14 premises up for sale in town

June 1982

IS DROGHEDA for sale? It looks like it indeed. Not only has almost the entire business street completely changed hands during the past 30 years but the sales are still going on. In the central business part of the town some 14 premises are there for buying.

The latest on the list is Bellews two shops—flowers, seeds, etc.—a business started by the late Kit Bellew many years ago and taken over by his brother, Joe, after the founder’s death.

Then we have a very old business house just sold. This is (at time of writing) that of Mrs. Mary Claire Flynn; a licensed premises which was formerly also a grocery shop in Magdalene Street, then belonging to her uncle, Laurence Branigan. There were two Branigan pubs in the same street years ago known as the Top Shop and the Bottom Shop. The upper one (now a confectionery shop) belonged to Mrs. Flynn’s father, Dan Branigan, a member of Drogheda Corporation.

Then out the countryside there are other very old landmarks for sale. Kiltallaght House between Clogher and Dunleer is one and Beltichburne Cottage (as it was humbly called) is the other. The first was the home of the late Peter Gannon, once a famous racing cyclist, and later the residence of his nephew the present Circuit Court Judge Frank Roe.

The long one-storey house at Beltichburne has changed hands many times in the last half century. It was lived in for many years ago by a family named McCullagh; then people called Reilly from Athboy who ran a dairy farming business, and later another McCullough (no relationship) of Galbraiths’ connection.