Greystones Shops Still In The Moolah

You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone…

yclePlus, Insomnia and Bochelli’s might have shut up shop late last year, but Greystones is still one of the healthiest towns in Ireland when it comes to main street businesses.

According to the latest GeoDirectory’s Commercial Vacancy Rates Report issued this week, Greystones is sitting pretty at 7.3%.

Which is a little up from last year’s 5.5%, but then, we did just lose three shops, with one already sorted.

The only other Irish spot doing better with a 5.1% vacancy rate is Carrigaline, Co Cork. The flash fecks.

The overall commercial vacancy rate in Irish towns stood at 14.6% at the end of 2025, the highest rate since records began in 2013. In real terms, that’s 30,687 vacant commercial units across the country in December 2025.

Of the 80 main towns and urban areas surveyed by GeoDirectory, Shannon in Co. Clare had the highest commercial vacancy rate, at 34.5%. The poor fecks.

Behind them were last year’s lowest, Ballybofey in Co. Donegal, with a vacancy rate of 33.6%, followed by Boyle, Roscommon (29.8%), Sligo Town (26.4%) and Letterkenny in Donegal (26.2%).

A town with an overwhelmingly services-driven economy, services account for 56.2% of all occupied commercial units in Greystones – the highest in Leinster – while retail and wholesale businesses make up just 18.3%, the joint‑lowest in the province.

This unusually low retail footprint highlights Greystones’s identity as a growing commuter town with a strong professional and lifestyle‑service base rather than a traditional shopping town.

The town’s health sector accounts for 12.1% of commercial units, above the county and national averages, while construction (1.7%) and industry (1.4%) are minimal, highlighting the near‑absence of industrial activity. Financial services (5.5%) and public administration (2.4%) make up the remaining sectors.

Dara Keogh, CEO of GeoDirectory, said of the findings, “The continued upward trajectory of commercial vacancy rates, which remains at an all-time high of 14.6%, is an indicator of several economic factors which have been developing for a number of years.

“This includes the increased penetration of online shopping and commerce, along with remote working trends, the changing needs of businesses and consumers, and the subsequent impact on commercial property, should be closely considered to ensure the best utilisation of these spaces in the future.”

So, use it before you lose it, kids. And start moaning on the Greystones Open Farm.

You can check out our full-ish list of Greystones shops and eateries right about here.