One of Ireland's leading social commentators has praised a local
community for taking the initiative and keeping a local mart open.
Sociologist Fr Harry Bohan, parish priest of Sixmilebridge in County
Clare, said that the way the local community in Sixmilebridge has bought
a local mart and hope to reopen it to provide employment for the local
community should be held up as a microcosm of what rural community's
need to do to get out of the recession and secure their futures.
Last year Golden Vale Marts was forced to close the Sixmilebridge
Mart.
However a local community now looks set to purchase the mart
again for €50,000 and get it up and running over the next couple of
months.
Speaking this week Fr Bohan said, “The important thing about this
development is that we are moving into an era where local communities
have to take responsibility for themselves and their futures. This is a
prime example of that concept.”
“The farming people and the wider community got involved in this and
the bottom line is that they were determined to make sure it was going
to be purchased. This is a great victory for the community because they
kept at it when others might have thrown in the towel.”
The community is now hoping to put a viable business plan in place to ensure the marts future.
SIC: CIN/IE