"It was an easy decision in the end, we're very happy"

John O'Brien Mens' and Boys' Wear store will close for the final time on New Years Day, after 50 years in business on Bridge Street.

Owners Conor and Susan O'Brien made the decision after receiving an offer for the building from The Mariner Hotel that they were very happy with.

The decision to sell was an easy one in the end and was influenced by the realisation that the business was not improving. The difficulty of competing with online retailers combined with the shift in consumer preferences towards cheaper, more casual clothing have changed the retail landscape.

"It's time for us to change now. There's no use changing in ten or fifteen years time. We're young enough to change and embrace it. I'm really looking forward to it and we've got a nice cushion behind us, so we may as well take the opportunity and run", Susan tells The Mayo News.

Although the decision has been a long time in the making, Conor says that It's kind of hard to comprehend and it will be hard walking up or driving up Bridge Street when you've been here for 25 years.

Exciting year
It means that 2026 is going to be a big and exciting year for the O'Brien family - both Conor and Susan are relishing the change and trying something new.

Being able to take holidays during the summer is one thing that they are really excited about as up to now as they would be working seven days a week during the busiest tourist season.

Conor recalls not being able to comprehend when customers would tell him that they would be away for all of August.
"We can start living a bit now", Susan laughs.

Looking ahead, Susan has gone back to college and is studying office administration in the medical and legal sectors and there are the not so small matters of a Leaving Cert and Junior Cert for two other members of the household to be tackled as well!
Running the shop has been Conor's life since he came back from a career in Dublin to take over the shop in 2000. His father had opened the shop fifty years ago and he took over from his brother.

Having lived above the shop with Susan and their three children for the last twenty years, Conor says that his favourite part of the day was when the children would come home from school.

"You'd look forward to seeing them come home. It was a nice experience being able to work and see your kids as well at the same time. They'd pop down if they needed help with anything, or they might bring something down to me and you could always run up and see them doing their homework", he says smiling.

The reality of retail today means that both Conor and Susan are clear that they wouldn稚 advise their children to get into it.
I wouldn't like to put them into this. If they were interested, I'd actually talk them out of it. Having to go into retail, it's just too hard. You won't make enough money to buy a house or anything like that, Conor explains.

“They're well educated and they're going into professional careers. That's where I point them to anyway, because retail is just long hours with little reward.”

Changing retail landscape
It wasn't always this way and Conor remembers salesmen referring to Bridge Street as 'The Golden Mile' because of all of the tourists that would walk down it.

The 2000s were the heyday as the shop was buzzing with customers and his three staff could hardly keep up with the demand.

The crash hit hard in 2007 and business declined by 80 percent overnight. The business has never fully recovered, with turnover only reaching 20 to 30 percent of its previous levels. The Covid-19 pandemic further impacted the business, with tourism and local shopping habits changing dramatically.

"If we didn't own the building now, we wouldn't have been here for long. After 2007 I don't think we would have been here much longer after that", Conor reflects.

The closing down of John O'Brien Mens and Boys Wear will add to the changing face of Bridge Street. Neighbouring shops the Treasure Trove and Dominic Morans have changed hands and across the road, Michael Henehan made the decision to sell up Henehans earlier this summer.

"In this country, it's just it's hard. The Government don't seem to like the self employed people", Conor says.

Susan agrees and that “small to medium businesses are really are suffering an awful lot. The supports just aren't there.”
Conor can see retail businesses in other towns deciding to leave the industry as the footfall just isn't there anymore.

In the meantime, the shop will remain open until the New Year and has a closing down sale running at the moment with promotions ranging from 50 to 70 percent reductions. Such is the nature of the menswear industry, stock is ordered six months in advance so the Christmas stock was ordered before the decision to sell up.

The separate John O’Brien's shop on Shop Street in Westport, run by Conor’s family, will continue to sell school uniforms in the town.