Economy to 'boom' after Covid, predicts Texas Tom

A well-known local businessman expects the economy to "boom" massively after the pandemic, predicting that the level of spending could surpass that seen during the Celtic Tiger period.

'Texas' Tom McNamara, who operates the Texas department store in Tullamore, is hugely positive in his assessment of where the country is heading post-pandemic.

The economic growth during the 1920s earned it the nickname of the 'Roaring Twenties' and Tom believes that something similar could be on the cards again.

"I think we're set for ten years that will outstrip the Celtic Tiger. I think we're in for a huge, huge boom," he said.

"The last (Spanish flu) pandemic was from 1918 to 1921, exactly a hundred years ago, and after that you had the Roaring Twenties. I think we're going to have the Roaring Twenties again."

He pointed out that those who had been able to continue working during the pandemic had in many cases accumulated significant savings during the last 15 months.

"A lot of that money is going to be spent, and the more of it that's spent locally the better. People can make their money go further by buying from the local shops and supporting the local guy rather than the multinationals or the multiples all over the country.

"If you give it to the guys that are invested in a town like Tullamore that money then goes back (into the local economy)," he said.

"When I get sales in, a huge proportion of it goes toward wages, and those people then reinvest in the town. It trickles back in, but if you buy from a multinational in the UK, or Amazon, the money is sucked out of Tullamore or whatever town people are from."

The Texas store reopened on May 17, after being closed for the best part of five months, and Tom said the public response since then exceeded his expectations.

"We have been extremely busy, especially the fashion, curtains and bedding departments," he said.

"I was so pleasantly surprised. I thought after coming out of hibernation we might have been slow to move, but that wasn't the case. There was an instant reaction and everyone was out and about.

"We were very busy online during the lockdown. The online business saved our bacon. Once we opened the shop door we saw a slight drop in the online (trade) and, of those who bought online, around 50% wanted to pick it up in the shop, click and collect, while up until then everything would have been delivered.

"It shows that we all missed the social interaction with others during the lockdown, and that's probably one of the reasons why people are coming into the shop," he said.

With the end of the pandemic hopefully coming into view, Tom reflected on the historical significance of what we've all experienced.

"We'll be talking about this to our grandchildren. We've seen something that very few generations would have ever seen," he concluded.