O’Connell Street traders fight to recover ground lost to riots

The immediate impact of Thursday’s riots around the O’Connell Street area of Dublin’s city centre was apparent on Friday, with debris being cleared from the streets and long-standing traders, such as Arnotts and Eason, not opening until close to midday.

Parts of Arnotts had been looted by the thugs who took to the streets in the wake of the stabbing earlier that day of a woman and children at Gaelscoil Coláiste Mhuire in Parnell Square.

Arnotts is still totting up the cost of the raid on its goods and the trading that will be lost as a result, with many likely to avoid the area at least for this weekend.

“They may have damaged our store and stolen some merchandise but they can never damage the Arnotts spirit, we will not allow them,” said chief executive Donald McDonald in a stirring passage in a statement issued on Friday. “Our teams have worked through the night to repair our store. We will fix what needs to be fixed and open our doors, later than normal, but with the same pride as we always have at Arnotts when serving our customers.”

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Good on them. Retailers and their staff have a right to their trade and their livelihoods, and have every right to expect a safe environment in which to conduct their business.

Sadly the riots are another hit to the reputation of O’Connell Street, which is supposed to be our capital city’s main thoroughfare but which has become a backwater for traders. On one side of the street Clerys has been empty for years, with plans to open a new quarter still to reach fruition.

An Post has emptied its offices at the GPO for a shiny new building in the north docks. And what is known as the Carlton site has been idle for years awaiting a viable redevelopment plan, with British developer Hammerson the latest party to seek permission for a new scheme. The former Debenhams store on Henry Street remains empty.

Whatever Black Friday bounce in trade that Arnotts might have received literally went up in smoke on Thursday evening. Retailers in the area must now regroup and hope to regain lost ground in the run-up to Christmas, a crucial trading period for retailers.