SADNESS AT CLOSURE OF SKEHEENARINKY SHOP
It was with a heavy heart that Mary and John O’Gorman closed the doors to their business in Skeheenarinky on Friday evening last, March 18. The family run foodstore and filling station had provided a service to locals and passing motorists for seventeen years since 1994.
The once thriving service station filled up many a car with fuel en route to a hurling match in Thurles and passing motorists would stop off for a cold drink or an ice cream on a scorching summer’s day.
The shop was also a meeting point for locals that would pop in for the daily newspaper, a loaf of bread and a maybe even a bit of banter with Bernie and Mary.
ANOTHER DECISION
The opening of the M8 motorway had a huge affect on the business, as passing trade became almost non existent which forced Mary and John to stop selling fuel before Christmas, as it simply wasn’t paying them. Now, three months later, they had to make another decision, this time, to close their doors for good.
“It is very sad to have to close but we just couldn’t continue, the overheads were too high and the business just wasn’t there to pay the bills. We relied heavily on passing trade and the motorway took that away. Truckers used to stop off for breakfast, now a lot of them have gone out of business themselves,” Mary O’Gorman told The Avondhu.
“We would like to thank all our customers since the very first day we opened up for business. We had a lot of tears on our last day, and we also had a lot of good wishes, chocolates and cards which was nice,” Mary concluded.
Now the shop sits in darkness, its once busy forecourt empty. The convenient local shop is no longer on the doorstep for Skeheenarinky people, and it’s only now that it’s gone that people may realise what they have lost. Regrettably, it is too late for O’Gorman’s Foodstore.
Published:
Monday 28th March 3:30pm
