Clerys was a long-established department store on O'Connell Street in Dublin , Ireland , a focal point of the street. The business dates from 1853, however the current building dates from 1922, the original having been completely destroyed in the 1916 Easter Rising . Clerys completed a five-year restoration programme in 2004 at a cost of €24 million but went into receivership in 2012, and was sold. Under American ownership, it abruptly closed in 2015, and issues arose with staff and franchise holders over an extended period afterwards.
32-507: 53°20′57″N 6°15′35″W / 53.34917°N 6.25966°W / 53.34917; -6.25966 As of 2024, a renovation project has been underway for some years, converting the layout from that of a department store to that of various businesses operating under the same roof, including a hotel and multiple eating places. The launch of the new Clerys Quarter , as it is called, has been delayed multiple times, from autumn 2022, then spring 2023, autumn 2023 and Christmas 2023. Most recently
64-835: A chain of Irish department stores founded in June 1971. The chain specialises in homewares , menswear , womenswear and children's clothing. They have 11 stores in Ireland , located in Dublin , Limerick , Waterford , Castlebar , Tralee , Cork , Clonmel , Mullingar , Kilkenny , and, as of December 2018, one in Northern Ireland , at Castle Place in central Belfast . It is well known for having its two Dublin stores almost within sight of each other - one on North Earl Street and one on Talbot Street , two streets which run directly into each other, off O'Connell Street . The company
96-429: A common history until well into the 19th century, when their development diverged. In A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland , published in 1837, Blanchardstown is described as "a village [..] on the road to Navan, containing 57 houses and 342 inhabitants". In the late 1960s, the first housing estates began to be developed. During the 1970s and 1980s, the village and surrounding housing developments became subsumed into
128-588: A fashion-only outlet in The Square, Tallaght but this had already closed by the time of the 2012 receivership. The history of Clerys began in May 1853 when Mac Swiney, Delany and Co. opened ‘The New or Palatial Mart' on the site of the present store in what was then Sackville Street. In 1883, the premises was taken over and renamed by M. J. Clery (died 1896), a native of Bulgaden, County Limerick. William Martin Murphy
160-422: A nephew of Denis Guiney called Michael, who had been working as the buyer of household goods and furnishings at Clerys, before setting up his own Dublin store in 1971. Blanchardstown Blanchardstown ( Irish : Baile Bhlainséir ) is a large outer suburb of Dublin in the modern county of Fingal , Ireland. Located ten kilometres (6 mi) northwest of Dublin city centre, it has developed since
192-519: A number of association football (soccer) clubs in the area, including St. Mochta’s . St Brigid's Roman Catholic Church is situated behind Main Street at Church Avenue. The foundation stone for the church was laid on 13 October 1835 and the first Mass was celebrated there on 29 October 1837. The construction of the Church and its unusual Flemish spire was finally completed in 1863. In the 19th century,
224-557: A number of pubs, bars and hotels as well as Wowburger and Tower Records Ireland) announced that they would operate a boutique hotel, to be called The Clery, to include a rooftop bar and a restaurant. Work was due to begin in early 2019 and the launch of the Clerys Quarter has been announced and delayed multiple times. After delays related to COVID-19, it was ultimately scheduled to open for Christmas 2021, but in October 2021, this
256-463: A number of religious communities to provide for the education of Catholic children. St Brigid's Church, Blanchardstown – not to be confused with a church of the Church of Ireland in nearby Castleknock – was constructed in 1837 upon the foundation of a church that had been built prior to 1731. It is the mother church of 12 other churches constituted out of the parish over the following 156 years. For
288-490: Is forecast for March 2024. The Clerys commercial group eventually also included three "At Home With Clerys" homewares stores in out-of-town retail parks at Blanchardstown , Leopardstown and Naas ; and a more economic department store Guiney and Co. on Talbot Street, (a different company to the Michael Guineys chain) at 79-80 Talbot Street ; all of which closed during the 2012 receivership. There had formerly been
320-466: Is located in the area. The name Blanchardstown comes from the Blanchard family, who were granted their estate sometime between 1250 and 1260. The name 'Blanchard' is thought to come from the old French word 'blanch' meaning white, in turn potentially referring to white or fair hair. Blanchardstown is just outside Dublin's M50 motorway semi-ring road, slightly to the north of the tolled crossing of
