80 years of service to come to an end with closure of much loved Ballagh business

It’s a very sad situation any time a business decides to close its doors, but it is even more poignant when it is a shop like Towey’s grocery and newsagents in Ballaghaderreen, which has been an essential part of the fabric of the town for over 80 years.

This Saturday, February 28th, Imelda Towey will lock the front door for the final time as she retires from business, essentially bringing an end to a legacy which her parents and siblings created in the town.

They are definitely leaving a hole in the community - a community which they have cherished, served and given back to over and over again over the eight decades.

Siblings Imelda, Patricia, Gerardine, Madeline and Fr Tommy sat down with the Roscommon Herald to explain how the shop started from humble beginnings to being not only a grocery but a café and boarding house as they grew up.

Patricia recalled the earlier days, saying that in 1943 her parents Annie and Mattie returned from their honeymoon and decided to buy the shop. This was during the war years, and they basically sold whatever was available at the time.

“There weren’t many shelves as there weren’t that many needed but they had all the supplies. The shop itself was a beautiful quaint shop with a big, big counter.

“In the background there was all wooden shelves and glass cases. And there was a beautiful cast iron fireplace in the shop itself.

“It was lovely. There was a lovely sanitary area for washing and a magnificent Victorian sink with the brass taps,” Patricia recalled.

She added: “They had whatever sweets were available- liquorice, liquorice pipes, the slab toffee, the canned sweets. There were even able to get Cadburys, and it was available at 4 pence.” Imelda recalled Duff’s Bakery in the town which would deliver bread to the shop, piping hot just out of the oven.

One of the other unique items was the sale of single cigarettes. There were also the loose biscuits and the weighted tea and sugar.

Mattie and Annie took on separate roles in the business with Mattie travelling the north west region buying pigs.

Meanwhile Annie looked after the shop with her daughters saying she “had a great eye for little bits and pieces and fancy goods.”

Patricia recalled: “She took her time with everyone. Money wasn’t free flowing, but the customer and sales person had a great understanding. She kept a ledger but waited until people were ready to pay,” many times waiting until the customer sold an animal before she would receive payment. “People were very honest,” said Imelda.

Fair Days were a huge part of life in the town with the May Day and November Day. Traders sold their animal on the streets and people came from all over the West of Ireland to attend.

Even though the couple had nine children this did not stop them from developing the business as Annie went on to set up a café.

Not only did she take on this new business but at the same time they also housed boarders.

“The borders were either the teachers or the bank officials, which were part of the establishment when our parents bought the place. They got full boarding lodgings, seven days a week, and went home for their summer holidays and went home for Christmas Day and Stephen’s Day. They’d have three full meals a day served in a separate dining room upstairs,” said Imelda.

But with nine children, Fr. Tommy, Patricia, Kathleen, John, Imelda, Gerardine, Madeline, Martin and Patrick, a shop, café and boarders how did Annie cope with the workload?

“We always had excellent help. My mother gave the girls training and spent time with them. She also had great order in her life. The girls that helped slept in their own quarters while a lot of girls living locally provided extra help.” On some occasions some of the children would be kept at home to help which they thoroughly enjoyed as it was a day off school. And of course from the time when they were able, they were behind the counter serving customers."

Annie had always been used to hard work, as she spent nine years as housekeeper in the presbytery prior to getting married.

There she became the ‘Darina Allen’ of her time after receiving culinary training, “She never opened a packet of soup. Everything was from scratch. She catered for big numbers and all she used was a range and her skills, she was a wonderful cook,” Madeline remembered.

Indeed Annie and Mattie had their own wedding reception at the presbytery with Annie spending the entire day prior to their marriage cooking up a feast.

The family describe Ballaghaderreen as being a self-sufficient town at the time with bread, meat and fresh fish all available. Sales reps from companies such as Lyons, Jacobs and Boland’s’ along with cigarette companies all called to the town and there were also wholesalers available for whatever was needed.

And as the shop continued to be successful, so too was the café running alongside it. Patricia said that fair day brought huge crowds into the town.Farmers were bartering, while women visited Duff’s and Flannery’s which stocked very high quality goods. An extra bonus was the fact that a train ran to the town, which also saw many parents visiting while their sons were boarding in St Nathy’s.

On the night before fair day Annie would cook seven roasts in her Aga along with gammon and numerous loaves of brown bread for the hungry hordes. Tables were set up in the kitchen, dining room and the shop and would be full all day long. “That was the one and only day there was ever ketchup and brown sauce out on the tables.” Christmas was also a very special time with the shop beautifully arranged and men returning home from England for the holidays.

Another childhood memory the siblings recalled was the nightly rosary. It was said while the shop was open and if someone came in during that time they then had to join in on the prayers.

The Toweys had an open door policy. No matter the time, night or day, when a knock came to the door with someone looking for petrol Mattie was always helpful.

Indeed one man left a large amount of money with him to mind while he received his medical treatment.

Mattie was also known as a bit of a matchmaker as often in his travels he came across young men and women looking for work. They would arrive back to Ballaghaderreen and naturally some became couples and later went on to marry.

He was renowned for giving lifts, he once met Pat the Baker cycling to Kilkelly and offered him a lift. “He knew every house from here to Cavan town. If a household wanted him to call, they would put a brush upside down to show they wanted to meet him.

“It was the only way people had to communicate. He was very discreet,” said Gerardine.

Sadly Mattie passed away in 1989. “Both our parents worked very hard. Our mother kept the show on the road. She did a massive amount of work. When the bank strike happened, she changed money for people and if a husband was away in England she gave credit.”

The Toweys offered a lifeline for many, they put their trust in their community, building a wonderful legacy.

As time went by, former nurse Imelda began to take on looking after the shop. Annie still popped down to greet customers as she said it kept her mind busy. Sadly Annie, who was born on Easter Sunday 1916, was just four months short of 100th birthday when she died in 2015.

Imelda still carries on that personal service she learned from her mother - a chair for an elderly customer, a delivery to a house, a cup of tea, a helping hand and most importantly keeping an eye out to make sure everyone is ok.

“You could also call her a personal shopper,” said Patricia.

“Just the other day a woman told her she was devastated to hear we were closing as she said the craic was mighty.

“Imelda, mam and dad have left a massive legacy behind. They were so dedicated.”

The family, including Imelda and her brother Martin, is highly appreciative of their loyal customer base which has been passed down from generation to generation.

As Imelda prepares to lock that door for the last time on Saturday, they thank all their customers down through the years for their loyalty and support. “Thank you for all the fun and the laughter.”

Imelda also thanks all the staff who have worked in the business, the many suppliers who provided such wonderful products and everyone who has supported the family over the decades.

“I will miss it all, but I have wonderful memories,” she concluded.