Ger locks up an era on Main Street
The end of a Main Street business era happened this lunchtime when Ger Peacocke closed the door on the shoe-making and repair shop that his late father Hugh established in the 1950s, writes Brian Byrne. He's now retired after 48 years behind the last where his dad had also worked for 57 years.
Cleared of machinery and materials over recent days — and maybe a few long-uncollected shoes? — the space had a strange sound as Ger picked up a remaining hammer for the last time, with nothing to use it on. The smell of leather and glue that has been a familiar to visitors to the shop for so many decades lingers still, but will soon fade.
Through the morning, well-wishers from a wide cohort of friends and customers had called to congratulate Ger on his retirement ("or commiserate with me"). Family members gathered for the occasion will say their own goodbyes to the shop later on.
Main Street will be different now without Ger — and Hugh before him — keeping an eye on things through each day from the battered bench set strategically inside the only front window.
We'll do some more on the occasion in due course, but for a perspective on the first 50 years of the business, read Sixty-five years on the last here.
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| Ger featured in an Irish Independent article in 2015. |
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| Ger's typically blunt advice on the Covid vaccine in 2021. |
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| Ger with Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer, Deputy Martin Heydon, and MEP Mairead McGuinness in 2019. |
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| Ger speaking at the Hideout Reunion he organised in 2015. |
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