THERE WAS shock and sadness in the local car industry as receivers moved in to long running dealer O’Leary’s in Strandfield, bringing an end to the family business which has lasted for over 50 years.
The receivers, Liam Dowdall and Seán McNamara of Smith and Williamson’s accountancy arm were appointed by AIB Bank.
The company received a letter on Tuesday morning last saying that a receiver was to be appointed but Mairead O’Leary said that it was very unclear what was happening: “It didn’t really outline the process so we were making calls on Tuesday to try to find out what was happening.”
Later that day, the receivers appeared at the premises: “They literally just arrived at 5 p.m. on Tuesday evening and it came as a complete shock to everyone.”
The business is to be run as a going concern meaning that the 16 jobs in the company are safe.
Ms. O’Leary said: “We’ve been assured that the jobs in the company are as safe as they can be. I imagine that the purchasing process will be a swift one.”
O’Leary’s has been in business since the mid 60s when Ms. O’Leary’s father Liam moved into a garage on the Square in Gorey which had bee bought by his own father. From there, the business expanded across the county with the company taking on the Volkswagen brand in the late 70s.
Ms. O’Leary added: “It’s very upsetting. We went through bad times and there was just an unfortunate chain of events which lead to this.
“We want to thank all of our loyal customers and hope that the business will remain here for their welfare and service. We would have had customers who began buying cars from my father and always continued to buy from the family.
“It’s the end of an era, and a sad end to what was a very good business.”
The company is continuing to trade as a going concern while a buyer is found and is operating as normal.
[Full story in this week’s Echo]
