Final curtain as John Joyce Interiors closes

End of a Watergate Street institution after four decades

After almost four decades on Navan's Watergate Street, John Joyce Interiors has closed its doors.

An institution in the town since 1986, John has been taken aback by the amount of good wishes, kind words, and memories that people have been sharing with him since he announced his departure a month ago.

“There were lovely tributes on social media,” he says. “And special thanks to all those who made the time to call in to the shop to wish me well.”

From Islandeady near Westport in Co Mayo, John worked in Heatons on Trimgate Street (where AIB now stands) for some seven years before opening his own business when Heatons closed its doors.

Since then he has provided thousands of customers with curtain fabrics, bed linens, wool, thread and cotton fabrics, blinds, rails, poles and fittings, and haberdashery, as well as providing a fitting service.

With a changing retail landscape, John has made the difficult decision to pull down the curtains on his own store, but has been heartened by the amount of well wishes he has received, and the thanks from customers he has served over the years, some of whose parents he also looked after.

“I have had a fantastic time on the street, and I want to thank all those who worked with me over the years, and to the seamstresses and fitters, and especially most recently Vicina and Linda – it is all of their hard work which made the shop such a success.”

The support of his wife, Mary, and son, Stephen, goes without saying, while he is also thankful to all the suppliers he has dealt with over those 40 years.

“And I have to mention those at Bank of Ireland who showed every faith in the business in good times and bad,” John says. “They were more than just neighbours on the street.”

On that note, he is also thankful to fellow traders and business people on the street and the town for their support over the years, out of which many friendships grew that remain to this day.

He is not altogether departing the trade – he will still cater for individual clients and private commissions, putting his years of interiors experience to ongoing use for householders and businesses as called upon, after the last month which saw a busy and nostalgic closing down sale. Watergate Street much the poorer for his departure so soon after neighbours Callan and Harte.