Michael Moynihan: In praise of old sports shops

You probably saw in last Saturday’s newspaper that I met Moss Finn for a chat. He was great company, but there was a shadow over our discussions.

He referred to the Western Star (now long closed), I asked him to talk about his shop (now lately closed); he mentioned Beecher’s, a dark and welcoming hostelry that once beckoned the weary shopper on Patrick Street (again, long closed), and I saw his reference to Beecher’s and raised him, tangentially, the Grand Circle, a similarly inviting establishment on Emmet Place (now, sadly, long closed etc etc.)