A man with a mission
THE OUTGOING CHAIRMAN OF SLIGO TIDY TOWNS ON HIS BUSY LIFE, WHICH BEGAN SWEEPING FLOORS IN A TOBACCO COMPANY TO WINNING A HIDDEN HERO AWARD. HE SPEAKS TO EMMA GALLAGHER.
IT would possibly take a week to list all the achievements of Jim Lawlor throughout his life and at 80 years of age, he’s not finished yet. The Driminagh native moved here for his work with the John Player company and settled into his home on the First Sea Road with his family. Jim has been involved in so many committees over the years and his work has brought him around the world, yet it’s clear it’s his family that means so much to him. He won a Hidden Hero award last year as he is full- time carer for his beloved wife, Marian, who has a number of health problems, suffered a major stroke in 1991 and has progressive dementia.
Almost six years ago, their only son Brian died from Sudden Adult Death Syndrome aged only 49. He had been running a hugely successful cigarette vending machine company. Jim was a director and after Brian’s sudden death, Jim sold the company as he couldn’t afford the time to keep it running. “I never really grieved Brian in a way. After his funeral, Marian still needed full- time attention, her dementia is progressive and it’s not getting better. That’s one of the reasons that I’m stepping out as my role as Chairman with the Tidy Towns. Will I get into something else, I’d say I will. I always have great belief that to keep organisations vibrant, you need the old guys to step out to let the newer ones in.”
He left school at 14 in 1950. “It was the done thing back then. There was no jobs really and I went after first year. I started working in W. D. and H. O. Wills sweeping floors. Three years later I spoke to the manager and said I didn’t see a future on the factory floor, instead I wanted to be a manager. He replied that I’d need a Leaving Cert, so I came back in nine months with it and was the first to transfer from the factory to the offices.” Jim had aspirations to keep climbing the ladder and it’s something he continued throughout his life. He became head of the promotions team which involved lots of travel around Ireland. Marian grew up only half a mile away from Jim in Driminagh, she was also working in the factory and they married in 1958 and later son Brian and daughter Paula were born. “We moved to Killarney in 1968 with my work and loved it there.” He became heavily involved in the community, particularly basketball committees and youth clubs, including the Kerry Diocesan Youth Services. The family moved to Limerick as Jim was appointed senior sales rep for John Player and spent five years there before he became regional manager in Sligo in 1980. He became President of the Irish Basketball Association during the five years in Limerick, spending a lot of time acting as arbitrator for a number of rows breaking out. Jim also became chairman of the Ballina Pacers basketball club, adding he never actually played the sport.
Jim’s drive also passed onto his children. Paula runs the hugely successful marketing services company PMMS, while Brian was operating the cigarette vending machine company up until his untimely death. “I always say do what you know best and the company was hugely successful,” Jim added. His expertise in business resulted in him becoming President on two occasion of the Chamber of Commerce in 1996 and 2000, while he was also chairman of the Progressive Democrats. “I stood for election in 1996 and got my ass whipped,” he quipped. He also was involved with Sligo All Stars and recalls Saturday nights being packed in the Sports Complex as the side won promotion to the first division. Pic:
His other major accomplishments include being on the board of Irish Water Safety where he was in charge of marketing and promotions at first. Like his factory floor job, he had aspirations to go further and this he did, becoming Senior Vice President of the world body and World President of the International Federation Of Swimming Teachers Associations ( IFSTA) in 2012 at a banquet in Adelaide, a major feat. Jim was highly regarded for his work and he was made Honorary Life Vice President Swimming Teachers Association of Great Britain in 2008. “I was presented with a gold medal from the people of Hong Kong for distinguished services in world aquatics, the eighth person to get this,” he added.
Then in August 2013, he was approached by Karl Kelly who asked if Jim would like to become chairman of the Tidy Towns. “I said I’d meet the existing chairman Des Faul to make sure I wasn’t stepping on anyone’s toes and he said look we need a different approach and I agreed to do it. The first thing I did was a swat analysis, there were a number of thins apparent, including they needed a lot more money than they were spending. We got it up to € 50,000 a year. Another thing was there wasn’t enough people involved - so we had a meeting in the Sligo Park Hotel invited 89 high- profile people from around town and 72 of them signed up on the night. Our vision was to take each of the eight headings within the Tidy Towns and appoint a project team to each with chairmans.” Gerry Moore was selected as the tourist liaison, while Ann Gorby became schools liaison, both of which have flourished. Slowly, the seeds began to shoot and the chairmans held meeting monthly to discuss plans for the coming weeks.
“Each meeting in the Sligo Park involves going through what they did the previous month, upcoming plans, if there’s a financial implication and how we can work around that. There’s tight control and it’s important each chairman knows what’s going on. There’s value too in the peer pressure it creates, there’s competition between the teams to ensure their objectives are met.”
Jim added: “I’ve really found working in the Tidy Towns incredibly enjoyable. My job has been made easy by the good people around me. The enthusiasm from the teams is incredible, they are the ones who go out and do it, in addition to the eight fundraising teams, we’ve a fundraising team, marketing team as well.” They divided the town into sections and the work they’ve achieved is continuing to grow. “We’ve a great relationship with the council and Blooming Sligo, who do all the hanging baskets. Lucy Brennan from the Parks Department has done great work on the footbridge at the Stephen St car- park. We spent € 9,500 on the Bundoran Road on hedging and upgrading the junction.” A whopping 130 derelict buildings have been done up and the major murals project is expanding. “We’re developing the Yeatsian theme, following something like Kilkenny’s Medieval Mile, they of course had Phil Hogan to bring in € 269,000 for that, we don’t have such a name.” There’s been considerable work done in Doorly Park, reinstating its old arch to the same style of the original dating back to 1868 and€ 5,500 was spent on the footbridge.
Jim is stepping down in October with Peter Tiernan his successor. His final vision is to get plaques erected around town, listing buildings, structures and people of note as part of a heritage trail.
“This will become walking tours then around town, the aim is to have at least 20 plaques and have individual colours to indicate if it’s a person or a building. It will be a great benefit to tourism promotion,” Jim added. “When I took on the role, I said look is this about winning the Tidy Towns or a greater objective of developing Sligo as a tourist town, a must- see destination. The work on bridge, the lighting, graffiti in Adelaide St, Love Where You Live, it’s all part of the bigger picture. The bird watching sites, schools promotions, litter pickers, gum clean- ups, it’s all about driving Sligo forward.
“Leader too have been so good, there’s so many organisations, the scouts, men’s sheds. I’m leaving in October, whether I’ve been successful is for others to judge. Life has been good to me, I’ve enjoyed all the things I’ve done. I don’t think I’ve made too many mistakes. Will I get into something else? Who knows. “I’ll be keeping up my love of ballroom dancing, I go dancing twice a week in Claremorris and Castlebar and love it. “I was 80 recently, sure the Champion had a big spread of pictures so everyone on the street now knows how old I am, I can’t hide it anymore!,” he laughed.