Longford Ladies Gaelic Footballers cut LIDL ribbon

Longford's new look LIDL store will open tomorrow (Thursday) at 8:00am, with the creation of an additional 14 jobs. LIDL Ireland had the existing store on the Dublin Road in the town demolished in February, with works underway on site since.

Plans called for the replacement of the old store with a much larger building, consisting of a supermarket and off licence extending into the neighbouring former fuel depot.

A number of staff from the original store will join new staff bringing the number employed on site to 31. Longford Ladies Gaelic Football Captain Caoimhe McCormack, of the Carrickedmond club and Vice-Captain, Niamh Brady of the Killoe club, will cut the ribbon on Thursday.

Speaking to the Leader, Caoimhe McCormack described being asked to open the store as “being a huge honour.”

“Lidl have been a huge investor in Ladies football for a number of years,” Caoimhe added.

When the Leader spoke to Caoimhe, it was just 24 hours after Leitrim’s success in winning the All-Ireland Intermediate title.

Leitrim, like Longford, were a Division Four side this season: “Leitrim’s win is unreal. It is inspirational for counties like Longford. Leitrim is a similar sized county as us,” she stated.

The ladies club championships start this weekend and Caoimhe’s club Carrickedmond aim to be in the mix in the Senior Championship.

“Our preparations for the championship are building and we are aiming to push that extra bit,” she explained.

As part of the opening, the retailer will provide complimentary vouchers to the first 10 customers in line on the morning, alongside offering huge savings on middle aisle favourites and in-store sampling from Lidl’s long standing Longford based baked bread supplier, Panelto Foods, who secured a €22 million contract with the retailer in 2023.

Lidl Longford Store Manager, Martina Murray said, “As Ireland’s best value retailer, we’re looking forward to being warmly welcomed back by the Longford community and to see so many familiar faces through the door on opening day and beyond.

“On behalf of the entire team at Lidl Longford, I’d like to thank our customers and local community for their patience during the construction works – the wait will be worth it!”