A success story in the heart of Ballina

Celebrating six generations of McKeogh’s

There is a timeless quality to McKeogh’s Hardware. It feels like it has existed forever, and in many ways, it has. The structure that stands today is multi-dimensional, modern and sleek - a three-tier store which caters to multiple audiences and employs 17 people. It is the core component of a wider complex that houses Ballina’s central business district, the commercial hub around which the lakeside village revolves. Really though, McKeogh’s is less a business and more of an institution - local, family-run and very much embedded in the community.

Established in 1860, what began as a relatively humble bakery and hardware outlet has evolved enormously through six generations of the McKeogh family. It is precisely that capacity to evolve which has allowed the business to endure. Noel and Rosemarie are the current proprietors; their daughter Chiara and her husband Kieran are next in line. The man at the helm of it all, however, is Newmarket native Freddy McInerney. Freddy is manager, and though he currently lives in Bunratty, he is as embedded in the community as any Ballina native and knows the history of the area well. He describes McKeogh’s as “a success story in the heart of the village, but also a business that has fought many battles”. Few would argue with him.

The original bakery supplied much of the west of Ireland, Freddy says, but times began to change and the larger supermarket suppliers started to dominate the market. That endeavour eventually came to an end and so the hardware became the main focus. McKeogh’s as a business was forced to pivot, so pivot it did. Through recent decades, as the Celtic Tiger rolled in and Ballina expanded from small rural outpost to sprawling residential satellite town, the hardware was the go-to place. However, the building market is cyclical and with every boom comes a bust. The economic downturn affected McKeogh’s, as it did various businesses across the country, but Freddy emphasises that “the people of Ballina have always been good to us”.

'A more interesting shop'

It is only in recent years, Freddy explains, that the most significant transformation took place. Just before Covid, the shop was renovated significantly. Doing so was a risk, but it was a risk worth taking. “We now have a more interesting shop,” Freddy emphasises. “Because we’re on three different levels and the store, in general, is also more aesthetically pleasing.”

The lower floor houses the paints department, where you can basically “mix any colour under the sun,” Freddy says. It also features a suave interiors section. The central section of the building comprises the main DIY hardware and the upper floor contains several different showrooms - tile and bathroom, floors and doors, electrical. Put it all together and you have a store which is both extensive and deeply impressive. For the aspiring home-builder, it has everything you could possibly need.

“If you want to come in and build a house we can literally take you from the foundations right through to the kitchen fork. We can supply the whole lot under one roof,” Freddy says. “You can’t rely just on the hardware side of it, the heavy side of it, because sometimes building goes into a slump - currently it’s doing fine. And likewise, if you get bad weather, you can’t rely on exterior paint sales, you have to have a mix, and that’s what we try to have.”

The people

What really makes McKeogh’s, however, is not the infrastructure, but the people. You can’t get lost inside there, because a member of staff will always be on hand. Each has a particular skillset and are passionate about what they do. With Grace and Jackie, who both work in interiors, Freddy says it’s “essentially like having two interior designers”. Thomas, the amicable former construction foreman who is now front-of-house, was effectively recruited after some of the staff noticed his knowledge from frequent customer visits. He then worked his way up to become one of the main men. Nick, a former plumber, previously worked with Lufthansa in Shannon, and brings his own expertise in that regard. Kieran’s management of deliveries and the yard has helped the business dramatically in terms of its overall efficiency.

In fairness to Freddy, he is able to fluently list off virtually every member of staff and mention one or two positive attributes which they possess. It’s the sign of a good manager, of a man who cares. “Look, we enjoy it,” he says. “It’s always different. Every day you’re meeting new people, there’s something different happening. There’s huge variety, and it’s very interesting. You have to be able to multitask as well, to do a bit of everything.”

These days, the store is more or less constantly busy, the car park constantly full. Although the pedestrianisation of the old bridge probably hindered business on a general level in the centre of Ballina, Freddy says the reduced traffic congestion that came with the opening of the new bridge has made the place a more attractive destination for outside visitors, thus benefitting the store. People are more inclined to take day-trips to Ballina, pick up a few bits in the hardware, get a bite to eat in the Pit Stop and maybe a coffee in The Wooden Spoon. There are a multitude of fashion shops, eateries, pharmacies and amenities to attract them. Ultimately, McKeogh’s acts as a kind of barometer for the economic health of Ballina. When McKeogh’s is doing well, so too is the village, and vice-versa.

Freddy is more than two decades working in the store. He has witnessed ups and downs and highs and lows. But he says the future is ever bright.

“Business is good - it’s growing year on year. And that’s all we can hope for,” he concludes.