Thomas is giving it socks on the road to success in business

He's come a long way — you could say he's a real sockstar

Thomas Barry, owner of Thomp2 Socks

The entrepreneurial spirit and the determination to succeed will not be denied, even in a global pandemic.

Thomas Barry, owner of Thomp2 Socks has these entrepreneurial credentials in spades, building and expanding his sock business, supported by his father Finbar, his nephew Shane Barry and his family.

Shane and Finbar Barry with Thomas Barry, owner of Thomp2 Socks

Thomas has overcome more than the usual challenges of getting a business off the ground, but has not allowed Down Syndrome, a heart murmur, or a hiatus hernia derail his commercial ambitions.

The name of his company is called Thomp2, mainly due to Thomas’s penmanship on his unique signature — which he incorporated into the company logo. A full range of colourful and creative socks, gifts and special occasion socks are available from thomp2.com, in addition to an innovative ‘sockscription’ service where customers receive a surprise pair of socks every month.

Thomas' signature which has become his company's logo

“Thomas has always played with socks, he is quite an expert after many years of practice,” his father explained.

“He never played much with toys in his early childhood, but would go nowhere without his socks. Some children get comfort from a teddy — with Thomas it was always the socks.”

'With Thomas, it was always the socks': thomp2.com

Over the years Finbar looked at various options in the hope of providing Thomas with a job to just like everybody else, despite his disabilities: “In the end, the answer was staring me in the face, and so we launched Thomp2Socks — the things he loves most.”

Thomp2 Socks has now moved to a new location in order to fulfil orders coming in from all over the world.

“We are also able to do bulk orders of branded socks for corporate clients with really clever artwork which make great promotional merchandise. We moved to bigger premises as we outgrew our previous location, and we are hoping to start a manufacturing facility and to employ more people with Down Syndrome that may find it difficult to get a job.”

Thomas Barry with his cousin, Lisa Hogan

The range of socks includes ones featuring avocados, flamingos, gorillas, carrots, ducks, pizza, pineapples, playing cards — and even some very cute dogs carrying newspapers.

Sock options: 'odd' giraffe socks

And even with the demands of his business, Thomas still has time to think of others.

Last year he launched 'It’s Okay not to be Okay' socks, and for every pair sold he donates €2 to Pieta to support mental health issues.

It's okay not to be ok: Thomas Barry, owner of Thomp2 Socks, with his dad, Finbar

Thomas also designed socks to help increase awareness for Down syndrome and raise funds for St John of God services which he attends.