Jailhouse lock now used at pawnshop

December 1978

In a part of Wexford town abounding in historical significance, Coffey’s pawn shop in George’s Street has its own little piece of history. The lock on the shop’s sturdy door and the key that seventy-year-old Davy Tobin opens it with every morning come from the old Wexford Jail, which is in the County Hall.

The shop can also lay claim to fame in other ways: it is the last pawn shop in Wexford, one of very few remaining in the country outside of Dublin, and the building itself must be one of the oldest in town, with names and dates scribbled on the walls and ceiling going back to the early nineteenth century.

When Wexford Jail was dismantled early this century, the lock and key, thought to have come from one of the cells, came into the possession of Murtagh Parle, a carpenter with Sinnotts (where Woolworth’s is now), and father of Mr. Willie Parle, undertaker.

He gave it to Robert Coffey, who had established a business in South Main Street in 1896. And from then until February of this year, it remained on the shop in Main Street. But earlier this year, the pawn shop was broken into, and Mr Herbert Coffey, son of Robert Coffey, transferred the lock and key to George’s Street. And by doing so, probably made the pawnshop the safest lock-up premises in town.

Mr Coffey is convinced it is one of the strongest locks about: ‘Anything old was made to last. It is a sturdy lock and it is still in perfect condition,’ he said.

Davy Tobin in the pawn shop would go along with that. It has not tarnished or rusted even though it is over one hundred years old, and it turns and opens for him first time each morning. In a shop full of old and interesting items, it is perhaps the oldest and most interesting of all.

There is, however, one slight problem with the key. Its sheer size means it does not fit on most key rings and it is also difficult to fit in a trouser pocket too!