John Nolan to retire after 41 years in Gorey
It is the end of an era for Gorey town as household business John Nolan is closing its doors at the end of the month.
John and his wife Irene ran the business in Gorey for 41-years and have decided to shut-up-shop and retire.
The couple will rent out the property, which is situated at 88 Main Street, to Byrnes Bookshop. The Bookshop will move from their current premises at 39/40 Main Street.
‘I will definitely miss it,’ said John. ‘I have been in the trade for over 50 years now. I will miss talking to people and the old routine of getting up in the morning to come to work.’
John got a taste for the trade in 1967 when he first worked in Kelly’s drapery shop, which is now occupied by Murt Walsh clothing shop at 75 Main Street.
‘We opened our first shop in 1968 at 84 Main Street, but we did not settle there at all and have actually moved our business around the town quite a bit,’ said John.
In 1984, the couple bought what was known as The Arcade, but decided to sell the premises to Heatons in 2006. They then made the move to 85/86 Main Street and sold this to local businessman Sean Doyle. Boots and the Book Café now occupy this space.
John said they bought the current property in 2006, and redeveloped it by knocking the wall down to extend the business out the back.
‘We opened on July 4, 2007,’ said John. ‘And how I remember that is because it was the very same day as the opening of the by-pass.’
A lot of major changes happened within the 41 years of business, but John said they have all had a positive impact on him.
‘The best thing that ever happened for us was the construction of the by-pass and the installation of pay parking,’ added John.
John and Irene said they will close their doors for the final time at the end of May. In the meantime, they will only open Thursday, Friday and Saturday for their closing down sale.