The idea was Jackie Bolger’s, but it couldn’t have become a reality without help from many others. Aware of the Christmas Retail Support Programme grant from Tipperary County Council, he got others on board to plan the Mullinahone Christmas Fair.

It was to build on what they had in Christmases past and make Christmas present more exciting and community-orientated.

“We really had nothing major as a community at Christmas before now,” says Jackie, who is an electrician by trade.

It was a case of all hands on deck in Mullinahone to help out with the fair.

“Yes, we had a Christmas tree in the church yard and sang a few carols around it, but it was cold and there wasn’t enough ambience or feel of Christmas really.

“That’s why we thought it would be lovely to hold this event inside. We thought we could create a little Vienna (Christmas market) here in Mullinahone.”

Getting started

Armed with a grant of €750, they embarked on the experiment. “If we can do it well this year, we can then do more next year,” Jackie says.

“What we’ve bought with the money this year – backdrops for Santa’s Grotto, for example – we’ll be able to keep and add to as time goes on.”

The 2019 fair will take place on 15 December in the village’s GAA complex from 4.30-7pm. It will have been a case of all hands on deck to help, with even school children tying balloons and 3D stars to the many strings that will catch the light as they stretch across the ceiling of the sports hall.

After St Michael’s Parish Choir sing carols on the stage, those who attend can check out the local craft stalls and sample the items that community organisations have sponsored – items like hot chocolate, mulled wine and selection boxes for Santa.

In the GAA hall and after a visit to the Men’s Shed around the corner Jackie Bolger, John Berminghan, Kim Barron, Teckie Brett and Breda Brennan gather round to talk about the village that is in Kickham country and where Mullinahone Co-op is ‘the heartbeat of the village’, bringing constant traffic and, of course, employment.

Despite being a small village, Mullinahone has plenty of shops, facilities and amenities.

The group say that getting things done in the village is about having vision and they are glad to have a county councillor living there – Kevin O’Meara.

“We have four years to go on Kevin’s term so we need to use it!” they say.

Community spirit

The village is lucky enough to have retained many services that other villages have lost. With a post office, school, shop, Garda station (part time), two pubs, a health clinic, community centre (the old technical school), a playground, hardware shop, (expanding soon to Callan), pharmacy, butcher’s shop, Credit Union, four housing estates, a men’s shed, several new businesses set up by new people in the area and a Breakfast Club established to provide pre- and after-school childcare for commuting parents, it certainly has a lot going for it.

Killaghy Castle.

The only thing Irish Country Living couldn’t get there was a fill of diesel.

Around the table, the group speaks of the value of having an energetic and approachable priest, Fr Danny O’Gorman. “He is very supportive of all the organisations in the village,” they say.

Teckie Brett, chair of the Tidy Towns committee and the annual Kickham Country Weekend, acknowledges everyone’s part in what’s been achieved in Mullinahone.

“Everyone has skills and everyone’s help has been important,” she says.

The local playground in Mullinahone. \ Jim Freeman

Attention is drawn to the quiet woman at the table – Kim Barron – and they acknowledge her work and that of others also, for, over the years, making tea and sandwiches for community events, including providing refreshments after funerals in the village.

“That kind of work is so important in a rural area,” Jackie says. Farmer and musician John Bermingham runs the nearby self-catering business, Crocanoir, in his renovated farmyard.

“Having accommodation in an area is important if you want to bring people in. We get a good few from abroad doing family research and we can help them with that if needed,” he says.

As well as the annual Kickham Country Weekend each May the village hosts an under-12 All-Ireland hurling festival each August.

The GAA complex also hosts a community bingo night once a month that has an impressive attendance of over 200.

Teckie Brett acknowledges, however, that most of the organisations in the village wouldn’t have achieved as much without community grants from Tipperary County Council.

“The Kickham weekend, running for 38 years, wouldn’t have survived so long without them,” she says. “It’s the same with the Tidy Towns.”

A monument in memory of Charles J Kickham in Mullinahone.

While John Bermingham believes that what’s been achieved in Mullinahone shows what can be done in any village he would love to see younger residents getting involved in the organisations.

“We’d love to encourage volunteerism from the next generation as it’s badly needed. New blood and new ideas are so important in keeping things going.”

Jackie, Kevin, Teckie, Breda and Kim agree.

“While supporting events financially is great too, it’s presence that really makes a community.”

From the point of view of community bonding the group are delighted that the Men’s Shed is now publishing the Mullinahone Magazine again.

“After an absence of 15 years, it’s back,” says Kevin O’Meara whose children have gathered in their Christmas jumpers. “It takes work but is great for recording the year and bringing people together.”

They also speak of how, as well as all the organisations leaning on one another, communities have to “get up and do things for themselves”, rather than simply blame successive governments.

John Bermingham mentions something that was said by a recent Kickham Country Weekend keynote speaker.

“If you think your local area is dying, could you be the one to let it die? We should support local businesses to keep our communities alive.”

But back to the spirit of Christmas 2019 where Mullinahone residents are looking forward to their Christmas Fair on 15 December and to this idea being developed over time, in line with the community’s vision for Mullinahone’s Christmases Future.

Tips

  • Keep up to date with grant availability .
  • Publish an annual magazine .
  • Hold a Christmas Fair.
  • Set up a Men’s Shed.