Dunshaughlin's new Lidl store respects village's heritage

Dunshaughlin's new Lidl store, which opened today, creating 25 new jobs, is bringing a new lease of life to a site which has lain derelict in the village for decades.

Features of the former cattle salesyard and stables block of the old Fingal Arms Hotel have been sympathetically restored and are included in the development, including the old salesyard weighing scales, manufactured by Avery of Glasgow.
The developers also took down the old stable walls along the street, rebuilding them as a feature wall in the car park. A new retail development of three units now faces onto the street, built in the traditional streetscape style of Dunshaughlin.
"We worked closely with the local historical society to preserve what is obviously an important part of the heritage of Dunshaughlin," project manager Sean O'Sullivan says.
He explained how the window openings in the old stable wall would be fitted with uplighting to give it an extra special look after dark.
Dunshaughlin native, Duleek-based designer Shane Holland has created a plaque featuring the history of the vicinity written by local historian Jim Gilligan, which is erected beside the weighing scales on a plaza.
The 156th Lidl store in Ireland, Dunshaughlin is one of the chain's new concept stores, built with sustainability in mind. 
The new build of 2,111 square metres will employ a wide range of strategies to reduce the environmental impact, including a glass fronted façade to maximise natural daylight entering the building, sensor controlled exterior sun blinds to reduce unwanted heat from the sun, waste heat recovery ventilation systems, LED lighting and high insulation, external cladding.
Sean O'Sullivan says that the project began on 8th January, with Thursday's opening date in mind.
Those travelling through the village at the end of last week won't have helped noticing the traffic delays as the road resurfacing, line marking and installation of traffic lights was taking place in a full junction upgrade being carried out by Lidl. There will be 150 parking spaces at the store. 
New store manager Laura Galligan says: "As a town, Dunshaughlin is vibrant, energetic and continues to grow year on year, and the new team is really excited to get to know the local community over the coming weeks. We have a state-of-the-art new store packed full of value and quality products at market leading prices. 
“On behalf of Lidl Ireland, I would like to thank the local community for their positive engagement since day one, right throughout the planning process and for their continued support throughout the build."
The retail units to the front will include a Costa coffee outlet and a pharmacy.

Project manager Sean O'Sullivan with the plaque and weighing scales, with the old stable walls rebuilt behind him.

Site is intertwined with centuries of Dunshaughlin's history

It has lain derelict for over half a century, but the site of the new Lidl store in Dunshaughlin has a history intertwined with the story of the village for centuries.

The stone walls now retained as a feature in the development were once part of the stables of the Fingal Arms Hotel, the adjoining building which houses Padraig Sherry's auctioneering business.
This hotel was a hive of activity when the railway station in nearby Drumree was in its heyday, and the village was the centre of hunting and racing activities. Stephen Kelly, a racehorse owner ran the hotel, and it is thought the first meeting of Dunshaughlin GAA may have taken place there in 1887. The club still carries his racing colours, black and amber. Some of the men who lined out in the early years of the club worked in Kell's stables. His horses included Lagore, Barbrock, Liberia, and Opponent, winner on the Ulster Plate at Downpatrick in 1888.
Later, John Connell from Skryne ran a livestock salesyard on the stables site, while Gillicks ran a forge in one corner. The salesyard continued to trade up to the 1950s. The site was part of the Gogan's Public House property for many decades, until sold for development.
In 2011, Meath County Council gave the go-ahead to Cusack Homes for a retail and office project with an anchor tenant, which included the demolition of the stable walls. 
The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht lodged an appeal against this decision, adding to objections from the local Tidy Towns, and local businesses. Previous applications had included a residential element, which were not included in that application. The original application did not include demolition of the walls either, the Department of Heritage stated.
It noted that the building was recorded by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage as retaining “original and colourful features and materials, such as brick dressings and cast iron windows, which make a positive and notable addition to the streetscape.”
When Lidl made its planning application last year, submissions included a petition of 500 local names supporting it.