That was in the early to mid ‘80s with people like Anne Enright, Kate Holmquist, Ed Guiney and Alan Gilsenan – it was very dynamic’. After graduating in 1985, he worked for a few years as a trainee cameraman for US animation studios in Ireland and UK (Sullivan Bluth and Disney), as well as making independent films. Taking over the family business wasn’t part of his game plan, but when his father died suddenly in 1988, he stepped up, aged just 26. By then, the business was in need of a revamp. ‘It was quite old-fashioned. The first thing I did was start selling cards. My art history was useful there. I bought in fine art images, like Matisse, which did very well. Then in 1997, I took out a loan to do a major refurbishment.’ He worked with architect Róisín Murphy on the stylish interior with its long counter and beautiful shelving and display cases. His timing was good – he had a decade of the Celtic Tiger when luxury goods were in demand - as he says, ‘when big deals are done, fancy pens are given out.’ Recession and austerity followed but The Pen Corner is used to weathering recessions – it is the mass move to online retail, coupled with the high rent of the premises, that has determined the decision to close. He is looking at maintaining some supply online but points out that ‘canvasing our existing customers, I’ve found that a high proportion are averse to online - they come in because we’re here’. He knows that closure has come as a blow to many – among the dismayed tweets was conservationist Frank McDonald who calls it ‘an unmitigated tragedy for the city centre’ – and he thinks the government and city council could do more to protect independent retail. But personally he is looking forward to the next stage – ‘Printing is what I love and I have a small press… I feel like I’m 26 again, just out of Trinity, with everything before me.’ Click here to request a visit
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