D. Fitzgibbon, McCurtain St., Fermoy, Co. Cork

This is a beautiful old Pubfront comprising timber pilasters flanking openings, with timber fascia hand painted lettering, and cornice above, and square-headed plate-glass display window with timber sill. Square-headed door opening with timber panelled double doors and overlight.

Also interesting to see the original Guineess Signage still in place in the window and above the shopfront. These signs are quite rare today and Guinness have even started to re-produce new versions of these quite recently. 

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Skibbereen, Co. Cork

The Clerke family (pronounced Clarke) has run this shop in the county Cork market town of Skibbereen since 1951. Known for its delicately lettered facade, the outlet stocks homemade marmalade. ‘Large supermarkets have taken away some of our business,’ owner Lillian Clerke says of shops like Lidl and Aldi.

The simple proportions of this façade are animated by the variety of well-crafted timber windows and the skilfully executed shopfront, which survives largely intact and includes interior shop furniture. This a pleasing example of its type, retaining all its early character and form. The survival of such commercial premises is becoming increasingly rare in Irish townscapes.

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F. O'Dea, Kinvarra, Co. Galway 

F. O'Dea's grocers and bar located on the main road through Kinvara, this substantial building retains much of its form and fabric, including its timber sliding sash windows. The shopfront to the ground floor adds context to the structure and is also evidence of the simple elegance in local craftsmanship, both in its timber construction and ceramic lettering, adding decorative interest.

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Foxes, Nass, Co. Kildare

Foxe’s shop at South Main Street sold clothing, mainly for women and young children since the 1930s.

Foxe’s also used to sell funeral habits. The store was well known to generations of older people and it came from a time when retailers were independent traders rather than franchise operators of well known brand names.

It was set up by Ann Rochford and later taken over by Mary Foxe, whose husband Michael was an undertaker at nearby Fairgreen. Mrs. Foxe died in 1983 and the business was then run by Mary Fitzsimons

Despite a recovering economy, some family-owned businesses find it hard to compete with shopping centres. With its 1960s mosaic tiles and raised red lettering, Foxes drapery was once a fixture on the main street of Naas, County Kildare – a town now considered part of the Greater Dublin area. It shuttered in 2017.

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Brooks & Co., Baggot St., Dublin 2

Brooks & Co. shopfront has been a feature of the streetscape since the mid-1800s, when a “chemists, druggists, varnish, oil, colour, and glass merchants” was run from the premises. The pharmacy subsequently traded under Brooks & Co before being assumed in the late 1800s by Mr RJ Downes, the notable president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, who operated it as The Fitzwilliam Pharmacy.

Inside, dark wooden pharmacy fittings date from the mid-1800s and the visitor is immediately transported to the Victorian era. This is an authentic period shop where IT has yet to register a presence. Brooks & Co was run until recently by antiques dealer Pat Ryan who was often found next to the ground- floor fireplace chatting with clients.

If ever there was a place where time has stood still, it’s the Brooks & Co shop. The timber structure, from the early 1800s, is in a modest Dutch Billy style, with a handsome shopfront adorned with gold-leaf signage.

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Cleary's bar, Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare

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Frank's, Frederick Street North, Dublin 1

Frank’s shop of oddities sits on a particularly wide footpath on North Frederick Street, and the shop opens out onto half of the path’s width, merging with the street without any obstruction.

The relationship to the street seems to fit well with the market-like nature of the shop, with the possibility of finding anything and everything, and getting a good bargain out of it too. there’s something about the relatively limited colour palette (red, yellow, black, white) and the sheer relentlessness in the signage that makes it a visually exciting landmark as the north city draws a little bit apart from the core of the city centre. 

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Frank's Pork Shop, Camden Street Lower, Dublin 2

One of the few remaining butchers on Camden st Frank’s butchers specialises in pork and bacon. It has a very limited amount of other produce which is extremely rare in todays market.

