The Newtown Association

The Corner Shops

Aunty Emm’s | Carlson's | Duffy’s | Memmy’s | Crowley’s/Clements’s

Butcher O’Brien’s | Mary Foley’s.

Here is a photograph taken outside Aunty Em's shop in approximately 1925. We are grateful to Theresa Carne for submitting the photograph. Theresa's Mother, Mary Downey(nee O'Donovan), has identified Aunty Emm, Mrs Riley and Mrs Driscoll, Have a closer look - do you recognise anyone? Please let us know if you do.

Just mention these names to anyone who ever lived in Newtown and be prepared for a story or two.You will hear, from our more senior citizens and from some not so senior too, about the wonderful smells of confectionery coming from Aunty Emm’s in Ellen Street or Memmy’s perpetual chewing of gum and humming of hymns as she dragged a sack across the cold flagstones to weigh out potatoes on the large Avery scales in the corner of her shop in North Willam Street; or John Bull shouting out his little quips and quotes of the day as he sat at the table in the back room of Clements’s on the corner of Roland Street, quietly sipping his bowl of soup prepared for him by his daughter Ellen. You might be told about how you helped yourself from the “front room “shop of Carlson’s and Duffy’s in North William Street where you could be standing in the shop for ten minutes before anyone came out to see what you wanted. You might even be told about Liz O’Brien - what a character she was - and the colourful language she used if she caught someone stealing fruit from outside their shop. But you would also be told about how essential these people were to the community. They were all genuine “Newtown” stock themselves and you got more than home made cakes, organic (musical)vegetables, ham off the bone or butter on the slab from each of them. Tommy Walsh, in his poem “Newtown the Parish of St Pauls”, sums it up perfectly:

“Ellen Healey’s and Memmie Daley’s were the Tesco’s of our Day,

where the weekly groceries were on the book till Dada got his pay.

Those corner shops were our life blood whichever way you look -

our Access Card, the kiss of life, to those who were on the book”

There were other retail outlets of course. Little cottage industries - possibly one in every street. In Pendoylan Street, for example, Annie Tobin (nee Loughlin) sold toffee dabs and toffee apples, ice cream cornets and wafers and real lemonade. However, in her case there couldn’t have been much of a profit made as she had thirty six nieces and nephews - and all but four of them lived in Pendoylan Street. Then in Tyndall Street, apparently, Mrs Emmett's Nana sold rice puddings in little cups.We are told that there were several good dressmakers too. If we have missed anyone out or if you can contribute a story or photograph to this page, please email the webmaster raffmair@hotmail.com

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