Cork record store owner bids emotional farewell in video after trading for more than 50 years
John Coffey at his former outpost in Uneeda Bookshop on Oliver Plunkett St, Cork. Pics: Larry Cummins
The owner of the Uneeda book and record store has signed off with an emotional video message, as he announced the closure of a shop that has traded for more than 50 years.
John Coffey, 88, was a familiar sight behind his counter at Oliver Plunkett St for generations of Cork shoppers, but has reluctantly decided to shut the shop.
In a video posted on Facebook by his grandson Jason J Cassells, Mr Coffey bid a moving farewell to his customers.
“I am retiring as I'm afraid the years are on the clock, and I can't continue. I've enjoyed every second behind that counter,” he states in the video.
“There's a tear in my eye. All I can say to you, one and all, every one of you, thank you very, very much from the bottom of my heart. John Coffey, signing off.”
When he first opened Uneeda in the 1960s, The Beatles were still together and CDs hadn't even been invented. Uneeda has traded in two locations on the famously-long street, occupying No 71 for the past 30 years with its selection of second-hand books and music.
A former pupil of South Monastery, Mr Coffey told this newspaper he had left school with no qualifications, and had worked for a time making hessian bags. The arrival of plastic signalled the end of hessian use for agricultural produce, so he decided to open his first book shop on Barrack Street.
While he once stated that the secret of his success was “a thick neck and durability”, a strong bond with his customers – many of whom have been have been dropping into Uneeda for decades – has also been paramount.
“My main rule has always been the same,” he once revealed. “If someone buys something, you have to stand over it. It’s second-hand but if a customer brings something back I don’t question it. I give them back the money, no argument.”
He also explained why he had kept working in the shop into his late 80s: “I love it. What’s the alternative to what I’m doing here? Sitting home watching the gogglebox. I’m here, meeting people, talking to people, I love it.” As news filtered out about the closing of Uneeda in recent days, many customers have taken to social media to pay tribute to the shop and its much-loved owner.
