Bandon Farmer's Market April 1, 2006

It had been thought that the sad passing of Peter Crowley, who had been the main driving force behind the setting up of a Farmer?s Market in Bandon, would result in the plan being shelved. However, I was thrilled to read in the current edition of the Bandon Opinion that the organizing committee have not given up and Peter?s daughter is now involved.

The plan is for the market to take place in (what would commonly be known as) the Mace Carpark in the middle of town. The first one will be on Saturday April 1st and will run on the first Saturday of every month up to and including September.

I?m sure all food producers in the area know about it already but if you don?t and you are interested in taking a stall, please contact Dianne Curtin or Veronica Neville.

This is genuinely a great leap forward for Bandon. As a historical centre of food production for centuries with very productive agricultural land in the area and as a market town, it is only right and proper that we should celebrate Bandon?s local food producers and provide them with the opportunity to sell directly to the public.

I am convinced that Farmer?s Markets do not reduce revenue for local businesses, rather they increase business due to the larger number of customers attracted to the town who might otherwise go to Clon or Cork.

Now all we need is for someone to open a micro-brewery and I?ll be a very happy man.