A SEAFOOD VAN at the pier of Killybegs, Co Donegal, is facing closure as its owner has been given less than two week’s notice to vacate the parking spot and make room for a bus stop.
It’s part of a regeneration scheme which owner Mairead O’Hagan Anderson says has turned the town centre into a “building site” for a prolonged period.
She’s run the Seafood Shack with her husband and chef Garry since 2017, breathing new life into the spot that once belonged to a local fishmonger.
On Monday, 13 May, they were given notice to leave the spot by 22 May.
O’Hagan Anderson says they have no choice but to close at least temporarily as, while they own another building in town, it could take up to two years to get it ready for food service.
She said Donegal County Council suggested she take their trailer to the nearby traders’ car park, but she says the facilities are lacking.
“In my business I need access to water, I need access to proper toilet facilities.
“This traders’ car park doesn’t have toilets. It doesn’t have water. I actually don’t know where anyone that’s trading from there [goes] to the bathroom because there is nothing there.
“They basically have to shut and run home I suppose and go back down again.”
The council suggested she get a portaloo, which she says she has “no intention” of doing.
Now the jobs of staff at the Seafood Shack, which has just reopened for the summer season, are at risk.
“My business, because it’s so visible and it’s in a fantastic area, it makes people stop,” said O’Hagan Anderson.
“I’m always very grateful to people who travel to the shack … they’re coming into the town ultimately, and we’re losing this now by taking away from the town centre.
“It just doesn’t work honestly.”
In 2021, a regeneration strategy was launched by the council, with the view of transforming the seaside town by 2040. The plans include a new boardwalk, a library/museum and a revival of the town centre.
However, locals say they are “fed up” with the ongoing works interfering with their businesses.
“There’s not one person working on the diamond today,” O’ Hagan Anderson said on Wednesday.
“There’s nothing happening and everybody’s getting really fed up with it.
“I think locals are ready to start lifting rubble and start building walls themselves to get it finished because we need our town to be finished.”
The recently established Local Link service goes through the town, which she says is “fantastic” and “essential” for locals who don’t drive. But now due to the frequency of the buses and lack of space in the town due to construction, a new bus stop must be created, and the council has chosen the site of the Seafood Shack.
O’Hagan Anderson, who is originally from Galway, used her background in hospitality and tourism to open the shack, which creates employment in the small town.
“I have nine people employed currently and I have another two starting with me.
“It’s employment they’re affecting, it’s not just my business.”
Donegal County Council did not respond to request for comment.
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