As one of Cork’s oldest menswear stores, Con Murphys, announced this week that it would cease trading after close to a century in operation on St Patrick’s Street, it joins a growing list of iconic family-owned businesses that have closed up shop in the city in recent years.

At least seven long-running family ventures have disappeared from Cork’s streetscape in the last five years, from Con Murphys and Oliver Plunkett St’s Household Linens within the past month, to the closure of independent bookstore Liam Ruiséal’s and sports shop Finn’s Corner before the onset of the pandemic.

Other much-beloved family businesses that have faded away from the city’s main thoroughfares include Bresnan’s Butchers, which was up until last year the longest continuously running stall in the English Market; Finbarr Cahill’s Menswear, as the Cahills left their city centre location on Oliver Plunkett St in February 2020; and John O’Flynn & Sons Butchers which closed its doors on Marlboro St for the last time in January of this year.

As was the case for Con Murphy’s son Neil, who took over the family business with his brothers in 1978, sometimes a family name ceases trading as there is simply no next generation to carry the torch.

President of Cork Business Association, and himself at the helm of a family business started by his parents, Kevin Herlihy says that succession is always something at the back of a family business person’s mind.

“Every business is facing challenges today, no more so than ourselves,” he said. 

Inflation is absolutely crippling, the cost of buying goods for resale is gone through the roof, then, of course, the energy crisis is there, and the rates which the government eased off on during covid are all back and we’re paying them full whack again.

“So it’s not just family businesses that are facing issues, it’s every business… but succession is certainly something that is in the back of every family business person’s mind. I suppose it’s a fact of life really. If there is no interest from the next generation or there is no next generation, then unfortunately the family business has no choice but to close up,” he added.

However, the changing nature of retail poses challenges for more traditional businesses which have survived through generations – until the dawn of the internet and the increasing dominance of supermarket giants.

One of the country’s oldest independent bookshops Liam Ruiséal’s was driven to closure in 2018, only a year after the family celebrated a century of doing business in Cork city. The family cited competition from online retailers and larger chains, as well as the economic downturn, as challenges that were too difficult to overcome.

Household Linens owners Joe and Norma Cotter, and Simon O’Flynn of John O’Flynn & Sons Butchers, also both cited the changing nature of retail as reasons that contributed to their closure.

CBA President Kevin Herlihy agrees that while footfall in the city centre is “very good”, more niche family businesses that traditionally had a strong flow of business in the city are struggling to compete with bigger players.

“That’s certainly the case that that’s happened, if you look at the likes of Liam Ruiséals, and you had O’Flynn’s butchers on Marlboro St, these are all people that it was just not feasible for them anymore to continue,” he said.

“Certain businesses that have specific niche products like butchers, the supermarkets are obviously a big competitor to those people that are selling those type of products,” he added.

Liam Ruiséal’s

A haven for history fanatics, a treasure trove of rare books, and fondly remembered by those who crossed its threshold for crisp new schoolbooks each August, Liam Ruiséal’s closed its doors in 2018 after more than a century in business.

As one of the oldest independent bookshops in the country, the Ruiséal family carved out a reputation for specialising in local history, Irish history, educational, and rare books, and were renowned for creative window displays.

Shop founder, Liam Ruiséal, a lifelong Irish republican and Irish language enthusiast, was born in Cork’s South Parish in November 1891. After finishing school in 1907, he got a job in Con O’Keeffe’s bookshop on George’s St, now Oliver Plunkett St.

With financial backing from his father, Liam Ruiséal opened the Fountain Bookshop on Grand Parade in 1916, with his future wife Bríd Dixon. During the subsequent years of turbulence as the country struggled for independence, the shop was frequently raided by the Royal Irish Constabulary.

Mr Ruiséal closed that bookshop and relocated the business to Oliver Plunkett St in 1929, extending into an adjoining unit in 1966. He would continue to work in the bookshop until three weeks before his death on October 26, 1978, aged 87.

When the famous store was forced to close in 2018, the family said that trading as a small independent bookseller became too difficult due to increased competition from online retailers and large retail chains, with the economic downturn at the time also being a contributing factor.

At the time, local historian Diarmuid Ó Drisceoil described Liam Ruiséal’s as being as iconic to book lovers as the English Market is to people interested in food.

