Kildare newsagent stands test of time

A newsagents in Kildare town thought to be the oldest in the country has celebrated its 150th anniversary.

The shop with the nameplate L Malone has remained in the ownership of the same family since it first opened in 1864 – a time when there were considerably fewer newspapers and magazines for sale. The original owner, Brigid Malone, ran a number of shops at the time and called the business after her daughter Lily.

It is now owned and managed by a descendant, Louis Hennessy, and his wife Terry, who have declined several takeover offers over the years from multiple traders.

L Malone remains an important part of the history of Kildare town.

It will be remembered by some of the older customers for its juke box and displays of radios and televisions.

At that time many families as well as the Presentation Sisters and the de LaSalle Brothers had business accounts in Malones – an arrangement almost unheard of these days.

Even before that – in the 1920s – L Malone was an agent for the Cunard shipping line, selling tickets to emigrants heading for the United States and further afield.

The shop has had considerable luck with its sales of Lotto tickets and scratch cards.

It biggest success came on April 1st, 2012, when Giustina Macari, whose family ran a fish and chip shop on the opposite side of the street, won €11,526,001 in the national lottery.

"She immediately cashed in her chips," says Jan Hennessy, a daughter of the owners. Only two weeks ago, another lucky customer picked up €25,000 on an all-cash platinum scratchcard for an investment of €10.

And luck of a different sort has come to one of its paperboys – radio presenter Ray D’Arcy, who got his first job in Malones. His father Ray is still a loyal customer.

Appropriately, L Malone has just been named Newsagent of the Year by the Leinster Leader.

Jane Hennessy says the paper's sales manager was "blown away by the number of loyal customers who voted for the shop and who wrote such heartfelt pieces about it".