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M.T. Moriarty, Dingle, Co. Kerry

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John Delaney, Tullahought, Co Kilkenny

Built in 1914-16 with its unpolished wooden cornice and elegant Victorian ornamental gilded serif lettering, John Delaney’s bar looks unassuming – but it’s known throughout County Kilkenny for hosting lively traditional music sessions. Open for just two days of the week, it has remained largely unchanged for decades. Back in the day this was a typical country pub/shop with everything from mop heads, clothes, shoes and bacon hanging from the ceiling. Outside there were rings in the wall where men coming back from the creamery in Windgap would tie their horses/donkeys while having a quick bottle of Guinness. The owner then the late Jimmy Delaney was a well known musician in the area and there were great sessions there and dancing.

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P. Larkin, Waterford City

Michael Griffin – who owns this butchers shop – stopped selling meat in 1983, when Ireland joined the EU. The quality of meat declined according to Mr. Griffin, so he stopped selling it. According to a newspaper article in the Waterford News & Star of August 3, 2007 – visible in the shop window – Mr. Griffin said: “The farming community sold out to the EU and the quality of meat and farm produce has suffered because of it. The EU is built on corruption and fraud. Farmers are living on handouts from EU instead of fostering a vibrant agricultural business in Ireland.” 
Nevertheless the shop opened every day as a meeting place for friends to call in for a chat and a chinwag up until 2014 when Mr. Griffin shut the front door for the final time.

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B. Corcoran Ltd., Wexford

B.Corcoran Ltd, menswear, formal hire specialists, made to measure tailoring. Established in 1956, we are a family business offering the finest range of quality menswear in Wexford.

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J&K Walsh, Great George’s St., Waterford

This fully preserved and original Victorian Family Grocers & Bar located in the heart of Waterford City was established in 1899 and remains unchanged since then. Outside of the capital city this is one of the most fully intact examples of its kind in Ireland and perhaps the finest.

Packed full of original Victorian features a visit to JK's, as it's affectionately known, is as much a visual treat as it is a much needed break from the demands of modern life. Sit in the snug and order through the hatch JK's Victorian house tea & coffee from the original grocery or have a pint of beer in the once men's-only bar, uniquely served in old 1950's glassware and poured from original 1960's beer taps; when draught beer was first introduced in Ireland.

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Dunne's, Main Street, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim

Built around 1830, the traditional shopfront on this former jewellers shop is a fine example of a Victorian commercial premises.

The building was acquired by John Dunne, a watchmaker, in the 1920’s. John is reputed to have learned his trade from observing a German refugee watchmaker who had moved into a nearby building in the town.

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D. Breen, Kilmihil, Co. Clare

Establishment and bar at Kilmihil, County Clare.

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Greehy, Bar Lounge & Grocers, Lismore, Co. Waterford

Bridget Greehy used to bottle her own Guinness out the back of her bar in Lismore. While this combination pub and grocery shop shut down in 2003 after 50 years of service, the owners keep the window displays – now part of their home – as they would have appeared in the mid-20th century.

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Hanley's Pub, Emly, Co. Tipperary

The county Tipperary town of Emly was busy in the 1950s – as was the Hanley family pub. Monthly fairs saw main street packed with locals and visitors alike. But when the village train station shut down in 1963, things got a little quieter. Today, the Hanleys use the bar as a storage space for headstones, but make sure to keep the former pub’s facade freshly painted.

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Olden, Barrack Street, Cappoquin, Co. Waterford

Built c.1860, this is an attractive, well-proportioned building, purpose-built to accommodate a commercial use to ground floor with residential accommodation over.

Very well maintained, the building presents an original aspect with important salient features and materials intact, including a fine rendered shopfront of considerable design merit incorporating cast-iron cresting to the cornice.

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J.S. Murray, Knockcroghery, Co. Roscommon

One of the few buildings of Knockcroghery village to have survived the Black & Tans raid of June 1921, in which almost the entire village was set alight in a reprisal attack. This building was constructed during the 1840's and is a protected structure along with its shopfront.

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Power’s Plumbers, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford

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The Star, Rosscarbery, Co. Cork

This well-maintained house and former public house owned by the Hayes family of no.1 Chapel Street, retains much of its historic character and form. Built in 1899, the historic features, including timber sash windows, render shopfront and render detailing contribute to both the building and the streetscape.

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Fleming, Ferbane, Co. Offaly

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Loughlin’s, Goran, Co. Kilkenny

The Loughlin family kept the elegant sign on the front of their former Gowran, county Kilkenny store when they incorporated it into their home several decades ago. Their bright pink house is a protected structure dating from the 1850s which – despite 1900 and 1975 adjustments – hasn’t changed too much over the decades.

