It was Mahatma Gandhi who declared adversity to be “the mother of progress”. Well even that most passive of men could forgive the 100 odd people who have lost their their jobs today in Sligo’s Elanco for not quite buying in to the idea just now.

It’s never good news when a long-standing employer ups sticks but that doesn’t mean everything that follows has to be bad too. There will no doubt be calls and renewed calls on the government to ‘do something’ to address the situation in the north west. With an election under way, there will be some ‘promise’ to do ‘some thing’ and – for the benefit of the voters – we’ll get a few weeks of claim and counter-claim about the extent to which the ‘situation’ is being taken seriously etc. and how “them up there in Dublin…”, all 100% pure populism. 

The reality for any region in such circumstances is that any given government can only do so much. It is down to the region to inspire and create a response. Government aid in response to local, market driven efforts creates results that will sustain themselves, because they come from the market where supply will naturally, always, respond to demand. By contrast, local response to government aid will always start with government aid… it creates a dependency culture that ultimately limits everybody.

So, in this moment of relative adversity, will Sligo put its hand out looking for somebody else to solve a problem and risk continuing at the mercy of whatever sentiment is flowing, political or otherwise… or will it put its hand up to do something, make change happen, attract input, support and investment because it is creating something of value.  

It may not quite feel like it tonight, but there never was a better time to do the right thing.