Gort's oldest business hits the buffers

ONE of Gort’s oldest establishments is under threat as the County Council says that plans for the re-opening of the train station in the town will necessitate the closure of Burke’s Farm Supplier Store at its present location. The pending re-opening of the station as part of the redevelopment of theWestern Rail Corridor – coupled with the Gort Traffic Management plan which has come into operation in recent months – has left the Burke family with many obstacles for the future of their business. Speaking to the Tribune this week, store owner Gerry Burke said ongoing works in the town had gradually made life more difficult for both himself and his customers.“We have yellow lines now right around the shop and when you are a supplier of fuel and feed and that kind of thing, you need people to be able to pull up outside for a few minutes, but they can’t do that anymore with this traffic management plan,” Mr Burke explained.“Now they are talking about widening the road for when the station is re-opened and they seem to think we have no choice but to move on somewhere else.”The shop has been in the Burke family since it was first established by Daniel F Burke in 1841, a man known and remembered for his racehorse and for his friendship with Michael Cusack, one of the founding fathers of the GAA.The business passed from Daniel on to Gerry’s father, John Martin and is now in the hands of a third generation of the family with Gerry who runs the store along with his wife Carmel and their son and daughter.The building that houses the shop has .....