Last Friday, despite the exceptionally poor weather, Castlerea saw a great turnout for their Christmas lights switch-on, indicative of the excitement building in the town ahead of the festive season. To get a sense of this festive spirit, this week the Roscommon People travelled to Castlerea to speak to members of the local community…
Local shops
To kick off our visit, we popped into Sue’s Boutique on Castlerea’s Main Street, which boasts a beautiful selection of ladieswear and accessories. Having only opened a few months ago, this is their first experience of the Christmas retail rush, but according to Sue, although she continues to sell a lot of vouchers and suchlike, she believes the real peak of gift-buying busyness has passed.
“I suppose most people are probably shopping for themselves at this stage: they have the Christmas shopping done and are just looking for their own gifts – something ‘for me, from me’. I’m busier now with people buying stuff to wear for Christmas Day and that kind of thing”, she explained.
While she is living in Roscommon town, Sue explained to us that even still, just from working in the area, she has noticed there is a “great atmosphere around Castlerea”, saying “you really pick up on there being a buzz about the place for Christmas”.
After leaving Sue’s Boutique, we popped over to Tully’s Pharmacy, where we were met with an elaborate display of Christmas decorations, from garlands and figurines to a giant Santa’s sleigh and a toy train that travelled its way around the store. While there, we spoke to owner Nial Tully and pharmacist Michelle Doyle-Reynolds about business and the town in general.
“Coming into winter, you’re always going to have sickness”, explained Nial. “Because of that, we’re very busy in the pharmacy, especially now with the worry of RSV and the uprise we’ve seen with that. So, it’s about keeping an eye on everything and making sure everyone’s sorted there”.
This was echoed by pharmacist Michelle, who explained that another source of busyness for the pharmacy was the fact that “people want to make sure they have everything sorted in advance of Christmas”.
“Between prescriptions and vaccines and everything, there’s a lot to be at”, she said. “But everyone’s in good form and it doesn’t seem like too many people are sick – of course you have the normal amount given the time of year, but thankfully there’s no big flu or stomach bug going around at the moment.
“But it is still very busy, and when you add the retail aspect into things, it’s absolute mayhem!”
This was something mentioned by Nial too, who told us, “On the retail side, since Black Friday it’s really kicked off for us. You’d almost be hoping for more bad weather, so people won’t travel far away and keep shopping local!”
Having just received the 2023 Customer Experience Award for best online store, Tully’s has also been busy with online sales. Nial explained that while the online side of things “still feels new”, it’s been a great success for them: “We’re really trying to take it all on and it’s going strong”, he told us. “It’s great – even when I’m asleep the presents get done!”
That said, he also told us he imagines online sales will begin to quieten down from here on because “anyone buying gifts now won’t want to risk waiting on deliveries”.
On the subject of last-minute present-buying, Nial explained that although the store is busy right up until the 24th, it’s often a “handy day” for him: “Traditionally, Christmas Eve would’ve been myself and my Dad’s day, where we would’ve found ourselves just sitting around the shop because no one wants to talk to a man on Christmas Eve – it’s all the men in getting last-minute stuff and asking to talk to the ladies for advice”.
In terms of Castlerea itself, pharmacist Michelle told us she finds the town has a real “Christmassy feel to it” at the moment, between the lights and shop decorations. With the holidays almost upon us, Michelle said she is most looking forward to “enjoying some time off with the family” and “movies and treats by the fire” before it’s time to get back to work.
Nial also spoke about the activities in Castlerea itself, saying, “It’s good to see the local side of things doing well. For example, we had the St Anne’s fundraiser recently, which was massive, ending up with €51k proceeds! The local community really came out and supported that, and that kind of community support is all around the town, especially at Christmas.
“Everyone here always comes together, and we hope that community spirit is still there during the holidays, that people support local instead of going online – or if they do go online, that they’re going to our shops!”
Holy season
Having wrapped up in Tully’s, we then visited the Parish Office, where we spoke to Fr Chris Garrett, the parish’s newest priest, who celebrated his first Mass in St Patrick’s Church earlier this year.
Like many Castlerea residents, Fr Chris also noted there seems to be a “buzz around town” for the Christmas, giving mention to the “great turnout at the lights on Friday, even despite the weather”.
“There is a brilliant atmosphere and everything in town is very busy – it’s a very joyous time”, he told us, explaining that in addition to the usual Christmas services, the Church is also busy hosting other Masses for the community.
