RESILIENT VILLAGE HOLDS ITS OWN BUT IT NEEDS SUPPORT
“IT takes jobs to bring money to an area,” says Riverstown butcher and Sligo County Councillor Martin Baker.
Having served his apprenticeship with Ballymote butcher and now Fianna Fáil Sligo/ Leitrim TD Eamon Scanlon, one gets the impression that Cllr Baker learned about more than meat cuts in those early years.
“I’ve always been involved locally. It’s the small things that matter to people,” he tells The Sligo Champion.
“Things that people come in and confide in you and talk to you - you do the best you can.
“You won’t succeed with everything but I find it’s the small things that really matter, general issues to do with housing, getting houses adaptable or people, cutting hedges along the road,” he says.
He has served as councillor for the area for the past thirteen years and is quick to point out the positives about the village.
“There is the Hairdressers, photography studio, two take- aways and two butchers - you don’t see too many towns with two butchers. We have a post office. We’re very lucky to have the doctors, chemist, two primary schools, the playschool and Coola National School.
The biggest employer would be seasonal - Coopershill House. Then there is the Homeland CoOp store and the Folk Park. “In Riverstown I suppose we could do with more employment, that would be the biggest problem. Saying that, it’s gradually building, there are a lot more people coming to the area than when it first started.
Martin believes that while the N4 Collooney to Castlebaldwin upgrade is in train, the rest of the local roads remain a problem.
“We’re not getting enough funding. The other thing I have always been shot down about is that I think we have gone way overboard with Health and Safety - a third of the money we get down in funding is gone on Health and Safety,” he says.
“We are trying to get the area regenerated. Definitely the Post Office is a big plus. Friday would be our busier day. The doctors and chemist would bring in people. You need little things in the town to bring people in,” he adds.
“The key is that the services we have here remain,” he said.
The village celebrates the 50th anniversary since the Tidy Towns started this year. “We had a tree fall down in the playground and a man offered to cut it up so we’re going to raffle it off to bring in a few bob,” said Martin.
Now that’s turning a negative into a positive.