CHRISTMAS IN DUNDALK ...BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT
Town preparing for a very different festive season
Christmas 2020 is set to be a different one in Dundalk as Covid restrictions continue to limit public events during the pandemic.
But the town centre will still have plenty of festive cheer, with lights illuminating the main shopping thoroughfares, and one street in particular seeing Christmas lights for the first time in over thirty years.
Staff at the TCCM (Town Centre Commercial Manager) have been working hard behind the scenes, with the Christmas tree already up in Market Square, and the switching on off the lights through the main streets eagerly anticipated.
‘ We have to be a lot more creative this year in our festive celebrations. Unfortunately we are subject to the same rules as everyone else in terms of crowds gathering. We have to play our part and stick to the rules, stay the course until we see this
virus out and we can all get back to some sort of normality again’ said Martin McElligott, TCCM Manager.
‘Frostival will sadly not be going ahead this year, but we will be back in 2021 again, bigger and better.’
The event has drawn huge crowds into town in previous years, with the Frostival parade and Santa’s grotto proving to be big crowd pleasers
He added: ‘Although it is disappointing, it does allow us twelve months to step back and re-imagine that project on a bigger scale. It will definitely be a big celebration next year.’
The need for festive cheer is great this Christmas, he admits, after what has been a very difficult for us all.
‘ We are working away on getting the town centre lit up and looking its best. There are still plenty of reasons to celebrate, and for us it is bringing lights to Church Street for the first time since the 1980s.’
The completion of the major renovation project in the lower end of
Clanbrassil Street and Church Street has brought a new vibrancy to the area, and the added sparkle of Christmas lights this year will certainly make it a special place to shop in the coming weeks.
‘ We had invested in the poles for 2019, but with the renovation project underway, we had to hold off until this year. It has worked well actually as the area looks so well illuminated for Christmas shopping.’
The TCCM manager added that it has been a very challenging year for traders in Dundalk, particularly over the last few weeks, when the retail sector remained largely open north of the border.
‘It poses a really big challenge for businesses locally, and is another example of how the border can make things more difficult for Dundalk.’
‘But as a community we have all been pulling together, which is incredible. The EPSO project has been fantastic for
the town centre, and has been a real talking point.’
He also welcomed the work to improve the facade of the Queen’s building on Earl Street, with the steel supports which had been in place for a number of years being recently taken down.
‘It’s a real landmark in the town, one of our most historic buildings. It will really improve the psyche of the town and the business community as we head into the Christmas season.’