Darrers

Darrers Stores was a department store and supermarket brand with outlets in Waterford, Dungarvan, Tramore and Carlow, in Ireland.[1] The chain operated as both a grocers and drapers,[2] and is believed to be one of the first Irish stores to introduce a free plastic shopping bag.[3]

Darrers
Darrers Stores
IndustryRetail
Founded8 August 1946
DefunctJune 2007
Headquarters
Waterford
Key people
Brendan Darrer[1]

History

William Desmond "Des" Darrer first opened a store in partnership with Ben Dunne in Cork known as Dunnes Stores in 1944.[4][5] The first branch of what went on to be Darrers was opened in Waterford by Darrer and Dunne, under the name Dunnes Stores, on 8 August 1946 on Cathedral Street. The partnership between Dunne and Darrer was dissolved in 1952, with Darrer becoming the sole owner of the Waterford store, which was then re-named Darrers.[4] Another Waterford branch was later opened on George's Street in the late 1960s. A site known as Hennebry's Yard was purchased and incorporated into the retail space, which at its height occupied 40,000 square feet over 3 floors.[3] The Carlow store was opened on 19 November 1965, with Brendan Darrer as the manager.[4][6] Brendan took over from his father managing the Waterford store after his death in 1967. Michael Darrer ran the Tramore branch of the chain. Both the Dungarvan and Tramore stores pioneered home delivery service and were the first local businesses to introduce late night shopping, remaining open until 9pm.[3]

The stores in Dungarvan and Carlow closed in 2007 when the company was dissolved in June that year. It followed the closure of the Waterford store in 1995.[3]

Darrers was reputedly one of the first stores to introduce the concept of a free plastic shopping bag.[3] In some parts of Waterford and Carlow, "Darrers Bag" became a synonym for "plastic shopping bag",[7] and retained meme status following the store's closure.[8]

References
  1. "Untimely death of prominent businessman Brendan Darrer". Munster Express. 15 November 2012. As a supermarket owner and retailer, Mr Darrer [..] prior to retiring from business, operated flagship stores in Waterford, Tramore, Dungarvan and Carlow
  2. World Food Marketing Directory, Volume 1. Euromonitor. 1999. p. 352.
  3. Quinn, Claire (18 February 2021). "Darrers Stores legacy spans over quarter of a century". Waterford News and Star. Archived from the original on 19 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  4. "You get better value at Darrers Store". Nationalist and Leinster Times. 12 November 1965.
  5. Dempsey, Pauric J.; Boylan, Shaun (2009). "Dunne, Bernard ('Ben')". In McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.). Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  6. "Darrers to close". Carlow People. 1 October 2007. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  7. "End of an era as closure is imminent of Darrers". Nationalist and Leinster Times. 24 September 2004 – via Flickr. Ask any middle-aged person upwards for a plastic bag and the chances are they will refer to it as a Darrers bag
  8. "Marc-Ivan's docudrama on Flann O'Brien and his Carlow Connections". Nationalist and Leinster Times. 4 April 2017 – via Flickr. From the Darrers bag to Corcoran's red lemonade, a wonderful glimpse of Carlow through the eyes of one of Ireland's greatest writers filled the airwaves last Saturday night


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