Podcast 285: Three-time all-Ireland winner Walter Walsh discusses SocialTies, his digital platform aimed at helping community groups and grassroots organisations manage their communications.
The SocialTies platform addresses the common challenge faced by community groups who currently rely on multiple disconnected tools including group chats, outdated websites, and scattered emails to manage their daily operations.
Walsh told the ThinkBusiness Podcast that SocialTies is about giving community groups, schools and grassroots organisations the digital infrastructure to connect, grow, and take ownership of their space online.”
“What sets us apart is the idea of local businesses supporting their local sports team while giving back”
He explained that the platform consolidates fixtures, results, messaging, ticketing, news, and content into a single branded environment.
All-Ireland community values
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SocialTies operates on a community shared advertising model, where the platform remains free for both individual users and organisations, with revenue generated through targeted advertising to local audiences.
“SocialTies is an app you can download on your phone that provides a digital home for any organisation or community. The best way to explain it is through our first partnership with Kilkenny GAA and the formation of Kilkenny Cat Social. We provide a one-stop shop for all things Kilkenny GAA with three key stakeholders: the app user/supporter, the organization (Kilkenny GAA), and businesses/advertisers like Tirlán who advertise with us.”
Walsh initially conceived SocialTies as club management software but pivoted to focus on organisations that run clubs after discussions with Kilkenny GAA.
“As a supporter, I used to go to the website for fixtures and results, X for live updates, Instagram and Facebook for news, buy the paper for articles, and listen to radio or Spotify for podcasts. Kilkenny Cat Social incorporates all of this into one place. For the organisation, they’re always looking to raise money and asking local businesses for sponsorship with limited offerings. We provide them a platform for their supporters, and with our shared advertising model, 50% of all ad revenue goes directly back to Kilkenny GAA, specifically for developing their Center of Excellence.”
SocialTies serves three stakeholders simultaneously – supporters get centralised content, organisations get revenue and engagement, and businesses get targeted advertising with community impact. .
“The third stakeholder is local businesses. They want to support local but tend to give without much return on investment. We provide businesses the opportunity to advertise digitally while supporting the Centre of Excellence, plus we provide analytics on how their ads perform – views and clicks to their websites. On Kilkenny Cat Social, we have nearly 6,000 active users engaging with these ads and local businesses. They’re recognised as supporting Kilkenny GAA while getting something back – views and advertising reach while giving back to the local community.
Rather than launching broadly, Walsh chose to partner closely with established organisations like Kilkenny GAA first. This approach provides credibility, helps refine the product, and creates a strong foundation for expansion. Quality partnerships often matter more than quantity in the early stages.
“What sets us apart is the idea of local businesses supporting their local sports team while giving back. If you look at digital advertising on Facebook and Instagram – we’re not trying to take them down, not yet anyway, we’ll take it slow – that money goes to Silicon Valley. But if you advertise on SocialTies, 50% goes directly back to the organisation or community you want to support.
“It’s hyper-localised advertising. You can advertise locally, but if you have special interest in the community, you can support that too. There’s a feel-good factor for businesses – they’re advertising on a platform that supports Kilkenny GAA, and in turn they’re giving money to that organisation, allowing it to grow. It’s positive and allows communities to have a safe place – a digital home online. You want your home to be a safe place.”
Once a teacher, always a teacher
Walsh, a schoolteacher by profession, said that taking a sabbatical from the classroom to focus on entrepreneurship scratches an itch.
“Like a lot of people, I have lots of ideas going on in my head. I’ve invested in some tech companies in the past and worked with Grinds 360, the online grinds platform that’s really skyrocketed. I worked with and invested in that as well, so I have an interest in that area – though I’m not really tech savvy, far from it actually.
“I’m also a dairy farmer, so that keeps me busy. It’s funny – a lot of these ideas come while milking cows because you’re nearly on autopilot, can’t look at your phone, no distractions. Your hands are busy and you’re just left with your thoughts, which can be powerful or could be negative depending on how you look at it.
“I was one of the first investors in the platform. Originally we were looking at club management software for local sports clubs, but after discussions with Kilkenny GAA, we pivoted from club management to developing SocialTies.
“We didn’t want to go after clubs – we wanted to target the organisations that run the clubs, because there are lots of platforms looking at club management software. We’re looking at the organisation and how we can make it better.
“Like anything, you have to pivot. Once Kilkenny Cat Social was formed as the first one, it’s going really well. The news feed is full of podcasts and articles exclusive to the app. We’re also feeding in from Kilkenny GAA’s Twitter and Instagram, putting all things Kilkenny GAA in one place while supporting the organization. With co-founder Brendan Cavanagh, we just hit the ground running. Having Kilkenny to start with was really positive. We also have GAA Handball, the national governing body, signed up.”
In conclusion, Walsh is keeping an open mind on the future and is excited about where the SocialTies journey will take him.
“I love being a teacher. I was teaching for 10 years at Gorey Castle College in New Ross. Once a teacher, always a teacher – always a learner anyway. I love teaching and the school. I wouldn’t like to say I’ll never be back to it. With teaching, there aren’t many jobs where you can take a career break for a year, but you can take up to five years. I’m very grateful for that.”
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