Return of ‘Bridge Mart

IT was like the good old days, a steady stream of cattle lorries heading out from Sixmilebridge village to the mart at Ballysheen. Many of the drivers were on the road since early morning but last Saturday was a little bit different.
It was a day when members of the farming community took back ownership of the mart premises in Sixmilebridge, as was the case when the facility first started to trade back in 1973. 
But the buy-back from Golden Vale, who closed the mart in December 2099 because of a decline in animal throughput, didn’t come cheaply. However, after an intensive canvass by a team of volunteers, 620 shareholders, made up in the main by farmers from the area and neighbouring parishes, dug deep to contribute the €300,000 purchase price.
Mart manager Seán Ryan couldn’t have predicted Saturday’s turnout. It seemed that everybody in the locality wanted to be part of what was a momentous occasion. Not everybody was buying or selling but all were there to make a statement. It was a show of solidarity for a rural and farming community.
As with all grand openings, there are certain to be some teething problems. Saturday’s related to a technical hitch but after a delayed start, auctioneer Felim Kerins eventually started pounding his gavel.
The first animal of the day entered the ring shortly after 11am, a 700-kilo cow that made €1,260. The last sale concluded shortly before 6pm and, by then, 460 animals had passed through the ring.
Manager Sean Ryan had a busy day at the office, packing in over 14 hours in his first sale day in Sixmilebridge.
“By and large, it was a great day. Prices were very good. The general feel from the public was very positive. Overall, we were very happy with how the sale went. It was a good sale in mart terms,” he confessed.
He accepted they were always going to be on a winner for the opening day’s sale but the challenge is sustaining that level of trade going forward.
“It mightn’t be easy to maintain that momentum but we’ll certainly be trying. If the support comes from the locality, it can happen.
“While we need a throughput of 10,000 animals to be viable, our target is for a figure higher than that. Cattle prices are good at the moment and should prevail for the rest of the year. My ambition, though, would be to put 12,000 to 14,000 cattle through the ring,” he outlined.
“I think the people have shown their commitment by acquiring the mart. They’ve shown great support and loyalty. There are so many shareholders and more to still come in. There is so much goodwill and positivity within the community and hopefully, that will remain into the future. There is a genuine will to make a success of it,” he added.
While Sean and secretary Carmel Meehan-Kiely are full-time employees, a further 11 people are employed on mart day. The importance of the mart in that context was touched on by Sixmilebridge parish priest and sociologist Fr Harry Bohan, who was a key negotiator in the mart acquisition.
He described the reopening of the mart as a great day for farmers, for business people and for the wider community.
“It’s not just about the reopening of a mart. It’s about people taking responsibility to make things happen. That’s important. We have become very dependent in Ireland on others doing things for us. For the most part, we’ve handed over responsibility to these people to provide the jobs and many of the services vital to the vibrancy of communities.
“We have been talking crisis now for a few years. The dominant mood is negative rather than creative or constructive. We are saturated in negativity and cynicism. But we must have the vision, the spirit and the energy to take responsibility for our future. So, what we are doing here today is significant. We are saying ‘the future is on our own hands’,” he said.
Fr Bohan emphasised that the closure of the mart in December 2009 could have signalled something very serious for the parish because one closure could have had a domino effect.
“A year and a half later, 620 shareholders have put up the money and a massive voluntary effort has signalled the reopening of the mart for trade. The mart can now act as a stimulus for growth and development in other areas. It has underlined what a people together can achieve.
“The social side of the mart cannot be over estimated either. Farmers have become isolated. If you never had a beast to sell or buy the meeting for the chat is vital, in many ways as vital. The spirit, which all this represents is about building a future together. It is good news, it is positive and it can and will work,” he declared.