Clonmel sits on the river Suir at the foot of the Comeragh mountains, in the south of County Tipperary. It is the largest town in the county and one of the largest inland towns in Ireland — but it is still recognisably a town, not a small city. Its name in Irish, Cluain Meala, means “meadow of honey,” which most residents will tell you is generous.
Why Michael English lives and works here
Most founders eventually leave. The pull of Dublin, London, or Lisbon is real: shorter feedback loops with capital, more concentrated talent, easier stages. Michael English has stayed. The reasons are partly personal — family, a slow Irish countryside that suits how he thinks — and partly strategic. The carbon-emitting industries IMPT was built to address are not metropolitan industries. Travel, retail, food — they happen everywhere. Building a company about everyday consumer behaviour from a town of 17,000 keeps the company honest about the user it is supposed to serve.
What is built here
- IMPT.io — engineering, climate strategy, partner relations all run from Clonmel. The supplier base is in 195 countries; the head office is in South Tipperary.
- Bro AI — built in memory of Bronagh, a young woman from Clonmel who died on 24 April 2025. The launch is dedicated to her, and to the families in our town who have lost children too soon.
- Local employment — IMPT's engineering bench is international, but its operational and finance roles are based here.
Tipperary connections
Mr English works closely with his brother-in-law John Walsh at Perenia, the Cahir-based plant nursery employing around forty people and producing more than a million plants per year. The carbon-side of horticulture — sequestration through perennial planting at scale — is a natural conversation, and one IMPT and Perenia are slowly turning into something operational.
Local press
Tipperary Live and the Nationalist have followed the family's campaign for road safety since Bronagh's death. Tipperary Live's video coverage of the case has been the most prominent.