Some of the shops and business premises that have closed down since the recession began in 2008. Taylors Hardware was
the first to go in 2009. It took 4 years to get new tenants into these premises. The original shop was broken up into separate
units with most occupied today. High rates was the reason for Taylors closing.
The Mens Formal
Wear closed because of competition coming from the Pavilions. The Carry Out off licence was doomed when the Centra shop next
door began selling alcohol. The reason given for the closure of the Londis shop was lack of trade, yet 2 sweet shops have
since opened in this stretch and seem to be doing well.
The Trentino building
was taken over by Masterson's and is one of the busiest restaurant's in Swords. Chartbusters closed because of the arrival
of Netflix who stream movies direct to your television for a monthly fee. The Spar Shop on the Dublin Road closed probably
because of competition from the nearby filling station and the threat of being clamped outside the shop. The E.S.B. closed
most of their stores in Ireland because they were not making money.
The Irish
Nationwide Bank went to the wall and the tax payers are still paying the price. All of the shops in the units opposite
The Lord Mayors have now closed down. The lack of trade would be the most obvious reason. Millers Café relied on building
workers buying rolls for lunches but the whole of that trade went with the crash. The Ladbrokes Bookies which was operating
out of Bobby Savages old shop moved up the street to a new bigger shop and the old office remains closed.
There's
not as much demand these days for Dry Cleaning as there once was so naturally a lot of these businesses closed due to this.
Excelsor probably closed because of competition coming from the raft of other restaurants along the main street.
Audrey's
Sweet Shop also closed down in early 2014. This was the last shop to operate on North Street. At one stage there were three
sweet shops along north street. Today there are none.
This information has been gathered
primarily for expats who have not been home to Swords in years and are in the dark concerning the extent of the recession
in Swords.
Each year around the St. Patrick's Day Parade the topic of derelict shops in Swords is
brought to the attention of Fingal County Council by councillors who are seeking answers regarding these run down shops. Each
year the council gives the same reply ''The Shop Fronts Along Swords Main Street Are Not Considered To Fall Under The Definition
Of A Derelict Site Under The Derelict Sites Act 1990''.
