John Hanley’s half century COUNTY VIEW
JOHN HEALY THE retirement from business of John Hanley brings to an end half a century of personal association with the commercial life of Castlebar, and nearly as much again of family connection with the business life of the time.
While for the past 30 years the Hanley name has been most closely identified with the flagship retail superstore at Station Road, the business roots go much deeper than that.
That first experience was gained at the busy family newsagents in Rock Square where John’s mother Nellie, and her brother Bernie Reilly, ran the landmark outlet where paper and periodical sales were run a close second by generations of young pupils of St Angela’s School, for whom Hanley’s was an obligatory port of call for the schoolward-bound.
It was a good grounding place for business under the tutelage of the respected Mrs Hanley, who is fondly remembered by way of the Nellie Hanley Bridge Trophy, competed for annually at Castlebar Bridge Club. Another string to the Hanley bow was the daily shop round at the old County Hospital in Castlebar, a duty which brought John Hanley into daily contact with patients and staff at a time when in-house retailing or vending machines were unheard of.
The retirement of Mrs Hanley saw ownership at Rock Square transfer to the next generation and marked the expansion of the business by John Hanley. The year 1979 saw the opening of the store at Station Road (pictured), coinciding with the residential boom which was transforming Castlebar and, in particular, its southern fringes. Success led to success and within a few years came the need for further major expansion of the supermarket and development of extensive car parking facilities.
In between saw the operation of a busy toy store at Market Square for several years. The retirement of John Hanley may mark the end of a chapter in Castlebar retailing, but a loyal customer base will be pleased to learn that the business will continue to trade under the logo of the Londis brand, its new owners.
Nor will the transition be too dramatic – all of the existing staff are to be retained by Londis and will, no doubt, continue the same level of courteous customer service as was the case under its new retired founder.
MAYO’S ACRES OF NEWSPRINT COMING from a background of newspaper retailing, John Hanley would, no doubt, be bemused at the impending launch of yet another local Mayo weekly into what is now a pretty crowded market place.
The new (paid for) tabloid brings to six the number of Mayo weeklies and, despite the county’s record of having the most avid level of local paper readership, it is widely agreed that the point of saturation cannot be too far away.
Add in the fact that two local radio stations are also in the hunt for advertising revenue and it becomes clear that the advertising pot, no matter how big it is, can only sustain so much. The buoyancy of the advertising market over the past five years has led to a perception that there are rich pickings to be earned from the consumer boom.
That may well be so, but it is equally true that, come a downturn, almost the first sector to feel the pinch will be the advertising field. When the cost-cutting starts, invariably it is advertising spend which is first to get the blue marker from the financial experts.
Great newspaper readers we may be here in Mayo, but with people having less time available to sit and read, it is only a matter of time before sales reach their peak and then the real battle for readers will begin.
SHAKING UP THE UPPER HOUSE AFTER many years on the back boiler, it seems that reform of the way the Seanad is elected is finally to be implemented on the watch of Minister John Gormley.
First to go will be the anomaly under which a minority of university graduates get to elect six members to Seanad Éireann. Also for the chop will be the further anomaly whereby Trinity College graduates, in spite of their small number, are allowed to return three members, the same representation enjoyed by NUI graduates.
Under the new changes, all graduates of all higher education institutions will collectively elect six senators; 26 would be elected by the plain people of Ireland, for the first time ever; 20 would continue to be elected by the county and city councillors; 12 would be nominated by the Taoiseach; and the outgoing cathaoirleach would get automatic re-election.
The reformed Seanad would then have 65 senators – five more than at present – and elections would be held every five years to coincide with the local and European elections.
REVIVING THE CHAMBER A PUBLIC meeting in Castlebar tonight will go a long way to answering whether the county town is ready to put its shoulder behind the wheel in reviving the town’s moribund chamber of commerce.
If the attendance at the ‘Castlebar 2020 Vision’ event fails to meet the mark, it will hardly be the fault of the organisers, who have gone to great lengths to entice the business community to make a fresh start for the chamber. Liam Scollan, CEO of Knock Airport, will be the guest speaker, and his views on building and executing successful business strategies will be well worth hearing.
