One of Derry’s most renowned stores has been put up for sale after 110 years in the same family.
McLaughlin’s Hardware on William Street is being sold as a “going concern” after three generations in the McLaughlin family. One of the oldest family-run businesses in the city, it is surpassed in age only by jewelers Faller’s.
Opened in 1913, it has survived two world wars and the Troubles and was the subject of a drama by an Oscar-nominated playwright. However, the current owners and grandchildren of the original owners have decided it’s time to sell up as their own families have no interest in taking on the business.
McLaughlin’s has always been the last resort when customers couldn’t find what they were looking for elsewhere. No matter how obscure the product, the advice in Derry when all else failed was “Did you try McLaughlin’s”.
To the present day, it was seldom if ever that the required item could not be found in one of the labeled boxes or cubbyholes which characterised the shop.
Over the last 110 years, McLaughlin’s has sold everything from furniture to cradles to crockery and even the famed “Gallaher’s Blues” and “Parkdrive” cigarettes. Even today, punters can buy everything from an egg timer to a spade or wall safe.
On its centenary in 2013, the store opened a mini-museum on its first floor with tools, ledgers, photographs and other items drawn from its rich history. The centenary was also celebrated with a McLaughlin’s 100, a drama written by Dave Duggan whose Dance Lexie Dance short film was nominated for an Oscar in 1996.
Seamus McLaughlin who runs the store with his brothers, Liam and Dessie, said the family felt the time was right to move on.
“It was started in number 75 William Street in 1913, just up from where we are now, by our grandfather James McLaughlin and Bobby O’Donnell; Bobby left about eight years later.
“We’ve always had a bit of everything, fire accessories and that – they say McLaughlin’s sold everything from a needle to an anchor,” he said.
Even if the required product wasn’t in stock, the store would order in.
“People might have come looking for old bits for Tilly lamps for example so we kept them and the word went out that you could get parts for a Tilly lamp and people still come to us for them.”
McLaughlin’s gained a loyal and affectionate customer base, offering credit in difficult times and surviving a number of bomb and fire attacks during the Troubles. Its location on the William Street-Rossville Street junction was even named `Aggro Corner' by the British army as it was the site for daily riots.
“There were turbulent times with the daily riots. Ledger books had to be taken home every night because you didn’t know what was going to be there the next morning,” Mr McLaughlin said.
Since being placed on the market, the main reaction from customers has been one of sadness.
“People are asking us about it and we’ve had a few ladies coming with tears in their eyes and very emotional.”
He said he was hopeful that a new buyer would take over the business and would build on its well-established success with its loyal staff and huge customer base. He said there has been considerable interest from prospective buyers since the store went up for sale.
However, while his brothers and other family members believed the only way forward was to place McLaughlin’s on the market, he admitted he was not looking forward to the end of an era and closing up for the final time.
“The day we pull the shutters down for that last time, it’ll be a sad day for all of us,” he said.
