Ballylongford formally marks ‘disappointment’ over programme

ENTERPRISE ASSOCIATION WRITES TO TG4 IN RESPONSE TO DOCUMENTARY ON FORTUNES OF THE NORTH KERRY VILLAGE

BALLYLONGFORD’S local development company has written to TG4 communicating what it says is the ‘disappointment’ felt locally at a documentary on the village recently broadcast by the Irish-language service.

The strongly worded letter comes as a number of locals criticised the programme for what they felt was an overly bleak portrayal of life in Ballylongford.

Midas Productions, which made the documentary, told The

Kerryman that it was confident Tabú captured ‘ the concerns and ambitions for each community’.

‘ Tabú: Banú nó Slánú’ set out to highlight the economic plight of rural communities, focusing on the North Kerry village and Kiltyclogher in County Leitrim. Last week, a number of residents of Ballylongford told The

Kerryman they were upset as they felt the programme did not reflect enough on the positives of life in Ballylongford.

Chairman of the Ballylongford Enterprise Association Noel Lynch this week wrote to TG4 to ‘express the disappointment that is felt in the village following the broadcasting of your recent programme Tabu: Banu no Slanu’.

“For those of us who live here and work from here, it was a very depressing programme,” Mr Lynch wrote. In the course of the letter, Mr Lynch set out numerous positives he said were not reflected in the piece. “To conclude, we are very proud to live here and would not wish to move anywhere else”.