A Castlebar Order of Malta ambulance parked outside their existing HQ at Pavilion Road in the town

Order of Malta seeks help due to accommodation crisis

THE Castlebar Unit of Order of Malta has issued an urgent plea due to an accomodation crisis.

The organisation's headquarters at Pavilion Road in the town is subsiding due to problems with the structural foundations and it's only a matter of time before members will be forced to leave there.

Unit official Donal Geraghty said it will cost €200,000 to carry out the necessary repairs, but they have just €6,670 in their bank account and their insurance won't cover the cost of restoration work.

He has called on Castlebar Municipal District to provide the Order of Malta with a new building in exchange for their existing property, which the authority may be in a better position to restore and put to alternative community use

Elected member of the municipal district council are very supportive of the Order of Malta in their current plight.

Councillor Frank Durcan, a former member of the unit, said there is a building available at the Rock Square entrance to the Military Barrack where the organisation operated when it was first set up in Castlebar by the late Eddie Lynn.

“It would be an ideal location and there is no shortage of space in which to park ambulances,” he added.

John McHale, acting town manager, said the council executive will meet with Castlebar Order of Malta within the coming week to explore a number of options.