Woolworth/ Wellworths

cml387

The imminent closure of Wellworths in Tipperary town is worth noting.

This was originally a Woolworths store, which closed in 1978, ahead of the general Woolworths closure in Ireland in the early eighties

I would guess there are few if any of the original Woolworths entrance doors still in existence so for posterity here is Wellworths in Tipperary before they close:

Maxx355

I remember Woolworths from Waterford city, it was where Pennys is now.

Strumms

Remember the one in Henry St in Dublin, had a massive pick n mix and nice ice cream cones..

no identifying feature of the facade remains, maybe something at the entrance ?

cml387

We used to use it as the measure of a town. A town without a Woolworths was not worth considering. Mainly this was because it was a place to spend our holiday money on Airfix models.

L1011

The Thomas Street store in Dublin is relatively intact design wise. Don't think the doors are still there

The main Wellworths supermarket chain in NI were not connected to Woolworths or the Tipp store.

Sigma101

I've fond memories of the pick'n'mix section of the Galway store (now Supermacs) when I was a kid.

Excellent resource here documenting the history of 884 Woolworth stores, including 21 of the Irish stores:

https://wooliesbuildings.wordpress.com/category/ireland/

Isthisthingon?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121833887#Comment_121833887

If memory serves correct, A 'woolies' or possibly ' wellworths' then opened up in arundel square - years before city square was bulit.

Nearly 100% this was the case - but i ask my mates and they can't remember it!

Hotblack Desiato

Didn't the Henry St one open up to the GPO arcade on the other side?

I don't remember ever being in it but my dad worked in the GPO for a couple of years and used to bring home stuff, not pick'n'mix though but budget priced cassettes of stuff like James Last greatest hits volume nnn, military marching bands and fairground steam organs 😦

cml387

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121856923#Comment_121856923

The cassettes were no doubt on the "Pickwick" label, among others. It's in Woolworths you could get the classic "Top Of The Ops" albums of contemporary pop hits. Well, cover versions anyway.

Hotblack Desiato

Yeah he wasn't going to be bringing home the TOTP covers albums though, some of the sleeves were a bit racy!

Griffin47

I was in a Woolworths store in Dublin a few times around 1964, but I couldn't say for certain where it was. I would have guessed O'Connell Street, but may be wrong. Our local Woolies was in St. Helens, Lancashire. I'm surprised that the facade was identical to the picture of the Henry Street one up thread, on the ground floor at least. I wonder if they all had similar personal weighing machines inside? The one in ours was absolutely enormous, and must have weighed a ton. It was red, and worked with a large old penny.

cml387

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121860451#Comment_121860451

There wasn't a Woolies in O'Connell St. There was one in Henry St. and one at the top of Grafton St.

The shops would all have looked similar inside except that the differed in size and amount stocked.

Little remains of the smaller Woolworths stores around Ireland I would guess which is why I mentioned the shop in Tipperary town, but the large city stores with their impressive facades mostly still exist

Maxx355

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121849481#Comment_121849481

I don't remember that. The only other store I remember in that area was Darrers where Mcdonalds is now if I remember right.

Nekarsulm

Woolworths in Cavan Town closed in 1984, and became a menswear shop.

It is currently the Credit Union, and still has most of its original facade.

The doors and glass frames are new now, with the curved glass either side of the doors now gone.

Everything the same above the ground level.

NewbridgeIR

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121856923#Comment_121856923

James Last didn't really have many hit singles or Greatest Hits albums back then. His Very Best Of came out in 1967 but it's his regular studio albums and series like Non Stop Dancing were the big sellers here and in the UK. A lot of people stopped slagging him off in the mid-90s when crate-diggers started discovering a number of funky, break-filled tracks on albums like Voodoo Party, Happy Summer Night, Rock Me Gently, Beach Party, Well Kept Secret, Paintings etc. And then Quentin Tarantino used The Lonely Shepherd in the first Kill Bill.

James Last's interpretation of tracks from the Hair musical is the best I've heard - I own 46 different Hair cast albums so there's a lot of competition. Because he was on Polydor there was a serious budget behind him and he only used the best orchestras and session musicians.

I fondly remember Woolworth's in Wexford and Waterford. Used to buy a lot of 7" singles there; many in plain company sleeves which was frustrating because the full colour sleeves were available in the UK.