Our epic battle against Covid
Ballyjamesduff hit the headlines when it recorded Ireland’s top infection rate. But the town is now united in an effort to shake off the effects of the virus
AS Mossie Boylan’s sweet tenor voice soars over the streets of Ballyjamesduff, the curtain of mist that has stubbornly been overhanging nearby Lough Lacken begins to rise.
So calm is the vast lake on the outskirts of the Co. Cavan town it could easily be mistaken for a massive pane of glass.
And as good-natured Mossie effortlessly reaches the high notes of the song Come Back Paddy Reilly To Ballyjamesduff, there is not as much as a hint of the turbulent times that have beset the place immortalised by Percy French.
For several weeks this small country town and surrounding area was statistically the country’s preeminent Covid hotspot, recording a rate of infection five times the national average.
But behind these statistics lies a different story. And it is one of hope as a town of 3,000 people work together to make sure there are better times ahead.
Now businesses are preparing to get back on their feet and the town
‘It was the entire electoral area of Ballyjamesduff’
is even planning its first outdoor Christmas market, with local community council chairwoman Susan Willis commenting: ‘If we get the run into Christmas, we’ll all be happy.’
According to official statistics compiled by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre the Ballyjamesduff electoral area had the highest 14-day incidence of Covid-19 in the country last month.
Up to 25,800 people live in the Ballyjamesduff local electoral area, and 383 people were diagnosed as having contracted the sometimes fatal virus.
Per head of 100,000 population it meant that between October 13 and 26 there was an infection rate of 1,484.4 cases per 100,000 of population whereas the national average was 292.1 cases per 100,000. Not alone was this infection rate five times above the national average, it also pushed the Cavan district into the realms of a European hotspot.
Only this week has Ballyjamesduff been bumped into second place in the 14-day rate, losing its dubious crown to Buncrana, Co. Donegal, which now lies just two points ahead on 595 cases per 100,000 population over the 14 days to November 2 – with cases in both areas continuing to fall. Ms Willis, who also runs a furniture renovation business, said the figures gave the wrong impression that the cases were all concentrated in the town.
‘The figures were for the Ballyjamesduff electoral area which is a very large area that runs from Virginia to Bailieboro,’ she said.
‘So it was unfair to just say Ballyjamesduff. It was the entire electoral area of Ballyjamesduff, not just the town. Three thousand people live here in Ballyjamesduff, so going on those figures that would mean everyone in the town would have got it which they didn’t, although I know a few who did.
‘I think it was misleading information but the numbers are coming down and we’re coming out the other side.’
On the face of it, the terrifyingly high figures may be mystifying to outsiders but locals, such as former county councillor Paddy Smith, have their own theories as to why the virus became so rampant.
‘It was unfortunate that it did happen but I suppose it was a number of things that contributed to it,’ Mr Smith said.
‘The pubs opened and people hadn’t been in pubs for months and people just wanted to go back to a bit of normal life.
‘We had probably become complacent. We had been doing everything we were asked to do. Then we had two teams from the area who won club championships, one of them won the intermediate and the other team won the final. People would have been mingling and that would have contributed.
‘When there’s a disaster, it’s never just one thing, it’s a number of things that can happen together.’ Retired postmistress Joan Martin agrees. The Tyrone woman has being living in Ballyjamesduff for 40 years and she ran the local post office for 35 years.
And as she pays for her messages at the local Quick
Pick shop, Joan makes sure her mask stays firmly in place as she goes about her business.
‘I think the sport was the cause of it… ’ she says. There was a spike in Covid cases in the area in the weeks after GAA club championships.
‘You have to be in the GAA here. I love it here. I do think people are following the guidelines and everybody is wearing a mask now.’
Meanwhile, back in the town’s Market Square the legendary songwriter Percy French surveys the comings and goings of the town from his metal bench, while Michael Carroll, Noel Fox and Mattie Lynch shoot the breeze as Mossie Boylan gives his faithful rendition of
Come Back Paddy Reilly To Ballyjamesduff.
Mattie’s late father Matthew was a four-times champion handballer and in his heyday was regarded as one of the town’s fittest men.
For, according to his proud son, not only could Matthew senior bounce a ball off the sole of his feet, he could walk 12 miles from Ballyjamesduff to Cavan with 15 head of cattle and not lose a single beast.
And after parting with his cattle in Cavan, Mattie’s father could then walk back to Ballyjamesduff and on reaching home head six miles further down the road to Oldcastle in Co. Meath.
But between reminiscing about times past and the singing, the talk soon turns to Covid.
Mattie Lynch said: ‘It was really the football that caused the problem. There was a big celebration ... I know some people who got it. I heard a doctor say there were 50 cases a day but I don’t think there
‘Mattie gives a faithful rendition of the song’
could have been that many in the town. Is there ever going to be an end to it?’
Michael Carroll adds: ‘There were 26 cases after the game and I think it hit people in the pubs. Some of the footballers got it and now there are footballers in Sligo with it.’
On the other side of the Market Square, two farmers queue to use the ATM and they too have little doubt that the celebrations which ensued when two local GAA teams brought home the silverware – after almost a half century of losses in one case – certainly led to a spike in Covid. However, they prefer not to go into too much detail.
But Patricia McBreen admits that some of her own family were part of the GAA Covid bubble.
The quietly spoken mother of eight said: ‘Some of my relatives play football and they would be aged in their late 20s. But we’re told they’ve got through it. It’s very worrying, to be honest. We’re hoping this will settle and they’ll find a cure to keep it at bay.’
Meanwhile, the townspeople of Ballyjamesduff are preparing for better days ahead.
Ms Willis was finishing off pieces in her workshop Old Glory last week as a team of workmen were busy next door converting a disused shop into a hairdressing salon. If all goes to plan, the business will open in time for Christmas.
And the townsfolk have pooled their resources to buy nine colourful marquees so they can host a Christmas market. Ms Willis said: ‘We hope to have a tree in the middle and everyone can meet there as a community.’
She added: ‘We didn’t buy white marquees, we bought coloured ones and we were to launch the Christmas market on the 31st of October but that couldn’t go ahead because of the lockdown. We have a list of vendors, local crafters and producers from the area, who want to put stalls in the marquees.
‘The Covid numbers are coming down and we’re on the other side of it, thankfully. We hope to have a market every week coming up to Christmas... If we get the run into Christmas we’ll all be happy.’