7 Decades of Retailing - Daybreak Ahascragh

Customers visiting Daybreak in Ahascragh may have noticed some changes over recent years. The Concannons have been serving the village since 1955, when Colin’s grandparents, Joe and Rita, set up the shop from their house. Their son, Padraic, and his wife, Catherina, took over the running of the shop in 1987 and continued to grow the business. Then, in 2015, the opportunity arose to take over the filling station next door. “We have invested in a redesigned store with a more modern and up-to-date feel to it,” says Colin Concannon, owner of the store. “Our aim was to give our loyal customers an improved service and a store they can be proud of.” In addition to improvements to the forecourt, the store added a new Munch and Co deli, an off-licence, two coffee machines with iced coffee, and a new ice cream concept called Lickety.

Covid saw changes to their operation. “We offered free home delivery for anyone who wasn’t able to make it out,” Colin says. During this time, illness to Padraic also meant that Colin and his wife, Marcileide, took over the day-to-day running of the business. Marcileide took over the role of deli manager and, “with her team, has transformed the business, with many people coming from all over to try her secret recipe battered fish on Fridays.” Colin credits his “very loyal and hard-working staff” for the success of the store. “Some have been working with us for many years, from the old shop. All of them live locally. This has been very important to us down through the years. We couldn’t do it without them.”

​The village of Ahascragh has gone through a lot of positive changes over the last few years, with a new distillery, a new café, a new restaurant, and local homes being built. Colin notes, “We are very lucky, and it’s very important to keep this going.” Colin adds that, “A sense of community is very important to us; without that, we wouldn’t be in business. We like to try [to] give back to the local community groups by sponsoring events and local clubs.” They also continue to do home deliveries for those who need it. More developments are planned. “We are a bit tight for parking, so we would like to look into developing our forecourt even more,” and Colin is also considering requests for a seating area. They are also planning a big seventieth birthday celebration this summer. Daybreak’s opening hours are: Monday to Saturday, 7am to 9pm, and Sunday and bank holidays, 8am to 8pm.