Edwards & Company (where O’Brien’s is today)
nce upon a time, in a Greystones far, far away, there wasn’t a coffee shop to be found in 
this town.
What the Ferns…!?!
Hard to believe, we know.
And some of you may need to fetch the smelling salts as you begin to fathom such a shocking, caffeine-free state of affairs.
Yep, there was a time when Greystones belonged to the grocers. And the butchers. And country attire emporiums that didn’t cost you an arm and a wellington.
Here are just a selection of the old shops that used to keep Greystonians in the height of fashion and up to their necks in spuds. If anyone out there knows the history of the likes of Edwards & Company above, or Hendy’s, or the Fallon shops, please let us know in the comments section below.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, that’s Ali Evan’s Hardware and Moran’s Fish Shop to the left, taken in the 1960s.
Just a little time warp parade. Ditto below, of course.
It’s important to have know the actual facts to throw in when you’re boring the arse off people over a frappucerinaramarama.
James Edwards’ shop where O’Brien’s Wines is now. Source James’ great-granddaughter Edel O’Meara
James Edwards’ shop O’Brien Wines now. Source Gary Paine colourised
McFarland’s Shop Pic Jean Hatton
McFarland Tag Source Cormac Mac Cionnaith
Train Station with McFarlands & Railway Hotel 1901
Train Station with McFarlands, Railway Hotel & colour 1901
Eugene’s Newsagents [now Sherry Fitz]
McFarland Grocers & Glenn Pharmacy 1914
Eugene’s & AIB 19JAN11. Pic: William Murphy flickr
Move your ass… Greystones Store, later Scuffil’s, in the background
Gramophone Supplies…? Church Road postcard c1939. Colourised by GG.
Bateys Garage on Church Road Colourised by GG
Anyone know the shops on the left here…?
Be great to know what shops Duffy’s Circus are passing 16AUG28
Deborah May outside Fallons (now Eleven Deli)
Scotts’ Two Shops 1970s
Scott’s Pharmacy – now Mooney & Son
John McKenzie, post-Scott’s & pre-Mooney’s. Source Derek Paine
Central Hotel with Ferns & McKenzie’s.
Central Hotel with Ferns & McKenzie’s. Colourised.
S. Ferns. Source: Derek Paine
Norah Ferns in her natural habitat
Mooney’s & Ferns by Caroline Galligan
Paraphernalia’s last stand July 2019
Cavistons – previously private home West View 2, and now vacant
Brady’s Hardware. Pic: Suzanne Hackett Cox
Bradys Hardware 1970s
Bargain Central! The Thrift Shop, formerly St Patrick’s National School
Declan’s Barber Shop
Diva Restaurant, aka Coopers, aka Opresco, aka Hot Spot
Moran’s Fish Shop Info
Moran’s Fish Shop
Flynn’s Superstore Pic Rachel Flynn
That was then, this is John & Rosa Sept 5th 2020
Ballykissangel’s Assumpta hits Flynn’s. Source Ramona Maher Reilly
Ruth Lynn outside Murphys Newsagents & Tobacconist [now Cafe Grey]
Paddy’s Tobacconist 1960s. Pic: John O’Hare
The finest toy shop in Ireland…
O’Donoghue’s Shop 1983 Bray People
Xtra-Vision. In its heyday.
Before The Shopping Basket, before Moretti’s, there was Verdella, built in 1880
Coast Guard Peter Doyle’s Cove Café & occasional cobblers
Barry Gammell & Liam Foley at station kiosk
The Mill Road mall, baby!
Michael J Keating Betting Shop’s Latest Millionaire
French Stilt Walkers outside Flynn’s Paddy’s Day 1991
The Steak Shop on Emily Terrance
Bushfield House, where Rochford Doyle based his auctioneer’s business, complete with square noticeboard. Source Derek Paine
Jane Evans & her South Beach Cafe. Source Derek Paine
Would you like some Salt & Pippa on those…?
Another angle…
Trafalgar Road shop. Once upon a time.
The Temple of Urine had a tiny shop too. Pic: Sebastian
Doyle’s Shop with Dublin Bakery Co cart in the May snow. Source Derek Paine
Thomas William Bates’ family shop Delgany 1895. Source Derek Paine
The Shopping Basket. Source Janice Doyle
The Shopping Basket’s iconic plastic bag Pic Danielle Murphy
West View House during its Happy Families days
Here comes Charlie’s! Here comes The Happy Pear!
