This Baby Bear Gurgles in Irish |
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A recent winner of the Galway Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneurship Award and a Gold Award in the Electronic Toy – Preschool Awards in London, BB is also the star of a new children’s toy company in Galway. The Gaeilgeoir teddy is the brainchild of Adrian Devane who set up the company in 2010 to provide tools and toys for toddlers, children and parents to learn those first cúpla focal, or couple of (Irish) words The birth of BábógBaby reinforces the old adage “necessity is the mother of invention” and it highlights the innovation that is happening in Ireland. Adrian Devane first saw a gap in the market after his first child was born. Adrian and his wife Karen noticed there were lots of toys available but none that spoke or taught Irish. Adrian along with his designers created the branding, website and Irish speaking teddybear that will help promote and encourage the Irish language to be spoken at an early age. “I knew I had a unique idea and BB was going to be the first Irish speaking teddy made. There were books, and TV shows, but no toys. So I researched it and built a toy that teaches 33 words of Irish, basically numbers, colors and shapes. Allied Irish Bank gave us a start-up loan of €100,000, and that enabled the company to make initial orders. We’re now in 100 stores in Ireland and in fourteen U.S. states." says Adrian Devane. Bábógbaby has also recently released a smartphone app which is available for the iPhone, iPad, iTouch and Android platforms. It does what the teddy does and teaches 33 words of Irish. Bábógbaby plans to release a range of Irish speaking products in the next twelve months that will help toddlers and children learn the Irish language. There is also a TV series featuring Bábógbaby on TG4. Adrian Devane also plans to roll out BB in more states in the U.S., as well as launch BB in other languages such as English, Welsh and Scots Gaelic. Keep updated on Bábógbaby's next steps on Facebook by clicking here. Story and image courtesy of IrishEcho.com
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Bábógbaby, or BB, the world’s first Irish-speaking teddy bear, has been busy on the red carpet.
