By Dan Walsh at Enniscorthy
The biggest sideshow in Enniscorthy today was the demolition of the former Irish Street Stores, a 19th century landmark purchased by Wexford County Council in 2023 and earmarked for development as part of the “old Murphy Flood’s site” which has been derelict since it was destroyed by fire in 2005.
The site had been locked up, vacant and derelict for some years now and in recent times made local newspaper headlines as public representatives referred to the site as “an eyesore.”
Today there was a constant stream of onlookers. Nostalgia was in the air! So many sorry to see the town’s history brought back to ground level, others relieved at the prospect of a future development may revive the town’s prosperity! The conundrum is the lack of a timeline! Mobile phones recorded the changes! There were a few tears too!
WexfordLocal.com has researched the history of number 67, Irish Street Stores, Enniscorthy using the most reliable sources and hoping for a forever place in the archive…
HISTORY OF IRISH STREET STORES; The building located on the corner of Irish Street and Barrack Street traded as Irish Street Stores and is described in the architectural inventory as “a four-bay three-storey house, circa-1875, on an L-shaped plan on a corner site probably incorporating fabric of two two-bay three-storey houses, pre-1840, on site with shopfront to ground floor, and single-bay three-storey side (north) elevation continuing into two-bay three-storey return to east.”
This description gives us an extra insight into its history. In Griffith’s Valuation (1858-’65) there were 86 premises in Irish Street, some vacant, but this building was in the possession of S. & E. Lett – and checking with the Portsmouth Records for the town the brothers were Stephen and Edward Lett of Hollyfort, near Enniscorthy, and the same family that purchased the Mill Park Brewery in 1864!
So, the Letts owned the pre-1840 building, likely built the Irish Street Stores ca-1875. They also had other property in the town including the old Armstrong premises on Main Street.
J. Donohoe Ltd was owner of Irish Street Stores, but it was previously held on a yearly tenancy by Patrick O’Neill, a Market Square-based businessman, auctioneer and politician. This tenancy is backed up by the Portsmouth Estate Records. Patrick O’Neill served as Chairman of Enniscorthy Urban Council, 1911-1920. He built O’Neill’s Terrace on Mill Park Road in 1911 which preserves his memory.
In Thom’s 1938 Commercial Directory of Enniscorthy J. Donohoe Ltd is registered as “corn and flour merchants” at Irish Street and Templeshanon.
Irish Street Stores was a wholesale and retail beer and spirits branch of J.Donohoe Ltd when the business was transferred to Templeshannon on March 2nd 1977.
The premises was used as a film set for scenes in “Underground” (1970) – a Second World War movie starring the American actor Robert Goulet where several Irish actors had minor roles including James Bartley (best known today as Bella Doyle in the RTÉ drama series, Fair City).
Using the Census Returns for 1901 and 1911 there were 95 and 92 families, respectively, listed as occupants for Irish Street.
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