“We have six primary schools and two secondary schools in the area, and they’re all doing prayer services/Masses, so we’re kept busy on that side. Plus, Threen NS just celebrated their 150th anniversary, so we held a Mass for that last weekend”.
When asked what aspect of Christmas he personally enjoys the most, Fr Chris said, “I enjoy the liturgies myself, but I also really enjoy getting the time off to spend with family and friends – being able to get together with people and the social aspect of things is great”.
Fr Chris will be in Castlerea for Christmas Day Mass, but explained that after that, he plans to head down to Enniscrone to have dinner with his aunt, who is in a convent there (Convent of Jesus & Mary): “I’m looking forward to that, and then after Christmas I’ll be in Ballygawley with my aunt and one of the other Sisters, all going well. Of course, if something happens, it’s only a 50-minutes’ drive so I can be back right away, but if not, we’re going to leave the very capable Fr Kevin and Fr John in charge and I’ll sneak off!”
Castlerea then and now
After thanking Fr Chris and leaving the Parish Office, we then headed back towards the busy town centre to drop into Robert Flynn’s General Store.
One of the longest running establishments in the town, Flynn’s has been a cornerstone in Castlerea for many years – and indeed, for many Christmases. While visiting this week, we spoke to proprietor Tom Flynn about how Christmas in Castlerea has changed over the years.
“It’s gone very different now”, he told us. “It used to be that on a Wednesday this time of year, the turkey markets would be out, with turkey and geese everywhere. That was maybe 30, 40 years ago. The whole Square would be full of them, in carts and in boots of cars.
“I remember one year, a woman who came in here one day after selling on the markets. 1.25 or 1.20 she got a pound for her turkeys – on the hoof, alive and well. And when she’d them all sold, she came in here and bought a frozen one out the fridge for 90c a pound. Now, wasn’t that wisdom? She made her money and got good value and had no plucking or anything to do herself.
“But the markets would bring in the year sure – it’d be the turkey markets at Christmas into the spring and then you’d have hay, oats, potatoes, turf, all out there on the Square. Our yard would be full of horses and carts, horses tied up and carts stacked one on another to make them all fit. There’d be calves in crates just up the street for us, and then on the fair green, you’d have the cattle fair and pig fair”.
Tom mentioned that this time of year is the period he himself enjoys the most – “It’s when everything is coming to life” – and that while everyone always looks forward to Christmas and people are in good spirits, he finds Easter to be a great time as well.
Family time is on the agenda for Tom too this Christmas, as he told us, “I’ll be going to my brother’s, and he has a house full of children and grandchildren so I’ll be kept on my toes!”
Looking forward to a happy new year
To wrap up our visit, after leaving Flynn’s we went to speak to Susan Gaynor, who has had a busy year working with the Castlerea Town Team.
Susan, like many others we spoke to, mentioned the great crowd that attended the lights last week despite the “terrible weather”, noting that “the official switch-on was done by our Connacht champions, Castlerea St Kevin’s” and saying that all this fed into making it such a “great day in the community”.
“Like all towns, our lights are erected by local people, local volunteers, over the course of several weeks”, she told us, “and the work that’s been done should really be commended. The lights really brighten up the place and add to the festivity”.
Susan said that Castlerea “feels busier at the moment”, adding that this is not due solely to the holiday season. “The town is booming all-round. A lot of our empty stores have been done up and new businesses have gone in, which has been huge. The town has really come on in the last couple of years; it’s much brighter and fresher and everyone always compliments it when they visit.
“It’s been a very busy year for the Town Team, and a lot has been done. This year particularly, there’s been a lot of work around sustainability and Quick Wins projects, and it’s been a great success”.
Susan explained that having begun to finish up with their current 5-year social and business engagement plan, which extended from 2018 to 2023 and saw the successful completion of a number of local projects, come the New Year, the Town Team will be onto the next one. “In 2024, we will be holding a public meeting to organise our next plan and make sure we’re delivering on what people want”.
Susan says she wants to wish a “happy, healthy holiday” to all, and is encouraging everyone to “mind yourselves, and shop local this Christmas”.
She also said that as wonderful and busy as the atmosphere in the town is at the moment, things are only looking up after that: “With Aoife (O’Rourke) going to Paris for the Olympics next year, our footballers preparing for an All-Ireland semi-final, the Castlerea Rose Festival set to be bigger and better than ever, and all that the Town Team has planned, 2024 is going to be a great year for the town!”
