What’s in a name? Quite a lot when it comes to O’Donnell’s Furniture Store

WHEN Denis O’Donnell reached the point in life where he decided to open his own furniture store, it was a decision made a little easier by the fact he received the best training anyone in the trade could hope for. A household name in the furniture business for over 50-years, Denis O’Brien’s Furniture Store in New Street is the longest serving furniture store in Killarney and it was here that young Denis O’Donnell first started pottering around the plush suites and tall furniture stacks from the tender age of 6 helping his uncle while also - perhaps unknowingly at the time - learning the ropes. Denis would eventually go on to work in Denis O’Brien’s for 19-years and the rest, as they say, is history.

“The whole family aspect of my business on the Cork Road is important to me as my uncle Denis spent half a century selling furniture in Killarney and it was here that I learned my trade and my brother Seamus is now running the show there. You can’t buy that kind of experience and it’s something I’m proud to be able to add to my new business,” Denis said.

Denis opened O’Donnell’s Furniture Store on the Cork Road just over a year ago and customers are gradually starting to make that link between ‘O’Donnell and O’Brien’ when it comes to knowhow in the furniture trade. But it hasn’t always been that easy, as Denis jokingly recalls.

“My mother is Denis’s sister and for years in the Killarney shop everyone just assumed my surname was O’Brien and it wasn’t until I got married that everyone suddenly realised my name was actually O’Donnell. I suppose you could say O’Donnell’s Furniture Store is an extension of Denis O’Brien’s Furniture Store in Killarney.”

Denis is keen to maintain this special bond between both stores as family run businesses are more important than ever with customers seeking that sense of closeness, continuity and reassurance when doing business. But it’s not just about sentiment at O’Donnell’s Furniture Store as they’re equally committed to supplying a high range of quality suites, bedding, timber flooring, carpets, bedroom furniture and occasional pieces. “I’m a year into the business here on the Cork Road and we cover all Kerry, Cork and Limerick, predominately, and also further afield.

“There’s been a few tough years for businesses everywhere but there are signs of recovery and I just saw an opportunity out here and decided to go for it. But I must emphasise that I got a good grounding in the trade from my uncle Denis, so making that leap into opening a new shop has been one very much done with the full support

Denis O Donnell, Proprietor, O Donnell’s Furniture and Flooring, Cork Road, Killarney with his wife Joanne and children Luke and Adam.

Denis O Donnell showing customer Breda Cronin a 3 piece fabric suite at O Donnell’s Furniture and Flooring , Cork Road, Killarney.

Denis O Donnell showing customer John Lynch a selection of bedding at O Donnell’s Furniture and Flooring, Cork Road, Killarney.