Super day in store in north Longford on Saturday as Corrigan's Service Station host silver jubilee party
A variety of events will take place to mark the 25th anniversary of Corrigan's Service Station on Saturday, October 5 between 1pm and 5pm
A variety of events will take place to mark the 25th anniversary of Corrigan's Service Station on Saturday, October 5 between 1pm and 5pm.
There will be music from Sean Hussey in a marquee, complimentary food and drinks, free ice-cream, free kids face-painting, balloons and goodies.
Declan Corrigan stated the weather is unpredictable and the marquee will ensure people do not get wet.
"We will have a little bit of food, refreshments and a little bit of music and a free raffle for everyone who turns up with 25 prizes to mark the 25 years so it will be a nice afternoon," he added.
The prizes will consist of vouchers from the shop, Certa heating oil vouchers and a number of other spot prizes from suppliers.
"It's our way of giving a little something back to our customers who have always been there for us," Declan said.
Bernard Corrigan also said it will be a fantastic way to show their gratitude to local people who have been the cornerstone of the business.
"I will be travelling down to Longford with the family and we are all looking forward to it, I'm sure it will be a great day," he added.
Newly revamped store and loyal customersThe shop was totally revamped and retrofitted this year to celebrate their 25th anniversary, however, Declan, outlined it is really the 105th anniversary of their business in Dromard.He said they are thankful to people in the local area and the surrounding areas.
"We have been very lucky to have our business in north Longford and get great support from surrounding areas in bordering counties Leitrim and Cavan but at the end of the day our own parish of Dromard have been the backbone to growing and sustaining our business over the years," Declan said.
"Dromard has a great supportive community and with great amenities surrounding us from the excellent Dromard football grounds and walkways, Moyne National and Secondary Schools, Dromard Creche, The Latin School Community/Heritage Centre and two churches, without these amenities surrounding us it would be very difficult to sustain business and employment for staff."Establishment of business in 1919Bernard said when his grandfather Bernie established Corrigan's forge in 1919 he was an agent for Raleigh and Humber bicycles and a blacksmith.
"He sold petrol that time in glass bottles and his wife Annie, my grandmother, had a shop with bread and provisions," he added.
Bernard said he is very proud of how the business has grown and evolved over the years and he is very grateful to the support of their loyal customers.
He recalls the decision to develop the business in 1999 and how it carried a lot of risk.
"We went from one pump to four and built the service station and we had no idea how it was going to go and no blueprint to work off, we were staring into an abyss" he said. "I was in my late 20s and it was a big gamble for myself and Declan but thankfully we got great support from local people and our loyal customers and we managed to build on that."
Bernard recalls how some people in 1999 complimented them in the early stages on the vision and planning for the enterprise, but he stated "there was no business plan".
However, Corrigan's Service Station developed quickly and it was soon a well-established business that is now an integral part of the community.
Bernard said he is delighted that the next generation of the family are now interested in the business and the future is bright for Corrigan's Service Station.
"I am very confident the business will be there for a long time and the fourth generation will play a big part," he said. "I never would have thought it would develop the way it has and it is about ensuring it is there for the next generation to carry it on."Gala AwardCorrigan's Gala, Moyne recently received a 2024 Gala Excellence Award to mark their wonderful customer service.
The awards evening, hosted by sports broadcaster and chat show host, Jacqui Hurley, marked a celebration for the Gala Retail Group.
Declan and the staff received the accolade as they were deemed 'outstanding' following a comprehensive and independent assessment process.
"It was good recognition for Fiona and Mary and the rest of the staff as they put the effort into having the shop right," he said. "We like to keep the shop as good as we can and it was great to get the recognition for that from Gala."
Declan said an award like that is positive in terms of motivation and it was a thorough assessment.
"We have made big improvements this year and it is nice to acknowledge that the store is what it should be," he added.
"They do random inspections and have mystery customers and it is a fairly comprehensive process," he added.
Corrigan's Service Station and GalaDeclan said they have been members of the Gala symbol group since 2005 and it has been a very positive working relationship.
David Mayne, a retail operations executive with Gala, insisted it has been an excellent collaboration for them.
"Declan has been a gentleman to work with, he is pushing his business forward and he has a vision for the future of the shop and he has invested over the years to keep the store modern," he said. "He is bringing a service to the community and especially in the area that he is in.
