Demolition of Former Irish Street Stores, Wexford

Tinnelly Group undertook this month the demolition of former Irish Street Stores in Wexford. A 19th century landmark purchased by Wexford County Council in 2023.

This site has been lying derelict since it was destroyed by fire in 2005, previously known as the“old Murphy Flood’s site”.

Tinnelly Group worked on bringing the site to ground level and prepare it for redevelopment. With its central location and attracting lots of onlookers, the team used water cannons to minimise dust levels during the demolition.

Full update on this project when it is brought to completion.

For now, thanks to Wexford Local for sharing the history of this ongoing project, below.

HISTORY OF IRISH STREET STORES; The building located on the corner of Irish Street and Barrack Street traded as Irish Street Stores and is described in the architectural inventory as “a four-bay three-storey house, circa-1875, on an L-shaped plan on a corner site probably incorporating fabric of two two-bay three-storey houses, pre-1840, on site with shopfront to ground floor, and single-bay three-storey side (north) elevation continuing into two-bay three-storey return to east.”

This description gives us an extra insight into its history. In Griffith’s Valuation (1858-’65) there were 86 premises in Irish Street, some vacant, but this building was in the possession of S. & E. Lett – and checking with the Portsmouth Records for the town the brothers were Stephen and Edward Lett of Hollyfort, near Enniscorthy, and the same family that purchased the Mill Park Brewery in 1864!

Irish Street Stores was a wholesale and retail beer and spirits branch of J.Donohoe Ltd when the business was transferred to Templeshannon on March 2nd 1977.

The premises was used as a film set for scenes in Underground (1970) – a Second World War movie starring the American actor Robert Goulet where several Irish actors had minor roles including James Bartley (best known today as Bella Doyle in the RTÉ drama series, Fair City).

Full history on the site can be viewed here.
Credit: Wexford Local

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