The changing face of rural towns as well known shop shuts down
PAUL DEERING REFLECTS ON THE CHANGING FACE OF RURAL IRELAND WITH SHOP CLOSURES A FREQUENT OCCURRENCE AS WAS THE CASE IN MANORHAMILTON LAST WEEK WHEN A WELL KNOW RETAILER SHUT FOR THE LAST TIME ON ITS MAIN STREET
It’s a debate that is coming more and more to the fore with one question upper most in the minds of those living in rural Ireland, what does the future hold.
There are massive changes occurring with banks, post offices, Garda Stations all disappearing in a death by a thousand cuts scenario in many of the towns and villages around Sligo and neighbouring counties.
It appears services are being withdrawn to the centres of growth in each region with a take it leave it approach outside of this.
Indeed, one has only to look at the latest Census figures for Sligo to realise that people are moving too, following the services.
The biggest change in urbanisation occurred in Sligo county, where 40pc of the population now live in the town compared with 37pc five years ago. Sligo is the biggest town in Connacht and Letterkenny is top in Ulster.
Rural Ireland is slowly being left bereft of services. Ballygawley is the latest village left clinging to its post office.
Just fifteen miles away from Sligo lies the North Leitrim town of Manorhamilton. Like towns in south Sligo, it too is seeing changes, such as in banking services.
Its Ulster Bank branch has closed and Bank of Ireland has announced that its branches in Ballymote, Tubbercurry and Manorhamilton are adopting the controversial ‘ advice and self service’ model which closes the counter cash services and which people fear is the precursor of closure.
Recently, North Leitrim village, Kiltyclogher made a plea for people to come an live there amid fears for its future due to a dwindling population.
Manorhamilton’s mart was facing an uncertain future some months ago and it ended up in the District Court before it finally was granted a licence by the regulatory body to continue trading.
Had it closed it would have been a major blow to the North Leitrim town which has always been under the shadow of its South Leitrim and seemingly more prosperous sister town, Carrick- on- Shannon which lies on the main N4, Sligo to Dublin road.
Indeed, it’s a point which was taken up by Colm Bredin who had to watch with some sadness as his mother closed up the family newsagent and gift shop on Main Street in Manorhamilton for the last time on Saturday evening after 12 years in business. Colm, a primary school teacher in Lusk, County Dublin was lending a hand in final couple of days of the shop.
“When people ask where I’m from I never say just Leitrim, I always make the point of saying North Leitrim as there is that clear divide in the county,” he says.
He points out that of the 26 children which were in his primary school class, all but six remain in the country. Jobs are just not there to keep young people at home.
And, services too are dwindling. Even GP’s it seems are retreating from rural Ireland. A recent survey showed that 50 per cent of GPs in Leitrim are due to retire in the next seven years, the highest percentage in the country.
Many communities will be left without a GP as it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit GPs to areas outside the main urban centres with cuts to funding making it less viable to operate in rural communities. On the face of it Manorhamilton on Friday morning last looked busy but a closer examination shows some vacant premises while some pubs don’t open during the day. Traffic is backed up at times but this appears to be solely down to delays at the only set of traffic lights in the town.
The Main Street has restricted parking on one side but traders feel parking on both sides should have been allowed. Extra wide spaces are on the right hand side with bollards put on the left to prevent parking.
“It’s not like that in Carrick- on- Shannon’s main street. Any issue north of Carrick and we’re never listened to,” says Eileen Bredin as she accepts the many well wishers who are popping in and out of her shop in its last hours.
Double yellow lines are outside her shop but the parking situation isn’t the only reason contributing to her family business shutting its doors after 12 years.
“It just wasn’t viable,” says Eileen, a native of Tubbercurry. She describes her situation as “devastating” and tears aren’t far away as she describes how other small retailers are fighting to survive.
“In rural Ireland there is no support for small, individual retailers. Since we started here there have been ten to twelve retailers gone who I used to deal with say in the run up to Christmas for items such as giftware. I discovered the larger stores in Sligo were able to sell the same goods cheaper and then you would be labelled as being too expensive but people tend to forget that you aren’t dealing with the same set of circumstances.
“When we opened there were two places to play the Lottery in the town, now there are at least five and people can also play in online. It’s just another example of the bigger entities forgetting about the smaller ones.
“There’s also the competition from the stores like Aldi and Lidl which are just wiping out the small retailers. My husband Arthur was working it out the other evening that some 63 businesses had closed in the town over the years, including 16 or 18 retailers.
“We had the shop here up for sale for a good while and tried to sell it as a going concern but I suppose no one is foolish enough to get into this type of business now,” she says.
Son Colm points out that the working day was 8am to evening, the latest opening being 8pm and in all its years his mum never drew a wage. “I’ve had one holiday in those 12 years and that was many years ago,” says Eileen.
Next door, the Central Bar and Bed and Breakfast has been closed for some years now. “That was a huge loss,” says Eileen. Lottery and paper sales brought most people into the shop but sales of both have dropped.
“People just don’t have the spare cash anymore. When they come in to buy something for a birthday or that they are looking for the best bargains but these aren’t to be got in the smaller shops.
“We are not greedy, we have rates and wages to pay and electricity and this effects the price,” she says.