One of Derry’s oldest family-run stores, McLaughlin’s Hardware of William Street, is to close after 111 years.
The shop, on the edge of Derry’s Bogside, announced that the building out of which it operated has been sold.
News of the closure was confirmed on Tuesday after the McLaughlin family placed the business on the market as a going-concern last year.
After surviving two world wars and the Troubles, the current owners, and grandchildren of the original owners, announced plans to retire last year.
On the corner of William Street and Rossville Street the store was witness to the front line of the Troubles and even survived a number of bomb and fire attacks.
McLaughlin’s is surpassed in terms of age only by Derry’s Faller’s Jewellers in the city centre.
An iconic institution in the city, the store was even the subject of a drama by Oscar-nominated playwright, Dave Duggan on the centenary of its opening in 2013.
Duggan was nominated for an Oscar in 1996 for his “Dance Lexie Dance” short film.
Over the last 111 years, the store has sold everything from the famed Gallaher’s Blues and Parkdrive cigarettes to spades, every aspect of hardware and even wall safes.
In celebration of its centenary, the McLaughlin family created a mini-museum on its first floor, featuring records, tools and other items sold by the store over the previous 100 years.
Duggan was nominated for an Oscar in 1996 for his ‘Dance Lexie Dance’ short film.
Over the last 111 years, the store has sold everything from the famed Gallaher’s Blues and Parkdrive cigarettes to spades, every aspect of hardware and even wall safes.
In celebration of its centenary, the McLaughlin family created a mini-museum on its first floor, featuring records, tools and other items sold by the store over the previous 100 years.
Announcing the closure of the shop by the end of November, the current owners, brothers, Liam, Dessie and Seamus McLaughlin said it was with mixed emotions that they had decided to shut up shop.
In a brief statement, the brothers said: “We remain incredibly grateful for the community’s unwavering support throughout the years.
“We are proud of the legacy our family has built but the time has come to move on.
“We hope that the building will continue to serve the community in new ways.”
The McLaughlin brothers said the shop would offer reductions on existing stock in the coming weeks and also intended selling its “lucrative” key cutting equipment.
