Local notes: Mayo distiller awaits full impact of US tariffs
Members of the volunteer led Ballyhaunis bike repair clinic at their monthly drop in at the Community Hall recently.
The Lavallyroe-based owner of a leading Mayo whiskey distillery is waiting to see how the newly announced 15 percent tariff on European imports into the US will impact his trade.
Sean McKay, owner of Achill Distillery, explained how his company has bought some breathing space by front loading shipments to American customers.
“At the start of each year we’d always send a container to America ahead of St Patrick’s Day but with the new administration this year we sent twice the amount we’d normally send. In effect we sent two years’ worth of our normal shipment.”
From Lavallyroe near Cloonfad, McKay is now watching to see how the American whiskey market adapts to the new tariffs and is concerned how his company’s premium product will fare. “Our 21 year old single malt is priced at the $250 to $300 price bracket and a 15 percent tariff would push it into competition with older single malts. When you go over $300 it’s closer to the same price bracket as a 26 year old malt.
“I find from our research that majority of people spend in the €200 bracket, some people because it’s their whiskey of choice but the majority are buying for a special occasion.
“We will now get to see how the market reacts [to the tariffs]. We now have 18 months to see how the market absorbs and adapts to the tariffs,” said McKay who also markets a ‘San Patricio’ tequila in America.
His Achill Distillery whiskey meanwhile has become more popular in France and a retail chain in Ukraine which encountered McKay at a trade fair has become a solid customer. “We regularly ship out to them.”
The domestic Irish market is also strong, said McKay. As for tourists visiting the distillery, McKay said the distillery is having a “very strong summer”. Tourist arrivals from continental Europe have been strong, said McKay with some visitors arriving from Holland thanks to the new route connecting Knock Airport with the Dutch city of Groningen.
A Ballyhaunis-based Gazan has thanked the local community for a coffee morning that raised over €3,700 recently for a Gaza aid organisation. Organised in conjunction with the bike repair clinic run in the Community Hall by Ballyhaunis Community Council, the coffee morning was staffed by members of a Palestine solidarity group that holds weekly vigils at the Square in Ballyhaunis.
“The truth is that the people in Gaza are suffering in ways that words cannot fully describe,” explained Salma Alsharqawi, whose family remains in Gaza. Ms Alsharqawi told this column that the ongoing siege and the destruction from the recent war has left thousands of families homeless, without enough food or clean water, and many children are suffering from malnutrition and illnesses due to lack of medicine.
“In Gaza, my home was completely destroyed. I lost two of my uncles, my cousin, friends, and even the children of my friends. Every single day, we lose someone dear to us. My mother was also badly injured in the war – she lost her hearing and now has difficulty walking. She is currently in Egypt receiving medical treatment, with my father’s consent.
“Although the world has started to hear our voices more than before, the reality on the ground remains very harsh, and aid does not arrive in sufficient or regular amounts because of restrictions on supplies entering Gaza. People there live in constant fear and struggle just to survive day by day.
“What the people of Ballyhaunis and other supportive communities can do is to keep being a loud voice for us in Gaza, to push for lifting the siege and ensuring urgent humanitarian aid access, and to support organisations working on the ground. Every bit of support, no matter how small, changes the life of someone in Gaza. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for standing with us.
“The world must wake up and understand that the war did not start only in Ukraine or Gaza – it is still ongoing and could flare up anywhere else at any time. This is not a conflict confined to one place; it is a global crisis that demands urgent attention and action from all of us.”
It may be Ireland’s leading processor of lamb but now Dawn Meats is seeking to buy the world’s largest exporter of ovine meat. Having moved some of its lamb processing from the Ballyhaunis plant to a recently acquired operation in Kildare, Dawn is trying to acquire the farmer-run Alliance Group in New Zealand, which describes itself as the biggest single mutton exporter globally with markets in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The Irish Times has reported Dawn is offering €140 million for a controlling stake in Alliance, with other interested bidders said to include a group backed by the Saudi government’s sovereign investment fund.
Locals are invited to contribute photos of old farm gates forged by local blacksmiths for a special National Heritage Week event in Ballyhaunis this year. Ballyhaunis Community Council will host a multimedia exhibition on forge made wrought iron farm gates, a symbol of Irish attachment to land and rural craftsmanship on the evening of Saturday, August 23 at the Community Hall.
The exhibition will feature material on forge-made gates from researchers in Galway, Mayo, Kilkenny, Roscommon and Westmeath. Also that evening, there will be an audio-visual presentation by Ballyhaunis Bike Clinic on the high Nelly bicycle, once manufactured in Ireland. They'll also present two high nellies recently refurbished by the group.
Heritage Week this year will kick off with a Wool Craft Day Sunday, August 17 bringing a full day of workshops led by experts in knitting, weaving, spinning and crochet. There will also be a free children's weaving workshop and talks on the history of Foxford Mills and sustainability.
An exhibition of photos taken by Henry Madden over the years in the Ballyhaunis area will be displayed during the events on the 23rd at the Ballyhaunis Community Hall. Photos and queries can be directed to ballyhauniscommunitycouncil@gmail.com and 0879777899.
Ludmila Burcovschi, founder of local intercultural group Le Cairde, is running for a seat on the Public Participation Network (PPN) Social Inclusion Pillar to the Independent Evaluation Committee for the Mayo Local Action Group (LAG). The PPN is run by Mayo County Council as a mechanism to increase and coordinate activity by community groups while the LAG is a body which governs funding for LEADER rural developing projects in the county.
Ludmilla, who originally came to Ballyhaunis from Moldova as an asylum seeker two decades ago, explained in her manifesto emailed to local community groups that “the name ‘Le Cairde’ means ‘With Friends,’ and our mission is to foster inclusion, unity and empowerment by bringing people together through shared hobbies and interests. Today, our group includes over 100 members across five interest-based subgroups: Music, Art, Craft, Culinary, and Embroidery.
“We actively participate in a wide range of events such as charity concerts, culture nights, church Masses, including Midwest Radio broadcasts, art exhibitions, and collaborative projects with other local and regional groups. I hold a degree in Psychology from Moldova and have completed a Social Inclusion course at Maynooth University. I believe that my professional background, cultural initiatives, and dedication to social inclusion would allow me to make a meaningful contribution to the LAG group.”
A renowned monastic historian employed by the government’s National Monuments Service visited St Mary’s Abbey, also known as the Friary, last week. Author of the recently published Round Towers of Ireland, Chris Corlett, outlined the likely archaeological imprint of the Augustinian order in their hundreds of years in Ballyhaunis.
“A site like this, located on a hill beside a river, would have attracted lots of settlement activity prior to the arrival of the Augustinians,” explained Corlett who shared his knowledge of the likely archaeological and historical value of the wider Friary grounds. Work on the friary church commenced in 1340, with the structure completed in 1450 and rebuilt in 1850.
Corlett met with community representatives and senior executives from Mayo County Council, which is seeking to develop a conservation plan for the site. This would be drawn up by a multidisciplinary team of specialists led by a conservation architect. That conservation plan would be a precursor to a wider master plan for the Friary and grounds.
Congratulations to Marie Commins, Cloonlee, Knock, who won €1000 on an envelope sold in Curley’s in the Balyhaunis GAA 50-50 draw. The next draw is in The Clock on August 4 with a jackpot minimum of €1000.
