‘Extremely disappointed at Bank of Ireland’s response’
THE CATHAOIRLEACH of Sligo County Council Cllr Dara Mulvey has said he is “extremely disappointed” at the response he received from Bank of Ireland to his request that the bank would maintain 24-hour cash machines in Ballymote and Tubbercurry when the branches there close in September.
Cllr Mulvey has also asked the bank if it would give the bank buildings in both towns to the local community. But he said that in the response received from Barry Gallagher, head of Bank of Ireland for Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim, on behalf of the CEO Francesca McDonagh, indicated that Bank of Ireland would not alone not retain the ATM services in both towns but they would not be donating the buildings for community purposes.
They are going to hand back the leased building in Tubbercurry to the owner of the building and have stated they will sell the property they own in Ballymote.
Cllr Mulvey and Cllr Thomas Healy both raised the issue through motions at a recent meeting of Sligo County Council.
Those motions called for the retention of the ATMs and nightsafe boxes and referred to “concern at the closure of these banks and the affect it will have on our community” and “anger and disappointment at the announcements of its plans to close branches”.
Concerns are also expressed about the affect on local businesses and “the huge danger of leaving people vulnerable to robbery if they feel that they have to hold cash in large quantities overnight”.
In relation to the response from Cllr Mulvey said that initially the Hibernian
Bank (now Bank of Ireland) had operated in both Ballymote and Tubbercurry for well over a 100 years.
“It is very disappointing that Bank of Ireland will not even consider making the building it owns in Ballymote available as a community facility/working hub after the bank leaves this summer, especially now as the concept of working hubs are been actively promoted by government as a solution to urban renewal and the Ballymote building would need little or no modification for this and with high speed broadband in situ.
“It is only a PR ploy when the bank states they are giving millions to community-focused initiatives and yet one would assume handing this building over for community use as a working hub would be an ideal opportunity to indicate its support to the community who have been loyal customers for generations.
“Sadly this is not happening and the letter I received clearly proves this point,” said Cllr Mulvey.
In his letter to Cllr Mulvey, Mr Gallagher points out that customers will be able to access cash services through the An Post network and post offices have the capacity to manage cash (for both lodgement and withdrawal) on behalf of personal and business customers, and offer longer operating hours and Saturday opening.
He said that in Ballymote, when the Bank of Ireland branch closes this will include the decommissioning of the ATM but he said cash withdrawal will be available at the local post office and many retailers allowed customers to request cashback when using their debit card to make a purchase.
He went on: “While I understand the disappointment at these changes, it is important to say that we didn’t take this decision lightly. We carried out a very thorough analysis and review of our services which included branch usage, the growth in online banking, and the range of services we can offer through the post office network.”
Mr Gallagher said that they would have “ongoing contact with a range of stakeholders including customers, colleagues, and staff representative bodies in relation to these changes”. In relation to the building in the two towns, he said: “The Tubbercurry branch is a leased building and we will be exiting the lease at the appropriate time. Following closure, it is our intention to offer the Ballymote branch building for sale. In this context, we are currently assessing all of our properties.”
Sligo Colmcille 2021 is a community-led, year-long initiative commemorating the 1500th anniversary of the birth of Colmcille and his associations with County
Sligo through an exciting and varied programme of virtual and off-line artistic, cultural, and creative activities, events, and projects delivered by community organisations and individuals. This year, 2021, is the 1500th anniversary of the birth of Colmcille, one of Ireland’s three patron saints, and commemorative activities are taking place throughout Ireland and abroad to mark this occasion. Most associated with Donegal, Derry, and Iona, Scotland, his influence extended farther afield including to Sligo where he is attributed with the founding of Drumcliffe monastery near to the site of the Battle of Cúl Dreimhne (Cooldrumman). More popularly referred to as the “Battle of the Books”, which took place in or about 560CE, the battle was reputedly caused by Colmcille’s having made a copy of a psalter (book of Psalms) owned by Saint Finnian of Movilla without his permission. The resulting quarrel over ownership of the copy led to the first recorded copyright infringement judgement when High King Diarmait mac Cerbaill ruled in Finnian’s favour by declaring “to every cow her calf, to every book its copy”. Unhappy with this judgement, Colmcille and his kinsmen met in battle with the supporters of the High King on the lower slopes of Benbulben and it is recorded that approximately 3,000 participants were killed. To commemorate the 1500th anniversary and Sligo’s associations with the saint, Drumcliffe Rathcormac Tidy Towns and the Cos Cos Festival have joined forces under the Colmcille Sligo 2021 banner (www.sligocolmcille.com) to organise a year-long programme of community-led artistic, cultural, and creative activities, events, and projects. Drawing inspiration from the life of Colmcille, the Battle of the Books, the issue of copyright infringement, and the landscape and heritage of the Drumcliffe area, the programme incorporates contributions from a number of community organisations and creatives. These include virtual on-line presentations of specially composed musical pieces, lectures, and concerts, some of which form part of the Cos Cos Festival 2021 programme schedule (www.coscos.ie). Also planned is a sculptural installation and public garden in Rathcormac, an exciting ‘Book of Sligo’ publication, a Hamilton Gallery art exhibition, and other community-led initiatives. These can be viewed on the Programme page of the Sligo Colmcille 2021 website, which also includes information about of Sligo’s Colmcille story and heritage.