Downtown gets €15k Christmas light boost

Portlaoise is set to take on more colour this Christmas with new lights at some of the town’s busiest spots.

Portlaoise Town Council has given the Downtown Portlaoise traders group €15,000 to invest in special illuminations at the Top Sq, Main St and Lyster Sq.

The public will get a chance to see the new additions on Friday, November 22 according to Ger Mulhall chairman of Downtown Portlaoise who also confirmed that Santa will be on hand for the big switch-on.

The Downtown Business take on the major task of funding and organising the Christmas Lights for Portlaoise. The lights cost €14,700 to run excluding the cost of new lights.

Mr Mulhall thanked the council for its generosity and the public for €1,800 donated on recent flag day. He urged other local businesses to support the lights this year.

The lights will be ready for the Downtown Portlaoise Christmas Market which takes place on Sunday, December 1 this from 10am until 6pm. As usual it will be held on the Main Street but the organisers hope to extend it to Hynds Square this year.

The market will feature beautiful handcrafted gifts for Christmas, Christmas Art for Kids Workshop, local bands and choirs and street entertainment.

“The Christmas Market on Sunday 1st December promises to bigger and better than last year. Building on the success of the Christmas Market over the last couple of years we will have more stalls with a particular emphasis on unique arts and craft stalls,” said Mr Mulhall.

Visit Facebook/Downtown Portlaoise or email grainname@hotmail.com. Michael Delaney also has details contact 083 381 7980). All businesses in Portlaoise will be opened on Market day.

Downtown is also facilitating the painting of unoccupied shop windows with landlords to allow festive painting to be produced on their shop windows.