Derelict Castlebar buildings to get facelift

Derelict Castlebar buildings to be loved up in facelift


Edwin McGreal

Castlebar town centre is to get a facelift thanks to the efforts of an enthusiastic group of volunteers.
The Love Castlebar group has set one of their primary aims for the coming year as the cleaning, painting and improvement of the exterior of derelict and vacant buildings in the town centre.
Helen O’Hara told last Thursday night’s meeting of Castlebar Town Council that the town facelift is ‘a good first step’ in improving the town. They have targeted 31 vacant and derelict buildings in the town which they aim to restore in the coming weeks and months.
Based almost entirely on volunteer work, together with community employment assistance, Helen O’Hara called for support.
“I love my town, that’s why I am involved. We need more volunteers though. If we work together we can transform our town,” she said.
She added that people need to have a more positive outlook on the town and that ‘negative conversations in recent times do not help’. Several sports teams in the town have pledged to give at least a day in support. Ms O’Hara said the volunteers meet every Sunday morning at 11am at the bridge at the start of Main Street.
Ms O’Hara also played an impressive video of the meeting on the problems facing Castlebar and what locals can do to help.
Last year the Love Castlebar group performed ambassadorial roles in welcoming visitors to the town. Over 50 volunteers were on hand to provide a ‘personal welcome’ to tourists and show them around the town.
Mark Basquille, another Love Castlebar volunteer, told the meeting that the Love Castlebar voucher card which offers a ten per cent discount in over 100 stores in the town was being widely distributed this year and they were aiming for 10,000 cards to be circulated.
The presentation was widely commended by all councillors and the council gave a commitment to explore the possibility of allocating them €20,000 previously put aside for a jobs’ task force in the town.