Longford Christmas Fair proves very popular

Longford Town's inaugural Christmas Fair was hailed as a great success at the December meeting of Longford County Council.

At the end of last month the opening of the festive season commenced as Santa and Mrs Claus, who officially switched on the Christmas lights, attracted large crowds to the Grafton Court.

The Christmas Fair featured a range of locally made goodies and gifts from County Longford based businesses and crafters.

There was entertainment, with performances by Music Generation Longford; St Mel’s Musical Society with Musical Director Fintan Farrelly; Emily Doyle and the Sugar n Spice Band.

READ NEXT: Serial Longford burglar who stole items valued at over €1,000 will not serve additional jail time

The Christmas Fair was an initiative of Longford County Council, to support of the businesses of Grafton Court that reopened in advance of the Christmas trading season after a very difficult year of trading.

The switching on of the Christmas Lights coincides with the beginning of free off-street parking around Longford Town for the festive season.

“I want to praise the council for their efforts,” Cllr Seamus Butler (FF) said of the initiative at the December council meeting,

“On the opening day the lights were turned on, it was really well done, well presented. This was the first time we have had such a fair, and I hope we can repeat it next year.”

READ NEXT: Longford Gardaí make significant drugs seizure

Cllr Paul Ross (FG) agreed, saying: “It was great to see crowds flocking into town for the fair. Full credit to the council, it was a huge event and it is something we should continue.”

Cathaoirleach Mark Casey (Ind) added: “There was a great buzz in the area, and a large turn out for the fair. We do these events really well.”

Director of Services, Michael Nevin, said the fair proved popular with visitors: “It was important to do something this year, particularly in the wake of the fire in the Grafton Court area. It was nice to celebrate the reopening.

“A lot of good work was done across several departments, between LEO and the night time economy team. It was very well received.”

The Christmas Lights event coincided with the beginning of free off-street parking around Longford Town for the festive season to make it as easy as possible for people to choose to shop local.

There will also be free off-street parking on the remaining Saturdays in December and every day from December 14 to December 31.

It was stated at the meeting that supporting Longford businesses helps to keep money in the local economy and boosts job creation for the betterment of the local business sector.