after travelling the world to find out how it is done. Today, Zumo is Europe's largest juice bar chain with over 30 bars in Ireland, many more in England and Scotland and yet more planned for Spain, South Africa and France.

Eddie Rockets
The concept of Eddie Rockets was born in the late 1980s, after Niall Fortune, founder and MD of Eddie Rockets, had a chance encounter with a classic American diner whilst travelling around the United States. The very first Eddie Rockets opened on South Anne St. Dublin in 1990 and today there are 28 City Diners and two Dine-O-Mats in Ireland and a City Diner in Liverpool.

The Streat
The Streat was founded by Michael and Nikki McQuillan in Belfast in 1999. Their vision is to develop The Streat as the best known and most successful cafÉ concept to come out of Ireland, providing fresh healthy food and award winning service in contemporary surroundings. With 18 outlets in Northern Ireland, The Streat opened outlets in Belfast and Cork in 2007 and plans further expansion throughout Ireland and the UK.

The Frying Squad
Following the success of a company-owned fish and chip takeaway in North Down, founder Michael Neill decided on a programme of expansion through franchising. A second shop was opened in Bangor earlier this year and it is planned to establish a number of shops in Northern Ireland before expanding south to the Republic of Ireland and across to mainland UK.

The Cleaning Doctor
William Little had 13 years experience operating a cleaning and supply business in County Fermanagh before launching Cleaning Doctor in June 1998. He now has 50 operations of which 33 are in Ireland with others in England, Scotland and the Isle of Man.

mytiles
mytiles founder, Mark Bradley, had many years' experience working within the tile industry, both as retailer and wholesaler before opening his first retail outlet in Belfast in 2002. Since then he has opened two further franchise units and plans to open more units in Northern Ireland before expanding to mainland UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Sanserv
Sanserv is based in Galway and has developed a very successful business operation throughout Ireland in a specialised service sector. The company is now launching a franchise in Ireland and formulating plans for expansion into the UK and international marketplaces