Sonya Lennon’s career in fashion was almost derailed before it began, after a school fire destroyed her hopes of studying design at NCAD.

Sonya Lennon spoke to Bobby Kerr on the Life and Leadership Podcast about the early years of her fashion career.

“All of our portfolios [in Leaving Cert] were burned in a fire, so any chance I had to do fashion design in NCAD was up in smoke, so I had to rethink it," said the entrepreneur.

Born in Donegal and raised in Malahide, Lennon had planned a traditional design route, preparing for NCAD while attending Loreto College, St Stephen’s Green.

Instead, she “went straight into work in fashion”, starting out at Blarney Woollen Mills on Nassau Street before moving to two avant-garde boutiques.

“I loved it, I loved the sales, the clothes and building a relationship with the customers," she told the podcast.

Freelancing followed, with Lennon taking on styling work and building experience across the industry.

The major turning point came with television and with Brendan Courtney.

“Working with Brendan Courtney, making the show ‘Off the Rails', I had nothing but respect for him for the work he did in the UK and Ireland.”

Their on-screen partnership quickly became a hit.

“We were a match made in heaven, like a pop band, we had huge fun.”

The impact of the show was immediate and transformative.

“Everything changed, from other types of paid work to charitable organisations asking me to be the ambassador, that was a real opportunity for me. A new reputation, that I never had before.”

Lennon moved beyond television into building her own businesses.

She went on to launch a lifestyle brand, 'Lennon Courtney', a retail partnership with Kilkenny Design, developing homeware and fragrances alongside clothing.

“An entrepreneur will never retire, our heads are just buzzing with ideas,” she said, adding that she now focuses on “strategy and creativity”, having developed systems that allow her organisations to function without her at the centre.