David stated Declan has continued to develop the shop and it has become a very important part of the community.
"He has invested significantly, I would say this year he has spent about €200,000 on the shop bringing it up to a modern and state-of-the-art premises and he certainly has a focus on the future and he is well aware of the benefit of giving the community a service like the one he is providing," the Gala representative added.
David insisted the 25th anniversary events will be a special and memorable occasion.
"It will be a big celebration and if you look over the years from where it started and how he developed it and kept on extending the shop over the years and this year it's been fantastic," he said. "Declan has added more services such as the seating area and a better offering in the hot and cold deli and an ice cream counter, that is all done by extension and he has extended the shop to cater for all of that."
David stated it is not just about giving the shop a facelift and Declan has made the shop significantly bigger over the 25 years as well to provide an even better service.
"I know I am using the community word quite a lot but he is part of it and he wants to provide a service for the community," he added.
David pointed out that Corrigan's Service Station is in a unique area.
"It's not in a village or the town or it's not on a massive main road but a lot of the catchment area would spread to single houses and stuff all over the place," he said. "It's just giving the people the message that you don't have to travel into the nearest town. We have it here for you."
David said there are a multitude of services and products on offer such as the forecourt, the carwash and a variety inside the shop.
Covid-19 challengeDeclan said the most difficult period of all was the Covid-19 pandemic.
"It was a very challenging time to try and keep staff and just to try and keep the doors open," he stated. "Only for the government assistance I don't think we would have been able to keep the doors open because we lost all of our passing trade."
Declan said they were totally reliant on local customers and with the restrictions it even cut that right down.
"I'd say it was even more difficult than when the building boom stopped," he added. "Even through hard times you still have your local trade and when you look back on Covid only for your local trade your doors would have closed," he said. "There is gratitude and that is why we want to do a little celebration day here and just give some little thing back."
Shop manager Fiona O'Toole said they did some home deliveries for older people who were afraid to come to the shop and they tried to help customers as much as they could.
She stated it was a tough time but they were happy to work and provide the same level of service to customers.
Fiona insisted they are always willing to go the extra mile for people who are unable to travel to collect their shopping.
"Some of the older customers now as well, if they phoned up and wanted groceries delivered we would bring them over to them," she said. "We would never see any of them stuck."Emo and CertaCorrigan's Service Station have been branded Emo fuel retailers since 2013.
Sean Kelly, a business development manager with Emo, said Declan is very helpful anytime they contact him and they have an excellent relationship with Corrigan's.
Sean stated it has been a wonderful collaboration and he expects it will continue to prosper for many more years.
"I don't know what to say except he is just a good guy," he said. "He is a valued and long standing customer and we appreciate his business."
Sean passed on his congratulations to Corrigan's Service Station for their 25 years in business.
"We wish them well and continued success, the shop is looking great since they did it up and the forecourt and everything looks extremely well," he added.
Corrigan's Service Station sells diesel, petrol, gas oil, kerosene oil and pioneering synthetic renewable diesel fuel called HVO.
They also have a 24-hour payment terminal for added convenience.
Declan explained their wholesale fuel business ‘’Corrigan Fuel Services’’ was sold in November 2023 and it is now owned and operated by Certa Energy Ireland and is now known as Certa Longford.
The Certa Longford staff and drivers are based and have their office on the second floor of the service station.
Environmental focusCerta is also one of the lead fuel companies pioneering synthetic renewable diesel fuel called HVO which has 90% less carbon than conventional diesel.
Declan said they are proud to be the first Service Station in Longford to have HVO available on their forecourt pumps and he believes it can offer a viable solution.
"HVO is a brilliant product, the councils are using it and Bus Eireann are using it, they are all trialling it," he added.
Declan stated HVO is not readily available and that is the reason it is not being used more extensively.
"Flynn's in Mullingar is the next nearest place to us that has it," he said. "It's starting to be rolled out and hopefully by this time next year it will be a lot more available."
Declan said they also have Adblue available on the pumps in Legga which is used in diesel vehicles to reduce emissions.
He stated in terms of their plans for the future they hope to further invest in an Electric Vehicle Charge Point in 2025 for the forecourt to cater for customers that have made the move to Electric vehicles.
They also plan to install Solar Panels on the roof of their storage units to further reduce our energy consumption and Carbon footprint.