End of an era as Roscommon business couple get to spend their first Christmas off in years
Friends and well-wishers pictured with Annie and Vincent Timothy on their last day at Timothy’s Londis before they retired from business. Pic: Gerard O’Loughlin
Well-known Roscommon Town business couple Annie and Vincent Timothy recently retired after 25 years at the helm of Timothy’s Londis, Abbeytown and as the festive shopping enters its final countdown they are getting to spend their first Christmas off in years.
The business continues in operation under the new ownership of the Brennan family from Athlone and the Centra brand.
Annie Timothy expressed her gratitude to everyone who congratulated her and her husband on the day of their retirement.
“A lot of people came in wishing us well, we got a lot of texts, got a lot of messages on Facebook. People are so good in Roscommon, and they have been so kind to us. The number of people that called in and to see us and everything, it's unbelievable,” said the newly retired shop owner.
When asked why she and her husband decided it was time to retire, she laughed and replied simply, “age.” Annie added that the time was just right for them to retire.
With two daughters in Australia and a son in London, Annie and Vincent had little time to visit whilst running the business. They now plan to visit Australia and London next year, along with playing “a little bit of golf.” In the short term, Annie said that herself and Vincent were looking forward to their first Christmas off in a long time, and understandably planned to do “nothing, and more of nothing.” In their 25 years of ownership, she singled out the “good-naturedness and kindness” of their customers as her abiding memory.
She admitted that they will miss certain aspects of running the business. “I’ll miss our staff, I’ll miss meeting people every day,” but she did add, “I'm not leaving town so we still have our connections here in town, so I'm just hoping life will be good for the next few years.”
Timothy’s Londis employed a staff or 38, four of whom were there 25 years ago when Vincent and Annie set out on their venture. They purchased the store in November 1999 from Marty and Ann Kiernan. Annie, from Mullingar and Vincent from Glinsk had been running a Centra store in Glenamaddy up to that point. Over the years, it became a real family business with their three children, Nicholas, April and Roisin all working in it at some stage.
Reflecting on the changes in business down through the year, she described the retail sector as a “young person’s game”.
The business has now been taken over by Darren and Julianne Brennan, and Annie has full faith in the new owners’ ability. The Brennans have been running a Centra premises in Athlone for the past four years.
She wished them well on behalf of herself and her husband.
