'I Just love the job': Local family discuss running prominent Offaly Pharmacy

The O'Connell family have been running Dolan's Pharmacy in Tullamore since the 1960s, during which time they have established themselves as a leading name in the pharmaceutical sector from the heart of the Midlands.

Dennis reflected on how they first got involved. "I arrived as manager for a dentist called Eddie Dolan, his brother originally owned the business, which had been a pharmacy for over 200 years. Eddie had a successful practice but he wasn't making any money from the business at all so I took it over."

The pharmacy went from strength to strength ever since. However, Dennis revealed that he was originally advised against taking over the business due to the asking rent price.

He explained: "I talked to everyone including business experts and accountants, they said I'd be crazy to pay 27 pounds a week. The highest rent in the rest of the town was 12 pounds at the time and the building on William Street used to only be a quarter of the size it is now. I felt I could make a go of it, maybe I was young and foolish."

Dennis described defying those odds as one of his proudest business moments, which changed his outlook on expanding the business. "People told me I was crazy again when we started the second shop in the Bridge Centre in the 1990's. I told myself I'm not listening to these experts anymore so I went for it again and it took off which was a big sense of achievement for me."

Dennis' daughter Barbara and her husband Roger then bought out the business on May 1, 2000 following his retirement. However, the pharmacy wasn't always part of the plan for the couple who have been together since they were sixteen.

Roger commented: "We finished school in 1988 and headed to Dublin. Barbara did a degree in Botany in Trinity and I did a Bachelor of Commerce in UCD. We then went to England afterwards for the best part of 10 years so the pharmacy wasn't in our minds at all."

They settled in Birmingham where Roger worked in technology and Barbara did various jobs but it was proving difficult to find work within her qualification. She said: "I decided to go back to college and study pharmacy and got an offer in Brighton so we moved there and stayed for 6 years, we absolutely loved it."

Upon their return to Offaly in 2000, they got married and started a family and now share four children: three girls and a boy. Barbara began running the business as a qualified pharmacist and Dennis continued working part-time following his retirement which he still does today, 26 years later. "I'm still here by popular demand," he joked.

Roger also joined soon after, he manages the pharmacy located in the Bridge Centre. He recollected: "I started working with Barbara three days a week then it became full-time and that was 26 years ago. I used to give myself great titles like retail manager or director but then one day it dawned on me that I was a shopkeeper."

Barbara is adamant that the presence of family run businesses in a time of chains and franchises is hugely important. "I was born and went to school here in Tullamore so a lot of our patients are people I know. Having tried a franchise model in the past, I believe what we offer is better because it's more personal. From the town, in the town, supported by the town, love the town."

Dennis and Roger agreed that having local expertise and relationships is vital. Roger attested: "There's a knowledge there with the local community from looking at the big toes and little fingers over the years."

Dennis acknowledged that the relationship works both ways. "I think it's that mutual trust because they put their trust in us and we trust them."

Dolan's pharmacy is a business that's steeped in family values, tradition and history. Dennis revealed: "My father was a pharmacist so Barbara is the 3rd generation of pharmacist in our family." That tradition has continued with three of Barbara and Roger's children doing part-time work in the pharmacy.

Barbara says it's a proud moment to see her daughters involved in the business just as she was when she started as a 9-year-old. "It's really lovely, they're good at it as well. They're much more into the cleaning and the few jobs than I was at their age."

The family looks forward to extending the legacy and longevity of Dolan's pharmacy for years to come as they continue to serve the people of the Offaly and the wider Midlands. Barbara expressed: "I just absolutely love the job and I've never not loved it."

Dennis added: "I still love the job as well after all these years, I'd go crazy if I had nothing to do. I really like meeting and helping people every day."

Roger concluded: "Everyone tries to be all things to all people but you just have to be consistent. We try to have a great selection of products that people want with helpful staff."