McDonald’s Ireland Introduces Irish Language Ordering Nationwide

McDonald’s Ireland has announced the nationwide rollout of Irish language ordering across its self-service kiosks in restaurants throughout the Republic of Ireland. Following a successful trial period in McDonald’s Westside Shopping Centre, Galway in January of this year, customers across the country can now place their orders as Gaeilge, making the iconic McDonald’s experience more inclusive and accessible for Irish speakers.

This initiative is part of McDonald’s Ireland’s ongoing commitment to embracing and celebrating Ireland’s rich linguistic and cultural heritage. The introduction of the Irish language option will allow customers to seamlessly navigate the menu, customise their orders, and complete transactions in Irish at the touch of a button.

At the launch of the Irish Language Kiosks on Shop Street in Galway, Dáithí Ó Sé said: “It is fantastic to see McDonald’s supporting the Irish language at this level. This initiative gives people the opportunity to use the language naturally in their daily lives, which is so important for the future and development of Irish. This is a great step forward for Irish speakers and for the wider community in Ireland.”

Commenting on the launch, Aaron Byrne, Franchisee of McDonald’s Westside Shopping Centre in Galway, said: “We are thrilled to introduce Irish language ordering to our self-service kiosks nationwide. The overwhelmingly positive response from our Galway trial highlighted the demand and enthusiasm for this initiative. As a brand that is deeply rooted in Irish communities, we are proud to support the Irish language and provide our customers with the option to engage with us in the language of their choice.”

The trial in Galway saw strong uptake from customers, reinforcing the importance of language accessibility and McDonald’s commitment to evolving its customer experience to meet the needs of local communities. The nationwide rollout to McDonald’s 95 restaurants in the Republic of Ireland ensures that Irish speakers, learners, and those passionate about the language can enjoy a seamless and fully immersive experience in McDonald’s restaurants across the country.

This development aligns with McDonald’s broader inclusivity and community engagement efforts, reinforcing its commitment to reflecting the culture and traditions of the communities it serves.

Republic of Ireland’s First Ever Dedicated Bio-CNG Refuelling Self-Service Station Opens Today

There’s good news for businesses today who are looking to make the transition to more sustainable, cleaner fuel for their heavy goods vehicles. Flogas, part of DCC plc, is today announcing the official opening of the Republic of Ireland’s first ever dedicated Bio-CNG refuelling self-service station.

Flogas, a commercial and industrial energy supplier and supplier of renewable biomethane to transport in Ireland, said this new self-service station will support large companies who want to make the switch to Bio-CNG and reduce their Scope 3 emissions.

 Located at FoodCentral in St Margarets North Co. Dublin, this 2,900 square metre site can refuel up to 50 HGVs per day from one dual sided high-speed dispenser. When the station is at full utilisation, it will cut over 9,000 tonnes of C02 emissions per annum compared to diesel fuelled HGVs.

The news comes after the Government recently published its new National Biomethane Strategy to support the delivery of up to 5.7 Tera Wat Hour (TWh) of indigenously produced biomethane by 2030. Bio-CNG will support the decarbonisation of Ireland’s road haulage sector, responsible for 20.7% of the total road transport emissions in Ireland.

The renewable fuel for the station will come from Irish and European anaerobic digestion (AD) plants. Flogas is the only energy supplier in Ireland approved under the Renewable Fuels Assurance Scheme for the supply of Bio-CNG. The Renewable Gas Certification scheme ensures transparency and accountability, as the biomethane will be meticulously tracked in the supply chain.  This dedicated Bio-CNG station is another renewable market first for Flogas having already been the first energy supplier in Ireland to supply biomethane through the gas network to Diageo in 2020.

Speaking at the official opening, Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications Ossian Smyth TD, said: “Renewable fuels are an important transition measure for transport decarbonisation until we realise the shift to zero emission solutions. The supply of biomethane for transport is incentivised under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation Scheme and the recently published Biomethane Strategy recognises that biomethane can be used as an alternative in heavy goods transport. Flogas’s Bio-CNG refuelling station can play a role in supporting businesses who choose to reduce their carbon emissions using Bio-CNG.”

As we stand at the forefront of Ireland’s sustainable energy revolution, Flogas is proud to unveil the Republic of Ireland’s first ever dedicated Bio-CNG refuelling self-service station,” said John Rooney, Managing Director at Flogas. “Bio-CNG represents not just a fuel, but a promise—a promise of a greener, more efficient future for commercial transportationBio-CNG for heavy goods vehicles can cut carbon emissions by up to 90% and can reduce the lifetime vehicle costs compared to diesel vehicles, which is in line with DCC’s strategy – Cleaner Energy in Your Power. We would encourage any business thinking of making the switch to Bio-CNG to get in touch with our dedicated team of energy experts at Flogas,” he added.

Operated by Certa, a sister company to Flogas, this self-service station will offer convenient access to Bio-CNG 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It will support companies with existing Bio-CNG HGV fleets and those looking to make the switch.

Flogas already supplies renewable biomethane to four Circle K refuelling pumps across Ireland. As experts in gas distribution, Flogas saw an opportunity to provide a well to wheel solution for the transport sector.

This is a new business division and Flogas plans to roll out more Bio-CNG stations with its industrial and commercial customers in the future, to support them with their Scope 3 emissions reduction plans.

