Locals angry over Lidl opening

BUSINESS people and the mayor of Midleton have said they were terribly disappointed because discount supermarket Lidl opened for business during Robert Holohan’s funeral.

Local mayor, Cllr Ted Murphy, said he hoped locals would show their anger by avoiding the German-owned shop in coming weeks. However, it was business as usual yesterday with scores of shoppers in the shop.

Local business people were asked to close their shops and offices during the 11-year-old’s funeral last Saturday and nearly every shop in the town closed from 1pm onwards.

Cllr Murphy said that shoppers should note that “the company went against the wishes of the town”.

“There are much smaller businesses which closed without hesitation. Yet, Saturday afternoon trading makes a huge difference to them as they make much less money over the week,” said Cllr Murphy.

“I was amazed they ignored the wishes of the town. I hope it will affect them as they should work with the town,” he said.

However, Chamber of Commerce president Paul O’Neill, said local management should not be blamed for the company’s decision to remain open. “The closing of businesses was a great act of unity. It was fantastic but I believe the decision was not taken at branch level as most of their decisions are made at a national or higher level,” he said.

He said they had been approached to join the Chamber of Commerce but had declined as they were a multinational company and didn’t require the support of such networks.

Local travel agent Brendan Barry was one of the main organisers of the closure and said it was a “mark of respect” which made common sense.

Lidl was not available for comment yesterday.