Historic Mayo building set for new life as specialty coffee bar
Couple behind ambitious restoration hope to preserve a piece of Charlestown’s history while creating a new family business in the town centre
A historic building in the heart of Charlestown is being restored by a Galway-born journalist and her Mayo-born husband, who plan to turn its former commercial premises into a specialty coffee bar.
Simone and Adrian Gannon bought the prominent town-square property in 2020 and are now undertaking a major restoration that will see the building become both their family home and a new family-run business.
Dating from 1845/46, the building is understood to be among the earliest constructed in Charlestown, then known as Newtown Dillon. Its long history has included a number of commercial and residential uses, with the premises previously known as JW Mulligan’s, Durkin’s Bar and The Ideal Bar.
Over the years, the building has housed a public house, grocery shop, opticians, hardware store and family home.
The couple are preparing to return to the West of Ireland with their son. Simone Gannon, who is originally from Galway, has worked as a beauty journalist for more than 15 years and currently writes a weekly column for The Irish Times. She also has professional experience in specialty coffee marketing from her time working in the Middle East.
Adrian, an engineer, is originally from Mayo and has family connections to Derrinacartha, between Charlestown and Ballaghaderreen.
For the couple, the restoration represents both a family move and an opportunity to bring a long-vacant commercial space back into use.
“The opportunity to return to the West of Ireland and build our family life here while also giving this building a new lease of life felt really special,” Simone Gannon said.
“It has had so many different lives over the years, and so many people in Charlestown have memories of it. We’re very conscious that we’re not just restoring a building for ourselves, we’re bringing a part of the town’s history back into use, and hopefully creating somewhere that people will enjoy being in again.”
The restoration is being managed by the couple with a team of local engineers and contractors, including John Halligan Architects, CHH Consulting Engineers, PropertyDoc, Waldron & Associates, FiSCA, JL Electrical Services, MS Roofing and Tommy Duffy Digger Hire.
The project has also received support and encouragement from members of the local community, including former owner Gerry Durkin, who is looking forward to seeing the building restored.
The couple say they are using modern construction methods and off-site fabrication where possible to help accelerate the work and reduce disruption in the town.
The restoration is being privately funded, alongside available Government supports for the refurbishment of vacant properties and the return of residential accommodation in buildings containing commercial space.
The coffee bar is expected to open in 2027, following completion of the restoration.
A building with a long history
The property dates to the early development of Charlestown. Historical records indicate that John Mulligan was permitted to build a house on the site, with the building completed in 1846.
Accounts of the town’s early development describe a race between the Mulligan and Henry families to complete some of the first houses in the newly established settlement.
Almost two centuries later, the building is once again being adapted to meet the needs of a new generation.
For Simone and Adrian Gannon, the aim is to retain the character and history of the property while giving its former commercial space a new purpose.
The planned coffee bar will create a new family business in the town centre and is intended to open once the restoration works are complete in 2027.