The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Door shuts for last time at An Cat Dubh
AFTER four decades behind the counter, Eamon and Valerie Houlihan closed the door for the last time on Friday on An Cat Dubh, the small country shop that has provided an invaluable service to the people of Ballyferriter and surrounding areas.
An Cat Dubh has been supplying everything from bacon to briquettes since Eamon and Valerie opened the shop in 1976 after returning from England where they had met and married. Ballyferriter was familiar territory for Eamon who was born and reared in nearby Baile an Rannaigh, but it was a whole new world for Valerie, a city girl from Manchester.
“There was a bit of culture shock alright, but people made me welcome and I love it here now. I couldn’t live anywhere else,” said Valerie.
The shop soon became a busy place, particularly on Tuesdays and Fridays which were dole day and pension day respectively. West Kerry in the 1970s was very different to what it is now. Back then it was a much more close-knit community; mass tourism was still unknown and holiday homes were few and far between. Looking back, Eamon and Valerie say that, ironically, there were far more permanent residents in West Kerry in the 1970s. “Now it’s full of houses and no people.”
They enjoyed the shop business and the interaction with all the locals and visitors that came with it over the years but they felt the time had come to step back and take life a little easier. It’s not that Eamon, who is also a part time farmer, expects to be idle, “but I might take a half day off once in a while,” he says.
“We met a lot of nice people and we appreciated their custom, and we had very loyal local customers as well, but after 40 years it was time to call it a day,” said Eamon.
On Friday when the shop finally closed there were bouquets of flowers on the counter and a constant flow of neighbours and customers calling in to offer their best wishes to Eamon and Valerie and to thank them for their years of service to the community. But while the shop is now closed people will be glad to know that the home fuel delivery service for coal, gas, logs and briquettes will continue as before. Contact 087 2063962