Is Mellett's Mayo's oldest business?
WHILE the business community has been buzzing with lots of startup activity, ThinkBusiness.ie is calling on counties across Ireland to help it with its list of Ireland’s longest-established businesses.
Some 26 businesses, one from each county, have been identified through the campaign so far, with the oldest dating back to Kilkenny in 1324.
Ranked 13th on the 'oldies' list, Mellett’s Emporium in Swinford, which was founded in 1797, is currently run by the seventh generation of the Mellett family.
Over the years, the premises has housed a bar, grocery store and funeral directors, but today, just the bar remains, which has been listed as Mayo’s oldest business. Mellett's newsagency operates next door.
Some well-known Irish businesses on the list include Thomas Dillon’s Claddagh Gold from Galway, dating back to 1750, and Waterford's Flahavan’s Oats, established in 1785.
If anyone knows of any older businesses in Mayo, ThinkBusiness.ie would love to hear from them. The only rule is that the firm should be continuous and still be in the same business as when it was founded.