Recovery came in run up to Christmas

Recovery became much more noticeable closer to Christmas


Castlebar
Rowan Gallagher

The first cold snap this year hit Castlebar businesses worst but the lead up to Christmas saw business booming once again in the county town.
Long established businesses on the Main St in Castlebar told The Mayo News that they suffered hugely as snow began to first fall before Christmas but that the draw of the county town was too large for shoppers even with it being minus 16 degrees outside.
Leo Doherty from Leo Doherty menswear on Main Street, Castlebar said that business was actually booming but that they took a large hit earlier in the month of December.
“It most definitely affected business in Castlebar. People weren’t able to travel but then again some from the town couldn’t leave either so that helped. The funny thing is that the freeze in the weeks prior to Christmas wasn’t as bad for business as the cold spell before that.
“People had to get out before Christmas so it was a great week for us. You could see it yourself - people weren’t coming from places like Westport and other towns because the roads were so bad,” added Mr Doherty.
Mayor of Castlebar Cllr Ger Deere said that incentives to shop didn’t pan out too well.
“It was slow for the retailers in the weeks leading up to Christmas but it seemed to have picked up in the final week or last few days even with the weather. The thing with retail is that they can always sell their stock even after Christmas.
“The parking measures were totally messed up by the weather and it is going to be very difficult for some businesses in Castlebar over the next while. Businesses are going to need to be supported over the next while by everyone in the town,” concluded Cllr Deere.
As an incentive to bring shoppers to the town, Castlebar Town Council introduced free parking during the Christmas period but it had little effect with some cars being abandoned until the thaw came.
The restaurant sector was the worst hit in the town with many relying on the boom of Christmas to get them through the January and February period which is typically a lull period for the restaurant business.
The National Museum of Country Life saw a dramatic reduction in footfall over the period before Christmas but say that the number of people going to the facility is 18 per cent up on last year.
“The week before Christmas we were badly hit with people not able to leave their homes and it was noticeable on the ground. We are 18 per cent up on people from last year. The Cross of Cong was a major draw for people and the festival we run brought 28,000 people to the museum and a certain percentage would have come thought the gallery,” a spokesperson for Turlough’s Museum of County Life told The Mayo News last week.