352-568: Is served by a private bus company called AMC Ballycoolin, also known as Express Bus. Bus Éireann services pass through Blanchardstown on routes 105, 109 and 111. Connolly Hospital , one of Dublin's main hospitals, and a public university teaching hospital, is located in the area, as is the Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown. Local retail outlets include Blanchardstown Centre (a large retail shopping centre with over 180 stores), and WestEnd Shopping Park (a retail park located beside
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#1732797612831384-701: The Dublin–Navan railway line connects Docklands railway station to Hansfield and Dunboyne . Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead Ireland routes include 37, 38, 38A, 38B, 38D, 39, 39A, 40D, 70, 76A, 220, 236, 236A, 238, 270, L52, N4 and W4. Route 39A operates 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Nitelink bus route 70N also operates on Friday and Saturday nights to Dunboyne. Express bus routes include service from Aston Quay and from Coolmine Railway Station to Ballycoolin Industrial Estate. Ballycoolin Industrial Estate
416-558: The National Aquatic Centre , a major indoor aquatics facility with a 50m swimming pool, diving pool, leisure pool and aquapark, and fitness centre. The centre hosted the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games and a number of international swimming events since then. There are several GAA clubs in the Blanchardstown area, including St. Brigids, Castleknock and St. Peregrines, Clonsilla . There are also
448-714: The Republic of Ireland . A store was opened in Clonmel in December 2013 then the Mullingar and Kilkenny stores opened in 2015. The store that opened in December 2018 at Castle Place in central Belfast was the first Guiney's anywhere in the nine counties of Ulster , and is located in a 21,000 square feet (2,000 m ) unit which once housed a British Home Stores branch until August 2016. Michael Guiney came from Limerick and had been working for his uncle Denis Guiney as
480-603: The River Liffey . The core of the suburb is the townland of the same name, containing the village and the Roselawn housing area. It is bordered to the east by the suburb of Castleknock , to the west by Coolmine, which includes some areas, including the Blanchardstown Centre and surrounding retail parks, central to the district, and Clonsilla / Ongar , to the north by Tyrellstown and Hollystown, and to
512-527: The Roman Catholic parish of Blanchardstown encompassed much of the area now within the Dublin 15 postal district; some of the component areas were quite distinct from Blanchardstown but Catholic parishes had been merged during Penal Laws times. Following the relaxation of the Penal Laws, it became possible for Catholic adherents to consider the construction of additional churches and to repair
544-638: The statue of Jim Larkin ). "Under Clerys' clock" is a well-known rendez-vous , both for Dubliners, and visitors from the countryside, and is famous in the city's culture as a place where many romances begin. 1990, on the fiftieth anniversary of Denis Guiney taking over the store, a new clock was installed. Plans to redevelop the main Clerys building and adjoining properties into a mixed-use development of offices, retail and leisure called Clerys Quarter were announced, with to commence in 2019. Press Up Entertainment (run by Paddy McKillen Jr and Matt Ryan, and known for
576-511: The 1960s from a small village to a point where Greater Blanchardstown is the largest urban area in Fingal. It is within the historical barony of Castleknock in the traditional County Dublin , as well as the Dublin 15 postal area and the Dublin West electoral constituency. One of Ireland's largest shopping and leisure complexes — the Blanchardstown Centre and adjacent facilities —
608-513: The Apostle Primary School (Mountview). Second-level schools ( secondary schools ) serving the area include Blakestown Community School, Rath Dara Community College, Hartstown Community School , and Coolmine Community School. The Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown (part of TU Dublin ) is a third-level institution with a campus on Blanchardstown Road. The National Sports Campus is located in Blanchardstown and includes
640-893: The Blanchardstown Centre). The Crowne Plaza Hotel, northwest of the village, is located by the Blanchardstown Centre complex. There is a SuperValu outlet on Main Street. Blanchardstown has a large public library and is also home to the Draíocht Arts Centre. There is a large Garda station on Blanchardstown's main street. There are a number of primary schools ( national schools ) in Blanchardstown, including Scoil Bhríde (Cailiní) and Scoil Bhríde (Buacaillí) on Church Avenue, Sacred Heart of Jesus Primary School (Huntstown), Scoile Olilibheir (Coolmine), St Ciaran's Primary School (Hartstown), Mary Mother of Hope Primary School (Clonee), and St Phillip
672-595: The centre of the area, meandering to run just north of the village core, and then further north to pass the Connolly Memorial Hospital and then Abbotstown . The Royal Canal and the Dublin-Sligo railway line pass along the southern edge of Blanchardstown proper from east to west. Blanchardstown was a predominantly rural area, with a small village, in western County Dublin, alongside the neighbouring district of Castleknock. Both areas shared
