Tirlán CountryLife officially opens in Athboy after revamp
Hundreds of farmers and families from the local community turned out to celebrate the official opening of Tirlán CountryLife in Athboy yesterday.
It’s the latest in the farmer-owned cooperative’s 52-strong branch network to benefit from an €11 million plus investment programme spanning stores in 12 counties. The Athboy store was shining bright following a significant store refurbishment.
Having expanded to include a garden centre, and a store extension of an additional 6,100 square foot; hundreds of new agricultural, horticultural, pet and household product lines are now on offer to customers in an appealing environment. Car parking at the site has also been increased, with two new electric car charging points added.
Cutting the ribbon and officially opening the branch which serves Tirlán suppliers and the wider public in the Westmeath, Meath and Louth area, John Murphy Tirlán chairperson, said the investment clearly demonstrates the cooperative’s promise to continue to invest in rural Ireland and improve vital services in the communities it serves.
“Meath is Tirlán’s sixth biggest supplier of milk, with €134 million of the €1.9 billion we paid to milk suppliers in our catchment area going to farm families in the county; which has huge benefits for the local economy.
“Improving the customer experience here and adding a state-of-the-art garden centre future proofs this branch for years to come. I want to pay tribute to board members, past and present, among them Henry Corbally, Eamon McEnteggart and Denis O’Sullivan for their tireless work in this region.”
The Athboy investment is part of Tirlán’s plans to transform its branch network and achieve a completely new-look to meet the evolving needs of the towns, villages and rural communities we operate in Darren Kelly, Store Manager, said.
“We’ve been hugely grateful to the surrounding community for their support since we opened our new garden centre earlier this year. I’m proud to lead the team here in the store to continue to ensure we can act as a heartbeat for the local community. We’re also delighted to have increased our staff numbers to 13 as a result of this increased investment.’
For Tirlán, as an Irish 100% farmer-owned Co-op, our landmark retail channel investment programme is part of a range of measures to future-proof our agri, retail and garden centre services in rural communities across 12 counties, Senan Foley, Head of Retail at Tirlán said.
“This major investment clearly demonstrates our promise to play a key role in supporting local jobs and rural economies. The needs of farmers, customers and the communities, of which we are part, of are evolving.
“Many rural communities have lost their post office or other vital services. In many instances, these services are now incorporated into our branch network to ensure Tirlán delivers on its promise of creating a modern network of stores that meet current and future demands across all of our communities across 12 counties.”