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O'Connell, Emly, Co. Tipperary

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Hall's, Skibbereen, Co. Cork

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J. McGing, Westport, Co. Mayo

McGings, the oldest public house in Westport, is an olde-world establishment. Originally a family-run business with a shop out front and a pub to the rear. The business was synonymous with fair and market days in Westport in times gone by, when droves of people converged on High Street.

John McGing, the establishment’s long-term landlord, retired from his family’s business on High Street in 2004 when the premises was taken over by Anthony and Claire Finnegan. To this day the exterior retains its original colours and look, and internally the pub retains the authentic Irish atmosphere.

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K. Doyle, Errigal Road, Drimnagh, Dublin 12

This is a beautiful Art Deco style shopfront based in Drimnagh, Dublin. K. Doyle is a greengrocers, with its lettering set on a mint green band over the lower black tiles.

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Lawless, Strokestown, Co. Roscommon

The contrasting Vitrolite, tiles and metallic dressings create an attractive shopfront design. Once common throughout Irish towns these shopfronts are becoming increasingly rare and the survival of this example is particularly notable as the structure is no longer used as a shop.

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Maloney, Slane, Co. Meath

Maloney’s pub is a fine example of a simple rendered façade, elegant fenestration and a modest timber shop front, common to most Irish towns of this period.

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Mooney’s pub, Abbeyleix, Co. Laois

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P. Healy, Post Office, Prosperous, Co. Kildare

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Carroll's Grocers & Off Licence, Kells, Co. Meath

These ceramic letters with marble effect are not usually seen in this part of the country. Speaking with the shop owner, he confirmed that his father had bought the ceramic letters from a Scottish company back in the 1950s and that they were extremely expensive at the time. They are quite heavy so the shipping costs were high too! These type of ceramic letters are seen a lot in the South West of Ireland so it was unusual to see them in Kells.

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Geraghty's, Main Street, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim

Geraghty’s music and souvenir shop, started off life as a bar and evolved to sell all manner of items from bicycles, to fishing tackle and musical instruments and pottery. The building dates back to the 1800s with its intricate mosaic exterior dating back to the 1950s.

The pub is now closed but the shop is still a favourite with visitors to the town.

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Hanlons Grocers, Bar & Lounge, Mountmellick, Co. Laois

Hanlon’s shop on O’Moore Street in Mountmellick is part of the fabric and folklore of the town. It has been a hub of activity since the 1940s, with customers enjoying the discreet lounge at the back of the shop up until recent times.

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Syron's, Ballina, Co. Mayo

Maureen and Martin Syron were the proprietors of Syron’s shop on Teeling Street for many years.

Maureen upon marriage to Martin in 1955 had to give up her job, as was the custom at the time, but saw this as an opportunity to purchase a shop on Teeling St. and Syron’s was born.

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A. Talty's Grocers, Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare

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E. O'Ceallait, Virginia, Co. Cavan

Older businesses often use the Irish language form of their owner’s name, instead of the English version used by newer ones. Such is the case with the O’Ceallait family (or Kellet) of Virginia, County Cavan, who ran a bicycle-repair shop before shutting it down and incorporating the storefront into a residential space.

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L. Mullins Bar & Grocers, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny

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Muldoon’s Drapers, Kells, Co. Meath

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P. Frawley's bar, Lahinch, Co. Clare

Publican Tom Frawley first served customers in the family-run PJ Frawleys, in 1928, when he was only nine years old. Taking over the business upon the death of his mother in 1961, Tom, a bachelor, continued to run the pub into his 90th year.

The interior of the tiny pub, which doubled as a grocery shop, barely changed in its 138-year history. Tom refused to install a till, preferring to record everything by pen and paper. The legend of Tom Frawley lives on in the memories of all who visited him in his quaint little pub.

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M. Kearney's Butchers, John St., Waterford

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Lehane’s Garage, Cappoquin, Co. Waterford

The still-operational family garage opened in 1949 and has mostly remained unchanged to date.