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#1732797612831704-530: The complex, including a sports supply shop, is now due to open in March 2024. The Guiney & Co. building on Talbot Street remains closed as of 2023. Guiney and Co was Clerys' discount department store located at 79-80 Talbot Street, not far from one of the Michael Guineys Dublin stores at 83 Talbot St. Even though the two stores were run by separate companies, the latter chain was founded by
736-486: The existing stock of religious buildings. Church authorities used the opportunity to implement the Tridentine reform which saw the parish as the basic unit of ecclesiastical organisation and the parish priest as the central figure within the parish. The new parish priest of Blanchardstown in 1839, Fr Michael Dungan, oversaw the construction of a number of new churches, which today serve independent parishes, and invited
768-400: The purposes of elections to Dáil Éireann , Blanchardstown is part of the Dublin West constituency, which returns four TDs . For elections to Fingal County Council , the suburb is split between the two local electoral areas (LEAs) of Castleknock (which returns 4 councillors), and Mulhuddart (which returns 5 councillors). Guineys Guineys ( / ˈ ɡ aɪ n iː z / ), is
800-493: The south and south-east by Porterstown and Diswellstown. The stretch of suburban housing from Castleknock Way north to the Old Navan Road and Talbot Court, including Laurel Lodge, has an ambiguous status - all of it is in the townland of Blanchardstown. The townland has an area of over 454 acres and is within the historical Barony of Castleknock . The River Tolka , the second river of Fingal, and Dublin, runs through
832-439: The store’s future could be secured, and it did indeed operate for several years after this. Kieran Wallace and Eamonn Richardson were appointed joint provisional liquidators to OSC Operations Limited (the "Company") trading as Clerys, on 12 June 2015. The company ceased to trade with immediate effect. Staff were given 30 minutes' notice to pack up and leave, some having worked there for over 40 years. The Clerys operating business
864-412: The suburban fabric of Dublin. The Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown (ITB) was established in 1999 and, since amalgamation in 2019, is one of the three campuses of the new Technological University Dublin along with Grangegorman and Tallaght campuses. During the late 1990s a criminal gang from Blanchardstown, known as " The Westies ”, controlled the heroin trade in west Dublin. One of its leaders
896-558: Was also involved in the business. Clerys was bought out of receivership in 1941 by Denis Guiney (1893–1967) for £250,000. The receivers were Craig Gardner & Co. Denis Guiney died in 1967, and his widow Mary Guiney (née Mary Leahy) continued to be chairperson until her death on 23 August 2004 at the age of 103 years. Clerys was bought out by Gordon Brothers, and split into a property-holding and an operating company, after being placed in receivership on 17 September 2012; joint receivers Paul McCann and Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton said
928-509: Was moved to September 2022., with this blamed on "lockdowns and a shortage of labour and building supplies". In January 2022, this was revised to mid-2022, and then "for Christmas season 2022". In January 2023, an exhibition about the shop's history was held, as the building was stated to be "completed within weeks" and to open pre-summer. The opening was moved to autumn 2023, and it was later announced that it would launch ahead of Christmas 2023, with one food outlet actually opening. The next part of
960-654: Was registered on 4 June 1971 as Michael Guiney Limited . The chain was solely Dublin based until 1992 when a branch in Cork was opened. Other branches followed in Tralee and Waterford (2004). The Limerick store was opened in late 2004, occupying the long vacant anchor tenancy of what was previously the Williamscourt Mall on William Street. The Castlebar store opened in December 2008. Guiney's launched their online store in 2012 which delivers to homes and businesses in
992-633: Was shot in a pub in Blanchardstown in 2003, while others were killed in Spain in 2004. There are three Irish Rail railway stations in the wider Blanchardstown area: Castleknock , Coolmine and Clonsilla . Trains on the Maynooth/Longford line connect the city centre, at Dublin Connolly , Tara Street and Dublin Pearse stations, to Maynooth , Longford and Sligo . At Clonsilla station,
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1024-641: Was sold for €1, but the building, which was in a property holding company, was sold for €29 million to the Natrium Investment Group. Disputes with staff and franchise operators continued for several years. Paddy McKillen's Oakmount and Europa Capital coming on board to redevelop the site, and with architects Henry J Lyons trying to keep as much of the original design (based on Selfridges' in London) as possible. A large clock with two faces hangs above Clerys' central doors on O'Connell Street (opposite
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