Grove Farm & Pizza Mill 1991. Pic: John McGowan
Charlie’s Fruit & Veg 1990. Now, The Happy Pear
Charlie packs ’em high
Charlie’s angels…
Happy Pear 2007
Once The Greatest Toy Shop In The World – The La Touche…
Kenmare Cottage, once Mrs Dillon’s tea-room & ice-cream parlour. Srouce Derek Paine
Watson & Johnson Souce Derek Paine
Watson & Johnson crash late 1950s
Watson & Johnson’s Esso Garage Source Derek Paine
Steam Train at Watson & Johnson’s. Source Niall Farrell
Walker’s Garage – Ford 8, Ford Prefect & a Riley, 1948. Source Derek Paine
Walker’s Garage 1920s with Tom Walker, Bill la Comber, George Evans & Eddie Lawrence
Paddy Salmon & friends outside The Beach House. Source Derek Paine
Dermot O’Neill outside Agnew’s Shop (opp top of boatslip). Source Derek Paine
Evan’s Hardware closes…
Evan’s Hardware waves bye-bye… 2000
Fenelon’s Butchers (where the Credit Union is today). Source Vincent O’Rourke
Frank Clarke – The Finest Butcher in Greystones
Frank shuts up shop after 62 years… 2005
Frank Clarke by his nephew, Jack Clarke
Frank in his prime. Pic Peter McNiff
Champs and Monica Peters
Fox’s Butchers, with Frank Clarke, Betty Fox & John Fox Source Derek Paine
Jack and Joan Clarke outside their Killincarrig shop 1983
Clarke’s Shop, Killincarrig
Jack Clarke returns… FRI24FEB23
Michael Gammell took over John Clarke’s shop, who traded for over 100 years in Killincarrig
The Orchard Inn. Source: Jamie McDonald
Just hanging around. At W.H. Dann’s grocery store.
W. H. Dann’s High-Class Groceries bill
Dann’s gets a little May snow…
Thirsty Horses at Dann’s. Source Derek Paine
Watson’s Pub, Post Office & Savings Bank at Rockport House, top of the harbour jetty…
Archers Mill when it was timber not glass. Colourised by GG.
Got wood…?
Dunne’s Shop, later Flynn’s, now Donnybrook Fair
Gethings Sweet Shop on La Touche Place
Gethings sweet shop (now an upholstery shop) Source Derek Paine
Cafe Marina by the harbour railway bridge Source Derek Paine
Dann’s of Delgany, with Alan Evans on right. Colourised by GG.
Dundrum Shopping Centre blueprint Source Derek Paine
After Bouche & Copper Kettle, and before Vino Pasta and Buoys Kitchen, it was Schooners
The Bonne Bouche Cafe, later The Copper Kettle, Buoys Kitchen, etc
First day at Mary Hackett’s clothes shop [later Homan’s]
Another unlikely shop – Annie Deveraux’s at The Grove
Brady’s makeover gets underway
Brady’s &, squeezing in, Flynn’s
Greystones Main Street turns High Street
The Hungry Monk’s early days Source Derek Paine
The Hungry Monk: Early Days #2
Pretoria House just before SuperValu landed. On its head.
Shell garage gets pimped – and not for the last time
Shell’s winter wonderland. Pic: Luke McGuinness
Shell Garage Source Derek Paine
Weston House, once the Magee family home, later Dr. Orr
Before the ESB arrived, we had The Greystones Electric Company. That’s Patricia in the doorway.
Frank Buckley’s grocer shop (now Bochelli’s) Source Derek Paine
Mr A.W. Hendy’s Chemists [where Paraphernalia is now]. Source: Derek Paine
Hendy’s 1920. Source: Derek Paine
E. Evans continues Hendy’s handywork. Source: Derek Paine
Harper’s Dry Clean on Main Street
Maggie Evans’ sweet shop, Donnelly’s barber shop at the rear. Later, Moran’s fish shop
Take It To The Bridge
Old fish factory (now Meridian Point). Colourised by GG.
Moore & Company circa 1900. Now Ireton’s & Nature’s Gold Source Derek Paine
Bel’s new Freya range – with Alan Bell, Joan Farrer & Lucy Bell
Bel’s Of Greystones
Hel’s Bel’s Sale Of The Gentry
Bel’s Of Greystones Closing Down Sale by Christina Pagan
Storey’s shop, opp doctor’s dispensary (now a private house)
With this A-Team, how could it fail…? Source: Don Sharkey
Quinnsworth 1986. Pic Sean Curtis. From his CIE bus.
