Only shop in Walsh Island set to close
In a further sign of the decline of rural Ireland, the only remaining shop in the village of Walsh Island, outside Geashill, is set to close its doors for the last time on May 16 next.
The convenience store, with the quirky name of Higgledy Piggledy, was opened on the site of the former Post Office in the village last October by Kilclonfert native, Deborah Murray and her husband, David Thomas.
The young couple, who only moved to Walsh Island six years ago, admitted this week that the business “is no longer viable” due to a lack of footfall and competition from bigger supermarket chains in nearby towns.
“We are the only remaining shop in Walsh Island and we thought we could create a viable business when we opened up last October, but after six months of trying we have decided to close as the footfall just isn’t there,” said Debbie Thomas.
The shop stocked a full range of everyday food items, fuel and newspapers, as well as second-hand goods, and was also a Payzone outlet. However, Debbie Thomas said coming up to the final weeks before they made the decision to close “it was local children who were keeping us going by coming in regularly to buy sweets.”
The couple, who has two children, nine-year old Fionn, and Heather, who is four, said they had to make the decision to close as they did not have enough turnover to pay themselves a wage.
“We have a number of regular customers who are just devastated to see the last remaining shop in the village closing” says Debbie Thomas, who is currently studying for her Masters in Childcare.
When asked if she would be interested in opening a crèche in the village, Debbie says she would have to “consider all aspects” of opening another business due to the many costs involved, including the high cost of public liability insurance.
She explained that one of the reasons she and her husband decided to open a convenience store in Walsh Island was as a result of a survey which was conducted in the area, the results of which highlighted the need for a shop and a crèche.
“Unfortunately we did not get enough local support to make the shop viable, and if we had got it the business would have been booming” says Debbie, who thanked the “many loyal customers” who had lent their support to their enterprise over the past six months.
She feels that if they had been allowed to operate the Post Office in Walsh Island – which closed in 2018 – they would have been able to continue in business. “The reality is that when people collect their Social Welfare payments they tend to spend money in the town where they travel to, so there was no point in us continuing and allowing the bills to mount up when the footfall just wasn’t there,” she points out.
Residents of Walsh Island must now travel to Daingean, which is 9.3km away, to collect their Social Welfare entitlements, or to the nearest town, which is Portarlington, a distance of 13km.