Siobhan O'Sullivan

Siobhan started in tourism. Back in 2008, she joined Waterways Ireland as a tourism officer—her job was showing people why Ireland's waterways mattered. But it wasn't long before she realized something important: most walking guides were written for fit, young people. Nobody was really thinking about older adults or walkers with mobility challenges.

So she shifted focus. Over the next decade and a half, Siobhan became an accessibility consultant, spending months each year surveying canal towpaths on foot. She didn't just check off boxes on a form. She walked every section, noted surface conditions, counted the steps, timed the slopes, found the benches, and talked to actual walkers about what they found difficult or surprising.

She's walked hundreds of kilometres. She's documented rest points that don't exist on official maps. She's sat on benches talking to locals who've walked the same routes for decades. She's learned where the ground gets boggy after rain, which sections get muddy in winter, and which spots offer the best views—details that don't make it into tourist brochures but absolutely matter when you're planning a walk.

That's the foundation of her work at smartecmall Limited. Her guides aren't theoretical. They're built from thousands of hours of fieldwork, real conversations, and a genuine belief that Ireland's waterways should be accessible to everyone—not just young, fit walkers.