By MICHAEL McDONNELL
michael@northern-standard.ie
THE livestock mart in Cootehill will open again from early next month, for the first time in over 12 years, the Northern Standard learned this week.
In a development which will be welcomed by the farming community and local traders alike, it was confirmed that the premises on Station Road will be trading every Wednesday from 4th September onwards.
Jimmy O’Reilly of Mullagh, Co Cavan, who along with Mr Patrick McEnaney of Corduff has leased the site for what is understood to be a number of years, said the mart would initially be running on every Wednesday, starting on 4th September next.
All forms of livestock will be traded, and if demand is high enough, the possibility of opening on additional days during the week will be looked at over time, he added
He himself has been a refrigeration salesman and is also involved in suckler farming, Mr O’Reilly explained. His father had been a livestock auctioneer, and he has always had an interest in the marts.
Mr McEnaney is currently involved in the running of the well-known Bailie Hotel in Bailieboro.
GREAT POTENTIAL
“I feel there’s great potential for the mart in Cootehill,” he told the Northern Standard this week.
He also accepted that there was a “big risk” in starting any business nowadays, but felt that people still had to try.
The mart in Cootehill will be trading from 11.30pm on every Wednesday from 4th of September, while weanling sales will take place from about 7pm on the evening of each Wednesday from the following week onwards (11th September).
Prior to its closure in during the foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001, the mart on Cootehill’s Station Road had for many years been a hive of activity, attracting long lines of tractors, trailers and livestock lorries for the cattle and sheep marts on Mondays and Wednesdays respectively.
But the premises, including the large galvanised shed, had become something of an eyesore since that time, although a good deal of work has been carried out over the past year to make it fit for purpose again, including new office and canteen facilities in the old railway section, which dates back to 1860. The Cootehill mart had been founded by Tom Brady in the 1960s, and was the first in a series established by the Brady family, including those at Cavan, Carnaross, Mohill and Dowra.
The current owner, Tom’s son Jimmy Brady, said he wishes Mr O’Reilly and Mr McEnaney the best of luck in their new venture.
The reopening will also be welcomed by traders in Cootehill, who will be hoping to see the mart bring some extra mid-week business into the town.
Cootehill Chamber’s president and local town councillor Don Smith said he believed the mart’s reopening would bring the farming community back to the town and help revitalise the local economy in general.