The new Flogas Bio-CNG refuelling self-service station is supported by Gas Networks Ireland’s Causeway project, which has to date delivered a network of high capacity fast-fill CNG stations nationwide, developed a renewable gas injection facility, deployed a fleet of CNG vehicles and made a CNG vehicle fund available to businesses in Ireland.

Demand showing strong growth

Gas Networks Ireland’s latest gas demand report shows that demand for renewable gas in transport from Ireland’s road freight sector is continuing to show strong growth – in May 2024, demand for this low carbon alternative to diesel saw another significant year-on-year increase, up 28% on the same month last year.

Gas Networks Ireland’s Head of Business Development, Karen Doyle said:

“We are delighted to support Flogas in the opening of the Republic of Ireland’s first dedicated Bio-CNG refuelling station, part of our Causeway Programme, which will play a significant role in reducing carbon emissions from the commercial transport sector. With three more public stations in development, we are delivering a network of stations offering a low carbon fuel alternative to diesel for Ireland’s commercial fleet.”

 If you are a large enterprise and would like to learn more about how you can switch your fleet to sustainable Bio-CNG, please call 01 884 9400 or email enterprise@flogas.ie

6 Best Platforms for Self-Education on SEO

Today, you can’t have a lucrative business without a strong online presence. No matter what your target audience is, most of your traffic will come from the internet. This is why it’s crucial to make sure that your website is visible to your potential customers. How can you achieve that? The answer is search engine optimization, or SEO.

When you start looking for something, you go on the internet and google what you need. The top results in your search are either promoted advertisements or those websites that have a really good SEO strategy. Basically, your marketing campaign needs to account for all demands of a search engine, so you can turn your leads into your clients.

Getting more exposure on the internet is not as easy as it sounds. The competition on the market is insane, so you really have to stick out with your company. For example, when students look for write my essays website, they often use one of the top five from their first search because they seem like the most trustworthy ones. So, you need to achieve the same level of trust!

Luckily for you, you can improve your search engine optimization by yourself. So, here are 6 best platforms for self-education on SEO!

Why do you need to learn the fundamentals of SEO?

SEO is something that can be useful to anybody who is connected to marketing in any way, and not only for business owners. For example, those students who want to have a career in advertising, event promotion, or brand management, have to know how to promote their own business on the internet. 

Here are some advantages of using a SEO strategy for your company:

 

  • improved visibility;
  • more web traffic;
  • bigger sales;
  • trust and credibility to your website;
  • competitive advantage on the market;
  • long-term success instead of immediate achievements.

SEO self-education platforms for students and business owners

So, you have already established that you can’t make it in the marketing world without a working search engine optimization strategy. In case you don’t have your own business yet because you are still getting your diploma, it’s never too early to learn! Check out the essayservice review to find yourself the best homework helper. This way, you can focus on your site’s ranking instead!

Google Analytics Academy

As mentioned before, people always go to Google when they need to find something on the internet. So, why not use the knowledge from Google itself to rely on promoting your services on their own search engine? It just makes sense to start with free online courses that are available for anyone. Of course, this might not be enough for in-depth knowledge, yet it’s a good start.

Apart from the free library, you can also get a certificate that is acknowledged by the marketing industry. Here is what you need to do:

 

  • pass the Google Analytics for Beginners course;
  • pass the Advanced Google Analytics course;
  • study mini-courses on YouTube and their blog;
  • pass the Google Analytics Academy’s Analytics IQ Exam.

HubSpot Academy

This is another leading platform when it comes to SEO education. HubSpot is a great place to start learning about marketing, advertisement, and everything else related to it. Here, you will find free and paid courses, training programs, and accreditations that will enhance your business. Apart from SEO basics, you can also learn about link building, keywords, and so on.

Utilizing this platform, you can gradually advance to a higher level of SEO and marketing understanding. Effective HubSpot and Stripe integration into your website can also be beneficial in terms of traffic growth and lead generation for your business. It can also be extremely helpful for students who are looking to gain some practical knowledge before entering the job market.

LinkedIn Learning

In case you like a wide range of courses to choose from, LinkedIn Learning is for you! Here, students and business owners will find more than 16,000 programs on different subjects presented by the experts in their industries. Students can create their own learning paths, which will include a combination of different programs that complement each other for better results.

Coursera

You can find hundreds of different topics on this platform, this is why it’s not the highest on this list. According to the best paper writing services for students, it’s always better to use a platform that is dedicated only to the subject in question. Coursera doesn’t specialize in SEO only, so you might want to do a little digging before committing to one program.

At the same time, there are plenty of good marketing programs here. For example, one of the most popular classes here is Search Engine Optimization Specialization from UC Davis. It goes from the beginner level to an expert in SEO. You can also go at your own pace, but this class is designed to study for one hour a day for five months. Of course, you can go faster for the best results!

Semrush

This is a platform that is dedicated specifically to digital marketing. It has everything you might ever need for your search engine optimization needs, for example, webinars, guides, podcasts, e-books, and analytical tools. When you register on Semrush as a user, you get access to all of these materials for free!

WordTracker Academy

WordTracker has an amazing keyword tool that anybody can use for improving their SEO rankings. You might not even have prior marketing knowledge, but with the help of this platform, you can generate more traffic to your website, and turn leads into your potential clients! Also, any user can look through 28 detailed guides that start from the beginner level.

Takeaway

So there you have it, 6 best platforms for self-education on SEO! It’s never too early to start, even when you don’t have your own business yet, or when you are just getting into digital marketing. Building an effective promotion through your campaign is very important for brand visibility, so you better get started!