West Cork villagers buy €7,000 in proposed shop shares

Villagers have snapped up €7,000 in shares in what may be West Cork’s first community shop.

Some 130 people attended a public, mid-week meeting to discuss the proposed community-run shop for the seaside village of Courtmacsherry.

The event was expected to be a crucial indicator of whether the proposal would be successful. Take-up of shares would determine the future of the initiative, locals were advised.

However, following the meeting, organisers said that they were very pleased with both the turnout and the level of community support.

Just under €7,000 worth of shares was purchased on the night.

It’s confidently expected that more shares will be bought, in blocks of €50, in the coming weeks, to bring the overall investment to around €20,000, which would ensure the opening of a shop.

“We are on track now,” reported Dara Gannon, spokesman for the organising committee.

He said the meeting was presented with a power-point presentation, followed by a Q&A session and an informal chat.

“If we continue this trend, we will be on track to raise the €20,000 required to open the doors of our community shop. It is imperative, if people invest, that they do it sooner rather than later.

“This was a very good start,” he said, adding that another public meeting would be held in four to six weeks: “It will be around the end of April or beginning of May and, in the meantime, we would urge people to buy shares.”

Following the public meeting, Mr Gannon said: “We have been taking feedback from it and more information will be available at our next meeting.”

It is hoped that the new community shop will open in the village’s former post office in May.