PICTURES: Proud Rathkeale is 'open for business' this Christmas

A NUMBER of years ago if you told somebody you were from Limerick their eyebrows would raise and they would utter two words (the second one is City).

Invariably, a conversation would start where you explained that this unwarranted moniker doesn’t define this proud city and county. That feeling of geographical injustice is replicated in Rathkeale today as the population swells by three or four times due to members of the Travelling community returning from abroad for Christmas.

This Thursday, December 19, Foroige is hosting a fun-packed festival showcasing the musical talent of the town’s young people. The following day - Friday, December 20 - a mini-Christmas festival will take place with the Garda Mounted Unit, emergency services, music and entertainment. All are welcome to attend.

The events are being run with the support and collaboration of gardai, Limerick City and County Council, Foroige, Rathkeale Community Council, Rathkeale Together, West Limerick Resources and local businesses.

A meeting was held on Wednesday of last week by organisers to finalise preparations. The Leader called in at the end and, let’s call a spade a shovel here, there was annoyance and disappointment by some on how the town is portrayed in the media, including in this website and paper.

“It’s negative, negative, negative,” said one.

There is a feeling that if there are similar incidents in two towns - the one in Rathkeale will be splashed over the newspapers and the other barely mentioned. 

 Social media is another problem. A video of a home invasion purportedly in Rathkeale was widely shared in recent weeks. But it happened in Cork.

“Of course you get down - we're human - but we've learned to ignore it,” said Derek Downes, Eurospar, who highlights the social and economic successes of the town. He said there are 55 businesses in Rathkeale and lists out numerous success stories employing thousands of people locally.

“I'm not trying to plug the businesses - just to show the bigger picture. They never get any recognition,” said Mr Downes, who also spoke of the generosity of locals when he organised a cycle in his store. Over €4,000 was raised in one day for breast cancer research.

Valerie Foley, community development officer with Rathkeale Together, continues the theme of community spirit.

“We can pull things off that other bigger towns can't seem to,” said Ms Foley. She said the volunteers are always putting their hands up including, literally, when they put up the Christmas lights recently.

Rathkeale may be busier at Christmas due to the visitors but the “negative perception” can make people go to other towns or the city.

Pat Neville, chairperson of Rathkeale Community Council, said it is the safest town in the county to walk down but it is trying to convince people of this.

“My wife is from the UK and that's one thing that struck her from the first time she came here - that she could go anywhere at any time, and nothing would happen,” said Mr Neville.

He said a lot has been accomplished in Rathkeale through collaboration with the council, gardai, HSE, Tusla and input from the locality.

“We're proud of our town and we want to keep it going,” said Mr Neville.  

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Eoin O’Connor, of Tadhg O’Connor, referred to garda statistics at their last meeting where they were told there were zero burglaries or assaults in Rathkeale over a six-week period.

“It's the safest town to walk around in. We have a great offering here in terms of the business community. There is a great energy in the town and great community spirit

“The message is that Rathkeale is absolutely open for business,” said Mr O’Connor, who summed things up when he said, “OK, there's different registrations on some of the cars here, but there's no reason not to come into the town”.

Shane O'Doherty, Rathkeale development officer with the council, said he has spent most of his working life in the city and Rathkeale is one of the safest places to be.

“Our staff feel incredibly safe here. We've got maybe seven or eight females that work in the office. This is probably the only place in Limerick that they would walk alone at night and not feel under threat but that message just isn't out there,” said Mr O’Doherty.

There's no town in the country without problems, he said, and they’re trying to see what they can do to improve Rathkeale.

“Retail is tough in all our county towns, but we have to try and get footfall back in. We have to try and improve the image of the town and try and help our ratepayers as much as possible because we need them. 

“Towns need to have life, footfall, places to go, and it is the business community that provides that. In fairness, the councillors in the area have been very vocal about Rathkeale getting what it deserves,” said Mr O’Doherty.

Rathkeale is the second town in the county that has gotten a town team and a town team plan, which is a project-led revitalisation of the town. Coincidentally, a draft plan was published the day after the meeting.

Richie Bowens, area manager at Foroige (youth organisation), said they provide targeted services through diversion and educational support projects.

He said they cater for the influx of population throughout the festive period and put on a “Christmas cafe”. Their doors open at 3pm and welcome up to 90 children aged from eight to 15. 

“It’s a busy place,” he said,  welcoming one and all to the mini-festival in The Square on Thursday to celebrate talented youngsters who have been working with Music Generation.

“It’s to create that Christmas buzz and a really positive atmosphere in the town,” said Mr Bowens.

Senior gardai - County Limerick Superintendent Michael Fleming and Inspector Barry Manton - also attended the meeting. Insp Manton knows Rathkeale better than most as he was the sergeant in the town for four years prior to his promotion.

There is a lot of talk of a “policing plan” for the town due to the large influx at Christmas but Insp Manton said it is quite simply a high visibility plan.  

“It's boots on the ground and it's garda members supporting the local community. That's what it's about, that's what it's built around. There are natural issues that occur in every town and will occur in a town where there is a large population increase,” said Insp Manton.

He said in his experience of policing he has never seen collaboration like he has witnessed in Rathkeale.

“Everybody's eyes are firmly fixed on the betterment of the community and it's been that way since I was a sergeant here. It's a source of personal pride for me to be able to work with the community stakeholders here and see how the community has grown and continues to grow.

"Everybody keeps working - year after year - to make it better and to try and improve,” said Insp Manton, who adds that crime figures are “very, very low here”.

He invites people to come along to the events in the Square in Rathkeale this Thursday and Friday, December 19 and 20.

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The inspector brought this reporter and photographer Helen O’Callaghan on a walk from the parish hall up the town to the community centre to see Foroige’s work in action in the community centre. It felt as safe as could be but, then again, people will say you were being accompanied by a senior garda.

It’s a bit like when Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said Dublin is safe while she was surrounded by half the guards in the capital. However, I walked up and down twice on my own the same as I would walk in any town. The only difference, as Mr O’Connor said, is the reg plates.

The community centre was a hive of activity with two boys with the same name - Tom Kealy - along with Clifford Gammell busy painting. Clifford said he loves going to Foroige where he plays pool, paints and meets his friends.

The eight-year-old was painting an ornament to be placed on the Christmas tree which has pride of place in the town that has a lot to be proud of.

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