‘Mass in Ring 1’ is not one of the normal announcements from the rostrum you expect to hear, but that’s what came through loud and clear from the mic in Castlerea Co-operative mart in Roscommon on Tuesday night.
It was a privilege to attend the occasion to celebrate 50 years since Castlerea mart was opened by the then IFA president Paddy Lane on 30 September 1976. The current Castlerea mart team deserve huge credit for the way the mart looked on the night and the event itself.
Speaking to farmers in the yard afterwards, there was an enormous sense of pride in having their own mart in Castlerea. Richard Finan, one of the founding members, recalled on the night how the idea for a mart came about.
In 1973, the Castlerea branch of the IFA decided to proceed with the idea, with advice from the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS). The money required to build the mart had to be raised through share capital. The minimum share purchase was £25, with a big fundraising effort employed in the locality.
Tuesday night’s event brought it back to me how important the co-operative movement is, with many of today’s marts still operating in a co-op status.
The Irish Farmers Journal has always supported marts as the best route for trading livestock and we will continue to support marts through our mart coverage and MartBids platform.
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