LISAVAIRD shareholders and account holders in Ardfield, Reenascreena and Rosscarbery say they will resist any attempt to close the three branches of the co-op.

Several people spoke out after it was alleged that the three branches were earmarked for closure at a recent meeting of Lisavaird Co-operative Creamery Ltd.

One angry account holder in Ardfield went so far as to tell The Southern Star there will be ‘a revolt of some kind’ if Lisavaird tries to close them down.

But Lisavaird CEO Martin Dineen told The Southern Star: ‘No decision has been made to close the three branches. We would have “no comment” on specifics, but we are continually assessing our branches.’

Mr Dineen added: ‘We are talking about investing in our branch network, and what that looks like at the end of the day, we don’t know. Our business is continually under review and we invest in our business as appropriate.’

Mr Dineen explained that as is the case in any business model: ‘Discussions about branches come up every year when we are talking about budgets and strategies.’

But he pointed out that Lisavaird has ‘invested in Reenascreena not so long ago and did fundraisers for Reenascreena National School as part of the relaunch of the Reenascreena branch.’

One man whose account is at the Ardfield branch of Lisavaird made the point that these co-operatives were developed to serve local communities.

He said customers have ‘a one-to-one relationship with the people behind the counter’ and he said he would not like to see the Ardfield branch close.

‘There are too many local services, such as post offices, closing, and these branches sell the basics, such as paper, bread and milk,’ he said.

He added: ‘Local branches were built with money provided by the local shareholders, going back 100 years. It was their parents and grandparents who were involved in financing the building of these places.’

He also claimed that the branch is not costing a lot of money to maintain and there is ‘only a small bit of upkeep’.

He said the ethos of the co-op model is ‘one for all, and all for one’.

Another man whose account is at the Reenascreena branch said: ‘These branches have been supported by local communities since they were opened. This is a very handy shop for farmers because you can get diesel and agri food there, and Reenascreena is a farming community.’

He said locals support the co-op and are worried there is a plan to close some branches in a bid to keep costs down and turnover high.