Connolly Motor Group appointed Mercedes-Benz main dealers

TWENTY new full-time jobs are to be created in the north west by Connolly Motor Group, which has been appointed as main dealers for Mercedes-Benz passenger cars.

Connollys Mercedes-Benz will open in Collooney, Co. Sligo, in September and will be one of the largest Mercedes-Benz dealership in the country. It will also be one of the most high-tech motor dealerships in the country.

The new jobs will increase the number of full-time employees at Connolly Motor Group to 183. The company will begin recruitment immediately.

The group, which is run by brothers Kevin and Neil Connolly, is one of the biggest motor groups in the country. It already has Audi and Volkswagen dealerships in Ballina and Sligo as well as the Audi dealership in Galway.

The appointment, announced by Motor Distributors Limited, distributors for Mercedes-Benz in Ireland, gives Connolly Motor Group responsibility for Mercedes-Benz sales and after-sales services covering the north west region.

As well as selling the brand-new models in the Mercedes-Benz range, the company will be offering aftersales services to current Mercedes-Benz drivers in the region. Until now, Mercedes drivers in the region had to travel to Athlone, Cavan or Dublin for repairs or servicing.

Connolly Motor Group has bought a 20,000 sq ft premises for the dealership, which will be located in Collooney in a prime location on the approach to Sligo town. The new state-of-the-art dealership is being developed in a building which had been standing vacant since the recession, with Connollys investing €4.5 million into the project.

Neil Connolly said: “We are delighted to be appointed to represent a brand such as Mercedes-Benz. The creation of another 20 new full-time jobs is a source of pride for Kevin (brother) and I as we expand the Connolly Motor Group in the north west.

“We are also happy to be breathing new life into a building that had been lying vacant in Collooney. It is also a great sense of pride that one of the first thing visitors will see driving into Sligo is a brand such as Mercedes-Benz as it shows great confidence in the county and the region.

“We are looking forward to welcoming existing Mercedes-Benz owners into our dealership for servicing as well as those thinking about investing in a Mercedes-Benz for the first time.

“Our appointment comes at a pivotal period in our development and at an exciting point in the history of Mercedes-Benz as their model range expands to appeal to an even younger generation of motorists.”

Thomas Connolly opened the first Connolly family car dealership in 1939 in Ballina. His son, Kevin Connolly, worked in the garage until the 1960s when he went to New York and set up the Amoco gas and service station in the Bronx. Returning to Ireland with his family in the mid 1980s, Kevin set up in business three doors down from his father’s original garage. In 1987, he was appointed the main dealer for Volkswagen and Audi for Mayo, and since the 1990s his sons Kevin and Neil have continued to grow the business.