“People in Cork have a great attachment to it. For people interested in books, Liam Ruiséal’s is kind of like their spiritual home,” he said.

In 2021, planning was granted to convert the Oliver Plunkett St building into a health food store and café, as another Cork family business Here’s Health purchased the building and indicated that they planned to completely renovate the interior.

However, the landmark city centre building currently remains boarded up, with the Ruiséal name painted in Celtic script slowly fading.

Finn’s Corner

Formerly Finn’s Corner, the prime retail spot at the junction of Washington St and Grand Parade was associated with the Finn family for over 140 years, including former Irish and Munster rugby international Moss Finn.

The clothing and retail company sold sports gear, school uniforms and clothing for a variety of trades and professions – and had star studded clientele.

Among its claims to fame were the sale of denim jeans to local blues and rock guitar legend Rory Gallagher and the supply of out-size boots to former New Zealand rugby great, All Black Jonah Lomu, when sports giant Adidas ran out of pairs his size.

Founded by Drinagh draper William Thomas Finn in 1878, the iconic shop was passed down through four generations of Finns, to brothers Moss and Will Finn, who eventually closed up shop in 2020, after the building was put up for sale the previous August.

The Finn brothers were known for having rugby in their blood from 'Pres' school days, while the well-known Moss Finn was the youngest member of the Munster team which famously beat the All Blacks, to a score of 12-0, in 1978 in Thomond Park.

As the ‘Closing Down Sale’ banners were put up, the brothers noted that business was still brisk and could have continued, but the pair were reaching retirement age.

However, the closure of the long-established independent family business coincided with a growing high street presence of big international sports retail chains such as Lifestyle Sports, which opened a 20,000 sq ft store in the Capitol building in 2017 directly across the road from Finn’s Corner.

Finn’s Corner has a long history, with parts of the 6,000 sq ft building date to the 19th century. It was once the Crystal Palace Ballroom, while Irish nationalist Charles Stewart Parnell once addressed a city rally from the upper floor of Finn's Corner.

The prime corner unit is now set to become an apartment block, with a café/restaurant installed on the first two floors. A company called Patricks Unity Ltd is behind the development, which was given the green light by Cork City Council in April 2021.

John O’Flynn & Sons Butchers

Master butchers John O’Flynn & Sons had been a fixture of Marlboro St since 1981, and were famed for the top class meat and service they offered Corkonians for 70 years.

It all began in the English Market, where Michael Bresnan, rearing his own cattle on his farm in Ballinlough, opened his stall in 1898 (also recently closed after 124 years in business).

John O’Flynn married Michael’s daughter Sheila and began their business in the English Market during the Second World War. They moved after the fire of 1980 to settle at 36 Marlboro St, where they found home in the brightly painted store with tall curved windows – and a suspension bolt high on its wall showing where the trams used to run through.

Brothers Simon and Patrick both completed their seven year apprenticeships in their father’s store, and the ‘Sons’ of John O’Flynn & Sons Butchers both served over 60 years behind the counter, before eventually hanging up their aprons in January of this year.

Known for more than just their specialised spice beef, Kaisler, and handmade sausages, the O’Flynn’s were famed across Cork for the familial chat and good humour that the doled out generously across the counter.

The O’Flynns were also lucky in their staff, with employees Tom Collins and Jackie Falvey serving 40 and 20 years respectively, and warmly appreciated by customers.

The shop itself is steeped in history, its first iteration was Cunningham’s, the pawn shop where James Joyce’s father pawned his false teeth. Then was Picket’s the wig makers, followed by Fallon’s Bookshop, before the O’ Flynn’s took up residence in 1981.

As brothers Simon and Patrick reached retirement age, there was no family successor to take over the Marlboro St stronghold – the building was put up for sale in January, and the O’Flynns hung up their knives for the last time.

At the time, Simon O’Flynn said he wasn’t sure he would advise anyone to take on a business like theirs in today’s climate.

"The business has changed, retail circumstances have altered considerably. We kept pace with the changes; even in the market we found ways to entice people in by offering special products,” he said.

The 3,040 sq ft Marlboro St unit remains on the market, advertised by Cohalan Dowling estate agents as a “revered part of Cork City’s retail history”, with a price tag of €425,000.