After 70 years, a light in Cork retail goes out as John O'Flynn & Sons butchers closes

Every time a business like John O'Flynn & Sons butchers closes, we are moving closer to an utterly detached shopping experience devoid of any human contact. That is not progress

Patrick O'Flynn and Thomas Collins, of John O'Flynn & Sons, who were shortlisted for the Friendly Business Award, Marlboro Street, Cork. Picture: Jim Coughlan.

There is something special about the place you come from. The people, the streets, the stories, the shops, the history, it’s all in your DNA. Like growing up in Liverpool, New York, or Tokyo, the people, the way of life, the accent, the perspective you gain on the world, comes from those unique lived experiences you can only get from your hometown.

Being from Cork has always been something I am very proud of. Well, you rarely meet a Corkonian who doesn’t suffer with the vainglorious sense of being overly privileged, blessed even, to come up in a place like Cork.