County Mayor's column: Shopping local at Christmas is good for year-round business

We are on the final push towards Christmas, and I would like to thank everyone for trying, this year, to support our businesses and for shopping local.

If you still need to get in your last-minute Christmas shop, all our towns and villages are open for business this Christmas.

They have been decked out with beautiful lights and wonderful Christmas displays. 

There is much to discover. Shopping local, especially at Christmas, helps to ensure your area continues to thrive.

We can all do our bit by supporting our local businesses, shops, restaurants, and cafes. It has been a challenging year for many businesses, but, together, we can help them to end it on a high.

I would like to draw your attention to the recently published Christmas opening hours on the Cork County Council website.

Our offices are closed on December 24, 25, 26, and 27 and January 1. Offices will be open as normal on December 30 and 31 and from Thursday, January 2.

There is also information on the housing, motor-tax, civic-amenity, and swimming-pool opening hours. Be sure to pay a visit to our website to find out more information.

New Year

Looking ahead to the new year, a new exhibition, Timelines Growth and Catastrophe, will open at LHQ Gallery on January 10.

Timelines Growth and Catastrophe is a collaborative of eight contemporary artist weavers: Tish Canniffe, Pascale De Coninck, Heather Underwood, along with Muriel Beckett, Frances Crowe, Lorna Donlon, Terry Dunne, and Catherine Ryan.

Exploring ideas of resilience at a time of global challenge, instability and uncertainty, this exhibition displays a collaborative, one-metre by-five-metre tapestry, eight new individual tapestries, and a short documentary film.

Drawing from a broad range of diverse visual references, this collaboration also incorporates current University College Dublin plant-science research imagery.

I have more good news to share for the new year. The Local Festival and Event Fund 2025 has launched. The fund supports festivals and events that celebrate local culture, stimulate economic growth, and attract domestic visitors to Cork County.

Festivals

Festivals breathe life in to our communities, energising towns, and villages across Cork county. They reflect who we are, highlighting our unique identity and offering essential support to local businesses. With the backing of Fáilte Ireland, this fund is a key part of our commitment to ensuring the continued growth and sustainability of Cork’s vibrant cultural celebrations, and to making Cork a destination that welcomes domestic visitors all year round.

Lastly, I’m excited to announce that the second and final phase of the Midleton Youghal Greenway has opened to the public.

The new section extends from Mogeely through Killeagh to Youghal. This wonderful new greenway will become a must-visit destination within Ireland’s Ancient East.

It complements and enhances the existing tourism offering in the county, allowing visitors to explore East Cork in a safe, off-road, and traffic-free environment.

We hope the greenway will also serve as a catalyst for economic growth and tourism development.

By attracting visitors from near and far, the greenway will stimulate local business and create opportunities in the hospitality, retail, and service sectors to boost tourism revenue and revitalise our towns and villages.

I would like to wish all my readers a happy Christmas and a prosperous new year from myself and everyone working at Cork County Council.