‘I’m Not Stopping’

Irish language café appeals for volunteers to stay open

The future of one of Kilnaleck’s most successful community initiatives hangs in the balance as Súil Eile Community Café urgently appeals for new volunteers.

Co-founder Eugene Farrelly says he is now running the social enterprise single-handedly after its last regular volunteer recently secured employment - a success that also highlights the café’s mission.

“There is nobody here apart from me at the moment,” Eugene says. “The café is run entirely by volunteers. The last person we had got a job, so I’m left now on my own.”

He adds: “When we started it, the plan was that we might work every second day or even once a week, but now I’m here every day.”

Without fresh volunteers, Eugene warns the café may have no choice but to close its doors for good. Not a decision he wants to countenance.

Since opening, Súil Eile has become a cornerstone in Kilnaleck, promoting the Irish language, showcasing local artists, supporting young people and providing vital work experience for those hoping to return to employment.

Ironically, that latter success has also contributed to its current crisis.

Victim of success

“That was always one of our goals,” Eugene explains. “To give people experience and help them, as much as them helping out and giving something back as well.”

In recent months, five volunteers have moved on to paid employment.

Among the others Eugene remembers most fondly is Shamielah Masood, a South African refugee who became an integral part of the café.

“She was fantastic,” he recalls. “She ran the whole place.”

Shamielah’s time at Súil Eile ended when she and her children were forced to leave Kilnaleck following the sudden closure of the IPAS centre at the former Copper Kettle pub in November 2025.

With only days’ notice, eight families who had spent years building lives in the community were uprooted and told to relocate, leaving behind schools, friendships, sports clubs and support networks.

Initially Shamielah was told she and her kids would be moved to accommodation on the 14th floor of a hotel outside Dundalk, next to a “busy roundabout”. But the family was eventually shifted to Leitrim following public concern. Although closer, the move still meant Shamielah could no longer volunteer at the Kilnaleck café.

For Eugene, Shamielah’s story is another important reminder as to why community spaces like Súil Eile matter.

“We take a lot of kids from Drumlin House in Cootehill as well,” he says. “We’ve given opportunities to young people and to people who might have been out of work for quite some time. People need places like this to go to.”

‘Nothing like it’

Eugene believes Súil Eile has grown into far more than a café. It has become a meeting place where many traditional social spaces have otherwise disappeared.

Kilnaleck once boasted 14 pubs, two banks, a post office, two hardware stores, two butchers, a draper, a cobbler and a thriving weekly fair. Today, many of those businesses have since closed, leaving empty premises behind.

Súil Eile itself occupies a former hardware store and pub that had stood vacant for years before volunteers transformed it into a vibrant community hub. Eugene fears it could once again fall silent without vital volunteer support.

The café hosts Irish language gatherings, knitting groups, community meetings and cultural events. Profits are reinvested locally, funding projects including a community garden and providing thousands of euro in Gaeltacht bursaries for young people.

That impact saw the café as Best Newcomer in Cavan at the Irish Restaurant Awards in 2022, and reach the final in the Best Not For Profit category at The Anglo-Celt Cavan Business and Tourism Awards in 2025.

“There’s nothing like it in Kilnaleck,” Eugene says. “We’re a real success story in that sense. All the profits go back into the community again. It would be a shame to close.”

Lasting legacy

Súil Eile was founded by Eugene, his late partner Monica McCormick and local businessman Eugene Kiernan, with the aim of creating a welcoming space where people could meet, speak Irish, support local talent and reconnect.

Monica remained the driving force behind the café even while battling illness, and Eugene says her influence continues to shape everything it does.

“Monica was incredible,” he says. “She had the personality as well. After she passed away everybody was really upset. She kept everything moving.

“Then it was left to me. We still had two or three volunteers, but then they all disappeared.”

Despite the challenges, and pressure, Eugene insists he has no intention of giving up.

“I’m not stopping,” he says. “I’m going to keep it open. It kills me because I think it is important in the community.”

A recent appeal for volunteers posted on the café’s Facebook page by local artist and supporter Michelle Harton has already attracted two expressions of interest, but Eugene says many more people are needed to secure the café’s future.

He is appealing to anyone who can spare a “few hours each week” to join the team.

Without that support, he believes Kilnaleck would be “losing far more than a café”.

Súil Eile Community Café is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact the café directly or get in touch through its social media channels.