Athy local opens new beauty salon

ATHY local Laoíse Birney has officially launched her new bespoke business, Samhain Beauty, which opened its doors to the public on November 5 at 3 Stanhope Street.

The 25-year-old business owner is experiencing a full-circle moment with the opening of the salon, as it is the same place where she completed her Transition Year work experience a decade ago.

Laoise is daughter to Athy locals Karen Birney and Shane Smith, and has a deep family connection to Athy. In the same building as Samhain Beauty, her great-great-great uncle worked there in a small dairy business in the 1940s.

In the ten years since she first stepped through those salon doors, Laoíse has earned numerous ITEC and AIT qualifications. Her journey also included working as a part-time beauty therapist for the previous owner of the salon for a few years, allowing her to build up a deeply loyal clientele, many of whom she now considers good friends.

She has since transformed the familiar Stanhope Street space into a private, calming, one-on-one welcoming environment designed to give clients a highly tailored and relaxing experience.

The new salon brings a premium menu of modern beauty treatments to the heart of Athy, specializing in structured BIAB nails and Gel-X nail extensions, a wide range of waxing, tailored definition brows, lash lifts, professional makeup, full-body spray tanning, and more.

"Growing up here in Athy, I always dreamed of owning my own business," said Laoíse.

"Opening my doors on November 5th in the very building that inspired my journey as a teenager is completely surreal.

“Having worked here for the previous owner, it feels so incredibly special to now have my own name on the door. I wanted to create a calm, welcoming space right here in my hometown where people can take a break from their busy lives and leave feeling pampered, refreshed, and truly cared for."

Samhain Beauty mainly operates Wednesday through Saturday by appointment.

Walk-ins are accepted subject to availability, and out-of-hours appointments can be requested to accommodate busy schedules.

Local clients can explore the complete range of services and book directly via their online portal or WhatsApp.