Local business owner 'giving something back' with free Christmas toys raffle

A local man who set up his own business two years ago is delighted with its success and has made the decision to give something back to the community who are supporting him.

Mark Brady of Mullingar-based Bravo Contracts Ltd is running a free raffle ahead of Christmas “in which we aim to help a family out with a €1,000 Smyth’s toy shop voucher and a donation of €250 to the charity of the winner’s choice”, he said.

Mark is well known in local sports circles, because, as he put it himself, he’s had “more clubs than Tiger Woods”.

He says family, friends and work colleagues slag him because he jumped from club to club “but I won more trophies than the rest of them because I always went where the trophies ended up!”.

He has been involved in sport for a lifetime, and when he moved to Dublin to start an apprenticeship, he transferred and played for the Civil Service there.

He became acquainted with large numbers of people through sport, and from when he started his business, people would approach him for sponsorship.

Bravo Contracts was born out of a suggestion from a contracts manager he worked with at Kirby’s in Tullamore, who asked him about going out on his own. Mark admitted he wouldn’t know where to start, but the manager gave him some advice and helped him to get off the ground.

“I started up with four guys in early 2023 and by the middle of 2024, I was up to about 30, now I’m at about 45 guys. I tend to hire local. That’s what I’ve built a brand on, I know every single guy, or the family of every guy, who works for me.

“We have 16 or 17 apprentices in the Westmeath area and they are lads I know through sport or I played football with their dads.”

In business life, and as well as employing local, Mark keeps his word. “If I say we’ll be there at nine o’clock on a Wednesday, we’re there at nine o’clock on the Wednesday. The customers can’t believe that you actually came when you said you were going to come, or that you answered the phone.”

That commitment means the business has grown quickly, and though Mark thinks it could expand further, he’s reluctant to take that step as it could dilute the quality of the work.

Back to the sport, and after listing the clubs he has played for (St Loman’s; CFCW; Ballynacargy; “Mullingar Athletic when I was a youngster, and then Mullingar Town until I retired last year”, where he finished up as player manager and league and cup double success), Mark said he has supported many of those and others.

“I sponsored Grange this year because a couple of my apprentices play for them. I sponsored Mullingar Town last season, because I was there, and the Westmeath Masters, because I played for them. I’m sponsoring Multyfarnham because my nephew was in a county final there with them, I sponsor a young footballer, Jack Penrose, a neighbour, who is phenomenal, fantastic."

Keen to continue contributing to the community, Mark said: “There are so many people I know that are struggling at the minute, and I’m in a position where I can do a little bit.”

Bravo Contracts are running a free raffle through Facebook and Instagram for which the prize is a €1,000 Smyth’s toy shop voucher plus a donation of €250 to the charity of the winner’s choice.

Mark said that for every 100 shares reached they will add an additional €100 to the charity side of the prize.

The draw is free for anyone to enter – find Bravo Contracts on Facebook for more details. The draw is on the last day of November.