Local Tipperary barber is looking to shake up the barbering industry

Jack Byrne, a Two-Mile-Borris man, outlined his plans to shake up the barbering industry to Seán Ryan.

Jack Byrne, a 26-year-old Two-Mile-Borris native, is set on shaking up the barbering world. Many would view a haircut as a somewhat mundane experience.

Jack is intent on changing this, turning it into more of a social experience that can be shared by people.

Jack began cutting hair while still in school.

Originally cutting for free, he began to charge small amounts as a way to make the experience mutually beneficial, and bringing him to the realisation that he had a passion for the craft, leading him to explore it as a profession after concluding his education.

He moved to Cork, where he began working out of various different barbers and hair salons, before eventually deciding to rent a chair and work as a self-employed barber.

For Jack, this still wasn’t where he wanted to be in his career. He yearned for more, and so when a retail unit popped up for sale in Ballincollig, he seized the opportunity and claimed it, with a view to buy it at some point in the near future.

After a strenuous renovation period, Jack opened The Korner in 2023. The Korner, he says, is looking to shake up the industry.

Each member of the team is self-employed and renting chairs in the shop, to ensure that they are able to work for themselves and control their own business.

The barbershop doubles as a café, with a large square counter inside providing fresh, made-to-go teas and coffees for patrons, as well as a variety of snack options.

Jack says that the café area within the shop has proven so far to be a great success, with many customers coming in early to grab a drink and a bite to eat before their appointment.

Many patrons will even bring their significant other into the shop during their appointment to grab a coffee while they wait.

“When I viewed this unit, I instantly had this thought that it was so big that I needed to do more than just the barbershop side of things. It had a lot more potential, and the more I thought about it, I was like ‘what’s a sociable thing that we could also sell on top of our other services,’ and, coffee is a lucrative business when it’s done right, it’s a sociable thing, you have girlfriends coming in with their boyfriends, and everybody wants a coffee.

“Everybody likes tea, everybody likes snacks, and it’s just one of those things where instead of just sitting here waiting for your haircut, you can enjoy a nice coffee,” he said.

The café is not the only aspect of this new barber revolution.

The back area of the shop was designed with the intention of hosting various events, from musicians, to DJs, to comedians, which Jack is hoping to have up and running in the very near future, to bring in even more customers at different hours, and offering an entirely different social experience.

Along with this, he hopes to branch into teaching barbering courses, spreading his ideals of modern barbering to the next generation of upcoming stylists.

“I used to teach barbering, so what I’m trying to do is build a course that’s not just a money grab, and maybe lasts three or four months, from beginning to end, starting with beginner barbers who just need to know how to hold their scissors, or to do the basics to a really high standard,” he said.

With The Korner, Jack is hoping to spice the industry up somewhat, and bring added layers to what is generally considered a mundane chore.

Looking to the future, Jack is looking to expand the brand further, branching out from Ballincollig to other cities across Ireland and possibly other countries, spreading this new barber culture to all reaches.

Already, he says he has seen other barber shops in the area begin to open up café services, after seeing the success The Korner has endured in its short life so far, showing that there is a desire for this new brand of barber shop.

The future is looking very bright for the brand and this Tipperary businessman, with the company turning a profit in its first year, and continuing to go from strength to strength with each passing day.

One thing we know for sure is we can expect this new type of lifestyle-based barbering to be seen far more across the country in the coming years.

Updates about the shop and all of the services they provide can be found on Jack’s Instagram, @the_barber_jack, as well as @thekornersocial.