The Anchor shop, originally the Lifeboat House Pic (& owner) Leslie Acheson
The Anchor with Albert Archer
Toolan bookmaker, Beach House, etc. Pic: John McGowan
The finest little shop in all of Wicklow
Farrelly’s, way back in the 1970s
Silverwell Stores at Rocky Valley, just outside Kilmac. Pic: Alan Stapleton
Deacon’s Tobacconists, Fruiterer & Confectioner. Now Cafe Grey & TSB
Greystones General Stores with the outside trough. Source: Derek Paine
Pets Corner (formerly Scuffils). Pic: John McGowan
Yum!
23 comments
My mum worked as a maid at the Finnegans house “Verdella”.
Any idea who the Finnegans were?
You forgot the lá touché shop
Might that just be because we don’t have a photograph of The La Touche Shop. Do you have one…?
Scuffils . Rendezvous . O’Donoghue’s.
John Flynn’s. Pat Flynn’s.
Hazel Archer’s amazing coffee shop on La Touche Place…. she was light years ahead of the posse! TV shop on La Touche Place. Power’s. Paraphernalia!
Duette ( first ’boutique in Greystones ?) then became a record shop … then Roy Fallon’s Italian delicatessen, then Vintage La Touche, then Something Nice ice creams…now BRISK.
Just a few more to add.
There was a shop on Trafalgar Road that I remember ( from the 60s) ..it sold lingerie! It was on the left , before the doctors’ surgery, heading down to the harbour.
And…..Pennycooks. …and the shack shop as you walked along the South beach….and ‘the temple of urine’ with its little shop!?!?!
Memories.
Have you thought about opening a detective agency? Scuffils is there, and O’Donoghues, and Flynn’s, and the South Beach shack shop, and Pennycooks too, twice. We’re jumping back more than 10 years basically, for Ye Olde Shops, but hey, we’ll include Paraphernalia. Was that formerly Hazel Archer’s amazing coffee shop, then a TV shop, then Power’s…? Or was that a different location on La Touche Place?
If you have pics of these and any others, do send them over. That’s how a photo gallery of old shops works. We need a pic to include.
Would love to include that lingerie shop! Yowsa!
Great photos that bring back so many memories, even to a blow-in like myself. I bought my first pair of jeans in Ferns while on a summer waitressing job at Carraig Eden. Well, I say ‘summer’ – we only lasted three days, but that’s another story!
Greystones has changed a lot over the years . Muffins was my favorite place to go in between leaving cert exams and the sweet/toy shop on the opposite side of the street , can’t think of the name now.
Love greystones I grew up there all my mothers family live there my grandad willy redmond made the rowing boats for the fishermen in his yard in his house in bethal house down the harbour… I love greystones and love returning to my home place to visit I’ve many memories
Why not post pics of the Copper K?
We need a pic of The Copper Kettle, that’s why.
No love for the Thrift Shop on La Touché Place? For shame!
Good man, Phil. The problem is, to post a picture, you first need the picture. So, go get one of The Thrift Shop. And we’ll post it.
Woodyards…… stephen? Did you go to St Patrick’s national school?
What about the Copper Kettle ( cakes while skipin’ mass) and O’Donohues Foodmarket or Pats up at Grattan Park and Burke’s in Blacklion and the Thrift Shop and then the little newspaper shop at the train stn.
We’ll give you two answers to choose from, Conor…
Answer A) We deliberately avoided posting those particular shops in our round-up.
Answer B) We don’t have any pics yet of the shops you’ve just listed.
Hmmm, I wonder which one might be the right answer…?
That’s my aul one outside Charlie’s!
Lovely seeing my Grandmother’s shop Edwards & Co. where O’Briens is now. Dad told me they used to mix their own tea and import tins of Devonshire clotted cream from her relatives farm in the UK. Keep the memories coming Pablo!
Ehat about Josie Martin’s barber shop
Good man, Brendan – it’s all about finding the shots. Given that these shops are no longer there. So, that’s your project for the coming year – go find a photograph of Josie Martin’s barber shop and send it in. Simples.
Just wanted to say that fantastic photo taken in Frank Clarkes with my Dad Jim Keelty, Delgany, My life long friend, Val Coucheman told me about it and about this website, OMG so so many memories. Will be checking in now every week. Well Done Paul Byrne, Paul I have so Many funny memories of you in St. Davids School, Greystones alll I can say Paul is ANOTHER B. RICK IN THE WALL.
Leo harmon had a fruit and veg shop where brooke and shoals is now. An mrs scuffels shop was where the pet shop close to the station was. Cannot remem whats tbere now.
Brilliant good heart lots missed is greystones alway beautiful
I worked in Doyle’s about 1957 my father Patsy Greene worked in Scott’s chemists my mother Nelly Greene worked cafe marina Mrs Pennycooks