Colm O'Reilly: health food store proprietor in Ballinamore, Co Leitrim
I run The Nature Trail health store which supplies whole foods, food supplements, health and organic foods, in High Street, Ballinamore. I was originally in the fruit and vegetables retail business but customers started asking me to source various pulses and dried fruits for them.
Slowly, over the weeks and months my range of products increased. Then I became interested in herbal remedies. The first range I became interested in was the Bioforce range. I started reading and inquiring about the various remedies that were available and started asking my customers what they were using, what was working and what wasn't working.
I have been selling health products and whole foods exclusively for three years now. Over the past number of years south Leitrim has become home to a lot of continentals, who brought with them a lot of their own ideas. They were ahead of us in the health food idea, especially the Germans and the Swiss.
Really what happened was we responded to the needs of the people. It was a big change, but I enjoy it a lot. I'm a sole trader, although sometimes my wife Maire helps me in the store.
I'm open nine to six, six days a week. I have lunch on the run. I enjoy my work and I love getting feedback from customers who have found something I have recommended being of great benefit. Our most effective form of advertising is word-of-mouth recommendations from satisfied customers. I also enjoy meeting people.
The downside of this job is the long hours. During the autumn and winter I often go out to local groups, such as ICA guilds, and give informal talks on various products that are available. With this business there is continual change and new products come on stream every week.
Running a health food shop means you have to be up to date. You just have to be able to advise people on what's available. I don't regard myself as knowing all there is to know, but I have access to information. If someone puts in a request for a product, we will do everything in our power to source it. I'd never turn anybody down and say, "try somewhere else". In fact, that's one of the ways we build up our range of products.
Ballinamore was probably one of the first towns of its size to have a health food store. More and more are coming on stream in the past couple of years.
The people in Ballinamore and the other small towns in rural Ireland deserve to have what is available in the cities. Anybody who wants alternative supplements or herbal remedies shouldn't have to travel 25 miles to get them.
People would have to travel between 20 to 25 miles to Cavan, Longford or Carrick-on-Shannon to get their health foods otherwise. We provide a service and a choice to the south Leitrim, west Cavan area. I even have customers coming from Fermanagh.
Every little thing that we can do to make places like Ballinamore a place where people want to come and live is for the betterment of the whole area.
Even something like a small health food store is an extra little plus. I have heard people comment that they would love to settle within 10 miles of Ballinamore because they have access to a health food store. That's lovely to hear.
I have built up a good working relationship with a number of health professionals in the area. Our local GP, physiotherapist, aromatherapist and allergy specialists refer people to my shop.
I finish up at 6 p.m. and walk home, which takes about five minutes. If I bump into someone for a chat, I'll be late and I won't be home until 6.15 p.m.
(In interview with Fiona Tyrrell)