Sean looks back at half century in retail trade

The retail face of Mullingar has changed significantly in the last half a century, but one constant that has remained is John P Foy menswear on Pearse Street, and Sean Nulty has been part of the fibre of Foy’s for those 50 years. As he prepares to bow out of business, Sean reflects on the changes he has witnessed over six decades.

“I went in at 16, got a summer job. I was in the Tech at the time, but had no intention of going back after the holidays, if I could help it,” he laughs. Therefore, he was delighted when the late Jack Foy offered him a job.

“I rode my bike the six miles in and the six miles home with my late sister Catherine, summer and winter, for three years,” Sean continued.

At that time, Foy’s had a ladies fashion shop across the road, where Specsavers is now. Up the street was The Tavern bar and lounge and McHugh’s supermarket, now McDonald’s fast food restaurant. “There was Frankie Connaughton’s where Fagan’s is and Kilroy’s where Dealz is, and of course, the Lake County Hotel was up and going then,” Sean remembers.

Treanor’s shop is one of the few businesses remaining from then, along with Buckley’s which has grown from a small shop at “the home place” to a large supermarket just up the street.

When Sean started work, he joined the proprietor, Jack Foy, and the manager, Michael Murray from Mary’s Street. “Michael made Foy’s. I trained under him and he gave me a great schooling,” he said.

In 1983, Sean got married to Geraldine, who was then working in Dick Clarke’s dry cleaners, just up the street from Foy’s. “Her father and my father were at school together and when my father died, they dropped up a Mass card and we started going out together,” Sean recalled.

Also in 1983, Michael Murray passed away unexpectedly and Sean was offered the job of manager.

“There were a lot more people coming into the shop back then; there were no shopping centres, no department stores, no one going to Dublin, and no online,” Sean pointed out.

Although these new developments have changed business, Sean feels that men’s clothing has been affected less than the women’s and children’s clothing retail business. He urges everyone to support local businesses and “keep the town alive”.

“We have always got huge support from the town and particularly from the country people,” he said.

“We used to do work gear and overalls, but when the hardware shops got into them, we moved away and concentrated on suits, jackets and knitwear, men’s formal wear, and Confirmation suits for the younger clients,” Sean said.

Over the years, Foy’s has continued to stock top brands in menswear. Fashion trends have changed and it is not so much the Danus and Magee suits as smart casual that is popular now, Sean remarked.

When he started, Foy’s sold tailor-made suits. “The customer would pick a material and we’d take their measurements and have the suit made up. That’s all gone now,”he said.

“Back then, you had wholesalers, but nowadays you operate through brand agents and have to book stock months in advance," he remarked.

Sean has seen several generations coming into the shop, as well as a lot of new people who have moved to the town and county.

“Business is tougher now, but our customers are loyal and if you have the right gear, they will keep coming back,” he stated.

A lot of GAA clubs support Foy’s, no doubt encouraged by the lively sporting banter on offer. Sean played hurling with Clonkill in his younger years and still takes a keen interest in Gaelic games.

“Our customer base is from all over the world and because we are one of the longest established businesses in town, people call in looking for connections,” Sean pointed out. “If I don’t have the answers, I send them to John Kenny, the bike man, or local woman Nuala Higgins, who has a great knowledge of the town and surrounding areas,” he remarked.

“The fleadh was a great thing for the town; people who had never been here before came and we got a lot of repeat business out of it,” Sean said.

He recalled a lady calling in to Foy’s about 25 years ago, on her way to Knock with her family. “She wasn’t in great health. We had a good chat and a few days later, on her way home, she dropped in with a bottle of holy water, which I still have to this day, and we bring it with us whenever we travel,” Sean said.

A couple of weeks ago, he met Ben, the Tayto agent who remembered Sean starting in Foy’s “as a gosson”, and they enjoyed a trip down memory lane.

Two of his longstanding customers, Millie Walsh and Tom Nally of Rochforts, have retired recently and Sean wished them health and happiness in their retirement.

When Jack Foy retired in the early 1990s, his son John, together with his wife Sharon, daughter of the aforementioned Dick Clarke, continued on the business. “They now have two great children, Charlie and Tess, another generation of Foys,” Sean remarked.

“Jack Foy was very good to me. My father died at 60 and Jack was a father figure to me. They are family,” he said.

Sean and Geraldine live at Rathconnell, Mullingar. They have two children – John and Maria. John is married to Tina and they have four children – Aibhín, Darragh, Cadhla and Fíadh.

Thirty odd years ago, Sean swapped the hurl for a golf club and he now spends his spare time on the golf links, walking the dog, or with his beloved grandchildren. He is looking forward to indulging these pastimes further when he fully retires in the next 12 months or so.

Since word of his pending retirement broke, Sean has been overwhelmed by the response on social media with thousands of good wishes pouring in.

The proprietor of John P Foy’s menswear, John Foy has paid tribute to Sean Nulty whom he describes as “an honest, true, reliable, good man, a pleasure to work with and a good friend”.

He said Sean has been “part of the furniture here” since he joined the firm in 1974. “He is a very sociable person, and the customers love him,” Mr Foy commented.