Clon in the Irish Times

You may also be interested in this great pitch on Clon in the Times, by Chamber member Michael McCarthy:-

It really is a super piece (link) and an extract is below:

There was a great buzz around the town today for the launch of Clonakilty Favour Exchange. It’s a grass roots concept where members can exchange labour and skills without exchanging money. Instead you add to or draw from a time bank, with strict credit and debit limits. The flyers tell me that “ The only requirement for membership is goodwill” It says a lot about the town where I live.

Clonakilty has a long record of generating goodwill projects. It was the first Fairtrade Town in Ireland. Its Sustainable Clonakilty organisation aims to have the area energy independent by 2020 and its myriad of festivals depend on the goodwill of their organisers. All voluntary, ground up initiatives.

 Goodwill is something that’s abundant in this little corner of Ireland. People you don’t know will salute you going down the street because they might have seen you before. Strangers will stop you on the street to tell you the latest sporting success for the town, to talk about the weather, or nothing in particular.

You know when you go somewhere, you can get a good sense for the place in the first few minutes? Here, there is an easy welcoming feeling that makes you want to stay. And stay people have. There is an eclectic mix of the new, outside influence (including my wife and I) alongside the local and traditional. It creates a sense grounded creativity and energy that’s warm and inviting. You can’t quantify it or describe it, you have to feel it...

Read the full article linked here.