SUMMER visitors to Clare's beautiful old town of Ennistymon are in for a shock with the opening of an ultra-modern supermarket alongside some of the oldest shopfronts in the country.
Fitzpatrick's new €8 million SuperValu store is unlikely to impress the conservation lobby but it will be one of the first in the provinces with an advanced energy efficient system and underground car park.
The 1,021sq m (11,000sq ft) store, located a short distance from the original outlet, has an innovative air conditioning system which recovers waste heat from a range of refrigerators in the main store and transfers it to the heating system.
A loop system allows hot water to be circulated in winter and chilled water in the summer for cooling the shop.
The system is fully automatic and changes from heating to cooling as required. The shop can also be maintained at a setback temperature overnight while using the waste heat from the refrigerators. Fitzpatrick's says that the new system cuts the energy requirements and reduces the carbon footprint by 56 tons of CO2.
Up to 20 new jobs are to be created in the new supermarket which will have a staff of almost 70. The owners say that around 75 per cent of goods sold in the store will be either produced or sourced in Ireland.
