Longford Leader, August 2007
National spotlight on local inventor by Alibhe Gillespie

Granard woman, Ann Marie Durkin has designed the world’s first pre-sterilised soother. Ann Marie, a mother of two, launched the Steri-Soother last week, using her own bonny baby Ben as the face of the product.

Ann Marie said she came up with the idea while she was in hospital having Ben. She feels mothers just don’t have fifteen minutes to spare to sterilise a soother, when their baby is crying out for their beloved dummy.

“I just thought a ready-sterilised soother would make my life less stressful,” said Ann Marie, who is married to Granard Chiropractor and businessman Patrick Durkin.

During Ann Marie’s maternity leave, she researched soothers and was amazed to find that a pre-sterilised product was not available on the market. She quickly jumped at the chance to design her own – becoming an entrepreneur in the process by setting up her own company ‘Shasta’ in Granard.

The Steri-Soother has been an instant hit and Ann Marie has been amazed by the media attention she has received, so far. To date she’s been interviewed by Q102, Shannonside FM, The Daily Mail, The Examiner, and The Star. A distributor in the UK and Europe has already expressed interest in marketing the product. The silicon Steri-Soother is both taste and odour free, so it’s particularly suitable for young babies.

Due to the success of the Steri-Soother, Ann Marie told us that she is planning to launch three more unique, functional products in the next six months, that will meet the needs of both parents and children. We can’t wait to see what wonderful ideas Ann Marie comes up with next!

The Steri-Soother comes wit orthodontic friendly teats and cost €5.49 in all good chemists or for those busy mums out ther, you can buy it online from www.babytravelshop.ie