Previous attempts to motivate and breathe life into Castlebar Chamber of Commerce have fallen on deaf ears, it has to be said. The best efforts of a small cohort of dedicated people to try to keep the chamber active have failed. Several new dawns have proved to be short-lived, and the initial enthusiasm at annual general meetings has rarely lasted until the next meeting.
There is a school of thought which holds that Castlebar business people have grown complacent, that the seemingly endless growth of the town as a commercial hub has left the chamber without any real incentive, that when things are going well, it’s best to leave well enough alone.
The organisers of ‘Castlebar 2020 Vision’ don’t quite buy into that. Their call is for a chamber of commerce which will take the initiative in promoting growth, competitiveness and job creation in order to make Castlebar’s future more secure and more prosperous.
The opening of new multi-national outlets in Claremorris and Westport should be a warning signal to Castlebar that things cannot be taken for granted.
Tonight will tell whether the warning signal is being heeded.
FERRITER FALLS ON HIS FEET WHAT lucky star was historian and biographer Diarmuid Ferriter born under? While most authors can do no more than trust in providence that their works will move off the bookshelves, Judging Dev, his biography of Eamon de Valera, has been given the shot in the arm that writers dream about.
Education Minister, Mary Hanafin, has taken it on herself to dispatch 2,000 copies of the biography to the secondary schools of Ireland, with a note to history teachers that further copies are available for the asking. So taken is the Department by the book, apparently, that lesson plans based on the book have been sent to all schools. It will be only a matter of time, it is claimed, until Judging Dev is placed on the exam syllabus.
Ferriter himself is obviously overjoyed at their boost to the print run; Fine Gael spokesmen are fuming at what they see as a sinister plan to promote de Valera and his beliefs; and the Minister herself is just staying her hand on the whole business.
REMEMBERING EILEEN DYER THE memory of a truly great community member is to be honoured in a most appropriate way in her native Claremorris in the coming weeks.
Eileen Dyer was involved in everything that was for the good of Claremorris up to her untimely death seven years ago. She was one of those who helped nurture a sense of community spirit in the town which was unique, and which gave Claremorris a momentum across a wide range of community activities from the swimming pool to the town hall, from drama festivals to annual agricultural shows, from summer festivals to tidier towns.
In a gesture which she would surely have approved of, the people of Claremorris set up the annual Eileen Dyer scholarship to assist students who are studying rural/community development in third level colleges.
Open to applicants either born or residing in Mayo, the scholarships have no upper or lower age limits. A maximum of three students may benefit from the fund each year, the main stipulation being that the course – either full- or part-time – must be tenable at a recognised third level institute of education in Ireland.
Administered by Clár IRD in Claremorris, the closing date for applications is December 14.
PROMOTING THE FAIRTRADE MESSAGE FROM small beginnings, the Fairtrade movement has begun to capture the imagination, and prick the conscience, of a growing number of organisations and individuals.
Designed to cry halt to the exploitation of third world producers of food and crops by the economically powerful, the movement’s symbol is the Fairtrade mark, an international logo found on an increasing range of foodstuffs which guarantees a better deal for third world producers.
Fairtrade is a means of empowering people in developing countries to improve their own lives and environment through fair prices for their products.
None of this can work, of course, without two things – local promoting groups which will spread the message across the towns and villages of Ireland, and the goodwill of shoppers and consumers who will seek out the Fairtrade label on the goods they purchase from the supermarket shelves.
This time last year, Castlebar was awarded the status of a Fairtrade town, as a result of the hard work and dedication of a small group of committed activists. That status must be renewed every year and the steering group’s aim is to have even more businesses and organisations adopting a Fairtrade policy by using, selling and promoting Fairtrade products within the business, office, school, shop, factory or hotel.
It is hoped this year that bodies like GMIT and Mayo County Council will follow the example of other colleges and public bodies by adopting a Fairtrade policy.
In the meantime, you can find more information on Fairtrade products (pictured) and where they are available locally at www.fairtrade.ie.
