One of Dublin’s oldest butcher shops has closed amid increasing competition from supermarkets.
Hogan’s Butchers on Wexford Street has closed its shutters and switched off its iconic neon sign for the final time after more than 80 years of serving the capital.
Christopher Hogan, a third-generation butcher, has decided to retire at the age of 70 and with it, he brings an end to one of the most beloved businesses in the capital.
Hogan’s Butchers opened for the first time in 1939 and soon became a favourite among locals, thriving on one of the most competitive streets for butchers in Dublin.
But with more supermarkets than ever bringing in in-house butchers in recent years, the decision was made to take the steps into retirement.
“The supermarkets have kind of taken over,” Christopher Hogan told the Irish Times. “And I’d say there’s a lot of butchers in the supermarkets that wouldn’t know how to split a lamb.”
Customers spent recent weeks popping in to wish Hogan well in his retirement, which is well deserved after a career spanning more than five decades.
He said: “I started when I was 16, which makes it 54 years here now so it’s a long time.
“It is a sad time but I’m 70 years of age now so I suppose it’s time to take it easy.”
