Sadness as traditional newsagents closes doors

It was the end of an era in Kells last week when one of the town's oldest businesses closed its doors for the last time. While Crosby's was the name over the door, the landmark newsagents on Farrell Street is still known as Larrissey's shop to the locals. Proprietor Dorothy Donegan has run the shop for the past 30 years and the business has been in her family for as long back as anyone can remember. Owned by her aunt, Frances Tormey, the shop passed to Mrs Donegan on her aunt's death in the 1960s and was rented to Adi Crosby, whose name remains above the door. After this, the shop was rented to Paddy Larrissey, who ran the shop until his death in 1980, and the shop is still known locally to many people as Larrissey's. Mrs Donegan worked in the shop with Paddy and took over running of the premises after his death. The listed facade has remained a constant fixture in the streetscape of Kells and generations of local people have bought their newspapers, cigarettes and cards in the store. Mrs Donegan's son, Eddie, explained that the shop has been in the family as long as anyone can remember. Indeed, he estimates that the shop has been there since the 1800s and was originally a coachworks. Mrs Donegan worked alongside Mary Fitzpatrick (nee Sherry) for many years. Eddie Donegan explained that she made the difficult decision to close the shop when the time came for Mary to retire. "The decision came when Mary wanted to retire and my mother couldn't run the shop on her own, and nobody could replace Mary in the shop, so she decided it was time to hang up the boots," he said. "My mother worked seven days a week without holiday since she joined Paddy in 1977. People who knows her know she is up at 5.30am in the morning to sort out the papers and would not leave until the Lotto had finished in the evenings. She was a very hard worker," he added. Eddie said that people coming into the shop would tell you that Mrs Donegan could add up a bill in her head quicker than any cash register and work out the correct change. Over the years, Mrs Donegan has also been on the Winning Streak programme several times with customers who purchased winning National Lottery scratch cards in the shop. Originally from Dublin, Mrs Donegan used to visit her Aunt Frances and had been coming to Kells since she was a young child. It was at a crossroads dance that she met her husband, Tommy Donegan, from Moynalty. Mrs Donegan has run the shop for more than 30 years and Tommy, who was a carpenter, helped run the shop following his retirement until he passed away four years ago. Eddie also recalled that his father was always the first point of call for strangers coming into the town to find out about the area or to look up their relations and ancestors. After a lifetime's association with the shop, it was a difficult and emotional decision for the Donegans to close up but Mrs Donegan particularly wanted to thank the people of Kells for their kindness and support over the years. She said it had always been a pleasure to serve them and she always enjoyed working there. Mrs Donegan also thanked Mary for her support over the years. Local Cllr Tommy Grimes said it was a sad day for Kells to see Larrissey's shop closing. "I remember Paddy Larrissey's shop as a gasún. This is a sad occasion for the town," he said. Cllr Brian Curran said the shop was an institution in the town and he, too, was sad to see it close.