Pharmacy opens for business despite lorry driven through shopfront

The scene this morning at O'Donnell's TotalHealth Pharmacy. Picture: O'Donnell's TotalHealth Pharmacy

A pharmacy in Mayo opened for business today despite a truck ramming into the front of the building in the early hours of the morning.

A truck passing through the Charlestown area some time between 2.30am and 3am collided with a traffic island before crashing into O'Donnell's Total Health Pharmacy on Market Square, causing extensive damage.

Gardaí said the driver was taken Mayo University Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Ian Johnson, who runs the pharmacy with his wife, says customers in need of medicine are using a side entrance to the building.

"Obviously, no one can get through the front door but we have side access we are working in the dispensary as best we can to get people their medicine," he said.

"At this time of year, people want their medicines a little earlier than usual so we are just working away as safely as we can and under all the guidance that we've been given."

Over the Christmas and New Year period, the pharmacy will be utilising the side entrance and making do but in the new year they will need to look at relocating for two or three while the damage is assessed and repair work can be carried out.

Currently, the team are just thankful that no one was seriously injured.

"Accidents are accidents, they happen and unfortunately today it happened to us. So we'll just keep going I suppose. Just thank god no one was really hurt."

The family-run business has been in Ian's wife Nuala's family since the 1940s.

"My wife, Nuala O'Donnell Johnson, it was her family business since 1940. We came back 27 years ago and took it over."

The business relocated once before 15 years ago when they knocked the old shop and rebuilt it.

They had not planned on doing it again but Mr Johnson said it is just a matter of getting on with things.