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M. Kerfoot, Cappoquin, Co. Waterford

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Norman Walsh MIAVI Auctioneer & Valuer, Aidan Walsh & Sons Funeral Furnishers, Cappoquin Co. Waterford

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Cooney's shop, Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary

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Duignam's Gift Shop, Ballinasloe Co. Galway

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Dunne's Bakery, Callan, Co. Kilkenny

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Railway Bar, Banagher Co. Offaly

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Reilly's grocers, Sweets, Cigs & Ices, Kells, Co. Meath

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Carey, Skibbereen, Co. Cork

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J. Daly’s bar, Ballydehob, Co Cork

This is an absolute little gem of a pub. No Tv's, no radio just all chat with the lovely landlady Ina who is a wealth of local knowledge and such a friendly woman.

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M. Evans shop, Bantry, Co. Cork

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M. Minihan’s bar, Skibbereen, Co. Cork

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McCarthy, Ballydehob, Co. Cork

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Nolan, Union Hall, Co. Cork

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Clancy, Ennis, Co. Clare

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Larkin Bros. Victuallers, Meath St., Dublin 8

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Moran & Co. Footwear, Westport, Co. Mayo

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Sheeran’s shop, Mountrath, Co. Laois

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The Shoe Centre, Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary

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Wilson's camera shop, Ennis, Co. Clare

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T.J. O’Connell’s bar, Abbeyfeale, Co Limerick

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A.E. O'Donohue’s bar, Fenore, Co. Clare

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D. Ainsworth, Butcher, Killybegs, Co. Donegal

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Central Shoe Store, Thurles, Co. Tipperary

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Clancy’s bar, Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare

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Coleman Bros, Buttevant, Co. Cork

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D. Mac Cruitín, Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare

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Doran's Children's Wear, Mitchelstown, Co. Cork

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Mullaney Bros, 9 O’Connell Street, Sligo

Mullaney Brothers was established in 1909 when Michael Mullaney bought the existing business from White Brothers. Located in O’Connell Street in the heart of Sligo town, they specialise in sourcing quality international and Irish merchandise and design from t-shirts, scarves, sweater, coats and jackets, plus a range of linens for household and tabletop. The elegant shopfront consists of Burmese teak and mahogany incorporating awning, terminal consoles, recessed panelled pilasters, glass fascia containing recessed gold lettering and signed 'W M Costello and Sons, Quay St. Sligo.’ The entrance also consists of a unique fan style motif on the mosaic floor as well as a beautiful hand-painted deco lamp shade.

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M. Cosgrove & Son, Delicatessen, Market Street, Sligo

Cosgroves is one of the oldest shops in Sligo and originally opened its doors in 1898 as a restaurant/shop. The shop itself is like stepping back in time to a treasure trove of fine foods from around the world. The shop is also known as the first shop to sell ice cream in Sligo. The shopfront is a really well preserved late-nineteenth century shopfront that has been well maintained and evokes an earlier time. The hand-painted signage in a script style font on a red fascia is an invaluable part of Sligo's heritage shopfronts. This hand-painted signage is painted by local signwriter, Gerry McGarrigle, who has painted many shops across the north west of Ireland.

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Dwyer's Butchers, O'Connell Street, Ballymote, Co. Sligo

Built circa 1870, this carved timber shopfront with finely crafted glazed ceramic tiles preserves a shop type once central to the life of small Irish towns.

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Hargadon Bros bar, 4 / 5 O’Connell Street, Sligo

Walking off Sligo’s main shopping street into Hargadons is like taking a step back in time, as its delightful and charismatic interior is almost the same as when it first opened.

The present building situated at 4 & 5 O’Connell Street, Sligo was built in 1864 by Bernard Collery, a local merchant who was also a member of Sligo Town Council and a Member of Parliament representing Sligo.

The businesses carried on included general grocery and the retail and wholesale of beer, wine and spirits based in the cellars and bonded warehouse at the rear of the building.

After Mr. Collery’s death in 1909 the property was acquired by Messrs Patrick & Thomas Hargadon who gave the property its name. Acquired in 2006 by R. & E. Monahan as part of the development of the adjoining Johnston Court Shopping Mall, Hargadons has since been sensitively restored to its former glory while keeping its original architecture, fixtures and fittings, its ambience and eclectic atmosphere.

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