Regional visit to Mayo

Governor Gabriel Makhlouf and Deputy Governor Derville Rowland visited County Mayo on 1 June 2023 as part of the Central Bank’s ongoing series of regional outreach events.

The two-day visit saw Governor Makhlouf and Deputy Governor Rowland – who originally hails from Castlebar – meet with local businesses, entrepreneurs and manufacturers.

The Governor and Deputy Governor kicked off their trip by attending an event with the Castlebar Chamber of Commerce where they met with a variety of local business owners and employers.

They listened to the experiences of business representatives in the current economy and heard about some of the current challenges facing them.

Governor Makhlouf and Deputy Governor Rowland then visited sports retailer Elverys, which has its head office in Castlebar.

They met with Elverys CEO Patrick Rowland and owner John Staunton who gave them a tour of the company’s new facilities.

Day two of their Mayo visit saw Governor Makhlouf and Deputy Governor Rowland meet some of hi-tech manufacturers based in Mayo.

Governor Makhlouf visited Meissner Filtration, a world-leading manufacturer of microfiltration products, which has its European manufacturing site in Castlebar.      

Meanwhile Deputy Governor Rowland visited the manufacturing facility of Baxters Healthcare, which makes hospital and surgical care products.

Governor Makhlouf and Deputy Governor Rowland then headed to Knockranny House Hotel in Westport, where they met female entrepreneurs from Network Mayo.

Topics discussed at the meeting included opportunities for SMEs, the impact of inflation on local businesses and the role of financial institutions in the county.

Governor Makhlouf’s and Deputy Governor Rowland’s Mayo visit is the latest in a series of regional outreach events, which has seen the Central Bank meet with people across the length and breadth of Ireland.

Earlier this year, we visited Limerick and Cork while in 2022 we held outreach events in Tipperary, Kilkenny and Donegal.