Watch: the Laois woman who has sold the Irish Farmers Journal for 64 years

The Irish Farmers Journal, which was first launched in 1948, was just five years old when it made its first appearance in the window of Dunne’s Shop in Raheen, Co Laois. All of 64 years have flown by since then, and Maud Dunne still maintains the sacred tradition of putting the Irish Farmers Journal in her shop window every Thursday morning.

Down through the decades Dunne’s Shop has been a central player in the community life of this farming region of Laois, about three miles from Abbeyleix. In former times there were hundreds of similar shops all over the country that catered for the essential needs of the rural people.

However, with the rapid expansion of travel by car and the arrival of supermarkets in towns from the 1970s onwards, the small rural shop has struggled in the face of daunting odds.

The box of sweets

Maud, formerly Prescott from Coolrain, Camross, came from a family who ran a long-established pub in that area. She married Paddy Dunne from Raheen in 1948 and soon settled into life in this part of Laois. They raised a family of four: Annette, Vincent, Marie and Brendan.

“We were at home one evening in 1953 when a chap with a sweet van called to the house asking for directions. I asked him if he would leave me a box of sweets, and I put them in the window. They went fairly quick and I realised there was a demand for a shop in the village.

“We started getting in other stuff, and soon we were stocking a range of things. In those times we had something to cater for almost every need of the community. Bicycle tyres, tubes, mouse traps, lamps before the arrival of the ESB, light bulbs, and so much more – we stocked it all,” recalls Maud.

“Sugar was delivered in big sacks, so we had to weigh it out in small paper bags in whatever size the customers wanted. I used to cut and slice the big sides of bacon. The blocks of ice cream and wafers were very popular over many years. They were always a special treat after church on Sundays.”

Demand for papers

“The shop would be full of people getting the Sunday papers, especially the Irish Press and Independent, both of which had huge sales in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. There is always good demand for the local papers, such as The Leinster Express and The Laois Nationalist, while the Irish Farmers Journal has held a very loyal readership all through the years. The minute it arrives on Thursday morning, I place it in the shop window so they all know it is here,” says Maud.

“I fondly recall the sounds of the local farmers passing down the village road outside our house during the night, walking the cattle to the fairs in Mountrath in the 1950s and 1960s. This area will always have a strong farming tradition.”

Raheen is the home of the Colt GAA Club and the Johnny Hearns Park is located right beside Dunne’s Shop. “This has always been hurling country, and it was a boost for the shop when the club eventually developed grounds in the village in the late 1980s. With the chaps and the other players calling in to the shop, it keeps me in touch with all the generations,” says Maud.

still up to 90 – at 90

Maud celebrated her 90 birthday back in December. She still bakes three or four times a week and her soda bread cakes – part of parish folklore – are much in demand, just as they have been for well over 50 years.

“I have been blessed with good health all through the years, thank God. I do a 12-hour day, from 8.30am to 8.30pm, seven days a week. My son Vincent helps out too, as does Annette who, along with her husband Eamon, runs the pub (Eamonn a’ Cnoic) in Raheen.

“I love Raheen and this area. The people are homely and friendly, and we have got great support over the years. When people from the area who have gone to other places come back after some years, our shop still holds a special place in their hearts. I am told that many have been known to remark about me: ‘She’s still there!’”

Can you beat Maud’s record of selling the Irish Farmers Journal for over 60 years? We’d love to hear from you if you can.