Mrs Quin’s

From Strength to Strength

The last time I wrote about the history of Mrs Quin’s charity shops, the article was headed £200 and a Horse Trailer, and brought the story to 1997. From that time onwards, the shops paid so well that we were opening seven or eight in a year. 1998 and 1999 showed a big spread, west to Limerick city and south-west to Mitchelstown in Co Cork.

Until then, the biggest concentration of shops had been in Co Wexford, where General Manager Martin Kenny lived at the time. There were two Mrs Quin’s in Dublin, two in Wicklow and one in Kildare. However, business was good and we wanted to strike out across the country to Limerick and Cork.

Popping up like mushrooms

This was done by way of Co Tipperary, where, over two years, we opened nine shops. We also moved our offices to an industrial estate near Kill in Co Kildare. We opened in Limerick in 1998 and two years later we were in Tralee. Mrs Quin’s shops seemed to be popping up like mushrooms over the next few years.
Charity shops were a novelty in the market towns of the Midlands at first. They were treated with some suspicion by the general public and were often tucked away down side streets. However, as time went on, it became quite chic to shop in them.

Of course, we grew more professional in our approach as time went on, but still the volunteers’ input was and is, crucial. The good volunteer’s optimism, enthusiasm and positive thinking are virtues that appear only rarely in a conventional shop. They are as catching as the common cold and a great deal more pleasant. Good reports filter back to us by way of happy customers who appreciate cheerful service, both by volunteers and staff.

Just the other day, our shop in Bray received an award from South-east Radio. As well as a prize for the window display, Patricia Flynn, manager, was nominated as unsung hero of the week and the most pleasant member of staff in the area.

Our picture above shows Martina Lee, Manager, in the new Mrs Quin’s in Monaghan town, where she reports excellent sales. Charleville and Ballinrobe are thriving and we are about to move into Mullingar and hopefully Carlow town.
Mrs Quin continues to go from strength to strength.

Marjorie Quarton.

NCBI’s Clare Branch Celebrates its 75th Year

Margery Normile,Chairperson, NCBI Clare Branch, welcomed a large attendance to the Clare Inn Hotel, Dromoland, on June 12th. The occasion was to celebrate 75 years of NCBI’s Clare Branch.

Margery gave a brief history of the branch, which was founded in 1933 by the late Eileen Glynn, of Kilrush, and a few other like minded people.

By 1936, the branch was visiting 113 blind and vision impaired people and by 1949, home visitor, the late Eileen O’Connor, was visiting over 600 people.

Eileen Glynn died in 1978, having founded and served the branch for 45 years. The Annual Report for 1978/79 said of her — “They (vision impaired) will miss her very much. She was in the truest sense ‘light in a world of darkness’”. May she rest in peace. The present committee do their utmost to continue the work of their founders.

Proceedings on the day commenced with Mass, celebrated by Bishop Willie Walsh, Patron of the branch. This was followed by lunch, musical entertainment, song and dance and chat.

Attendance included a large number of people with vision impairment, their friends and families and a group of readers from Shannon, who make sure the “talking newspapers” are available on a regular basis. Margery Normile thanked all who helped make this day such a success.