'Footfall halved in two years' Laois family business closing after 97 years
Legendary Irish 'Cycle King's shop a landmark on Portlaoise Main Street
The door is closing on another iconic Laois shop on Portlaoise Main Street, one that almost lasted a full century.
Alo Donegan's shop in Market Square has announced it is closing down, citing loss of footfall in an era of online shopping.
The shop which sells all kinds of "gadgets" from hunting knives and telescopes to electrical and tech products, began as a bike shop established by "the Cycle King" of Ireland in 1929, Alo Donegan himself.
His grandson Kevin Donegan told the Leinster Express / Laois Live that it was a decision that he and his father, proprietor Eamonn Donegan, did not make quickly.
"It wasn't an overnight decision. The footfall has more than halved in the last two years. We've had a good innings. We always had good stock, and loyal customers, and we sold a bit online on our website too. But it's not enough to sustain the business. It just reached the end of the line.
Kevin Donegan at the family shop. Photo: Leinster Express / Laois Live
Customer Vincent Keating is sad to see it go. He has lived all his life on Portlaoise Main Street.
"I remember one of the highlights of Christmas was looking in Alo Donegan's window, it was just spectacular. It will be sadly missed, it's the end of an era. I wish the best of luck to Kevin in his future," he said.
He was an Inter-nation team champion riding tandem with Bertie Donnelly in Glasgow, 1934, the Limerick to Dublin record holder in 1935, and Irish 1,000 metre champion 1933.
People came from all over to buy a Donegan bike from his Portlaoise shop. With electrification he expanded into radios, working into his late 80s, and opening a second shop in Portarlington where the family lived, cycling between both.
The business was taken on by his son Eamonn, who shifted from bikes into hifi's, video rentals and records, and later to the current eclectic offerings that include key cutting.
Alo Donegan's are holding a closing down sale for the coming weeks.