Courtyard Shopping Centre

The Courtyard Shopping Centre is a retail complex in County Donegal, Ireland, located in central Letterkenny.

Courtyard Shopping Centre
The rear entrance of the Courtyard on Oliver Plunkett Street
LocationLetterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland
AddressLower Main Street
Opening dateOctober 21, 1993 (1993-10-21)
No. of stores and services40
No. of anchor tenants3 (Iceland, Sports Direct, Bookmark)
No. of floors3
ParkingMulti-storey
(400 spaces)
Websitecourtyardletterkenny.com
The rear of the Courtyard Shopping Centre as viewed from beneath the arch. The complex's multi-storey car park, which is built on a slope descending onto Pearse Street, is partially visible in the background.

Location

The centre is in central Letterkenny, close to the Library and Arts Centre, on the Lower Main Street side and the Bank of Ireland on the Upper Main Street side; it also overlooks Pearse Street and Oliver Plunkett Street. The structure is built spirally on a slope so, if approached from the Main Street entrance, the visitor, when making their way through the complex, descends into the ground via a series of escalators.

History

Paul Reynolds of Reynolds and Company developed the Courtyard Shopping Centre.[1] Reynolds died after a prolonged illness in December 2020.[2][3]

The centre opened on 21 October 1993 and became a major retail element in Letterkenny. Mick Lally and Joe Lynch, known for their roles in the Bracken and Glenroe television programmes, performed the official opening, arriving aboard Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.[4] Coronation Street stars Kevin Kennedy and Ken Morley also appeared at the centre. The visits of notable people such as these are each commemorated throughout the complex with their own tiles, featuring a golden sketch of the person's outline. Among these are tiles dedicated to such Donegal personalities as Packie Bonner and Daniel O'Donnell.

Within less than two years of its opening it had been awarded several prizes for its design and for its content.[1]

Shops and facilities

The centre as of May 2019 has 28 stores. The supermarket chain Iceland has a branch at the centre.[5] Sports Direct and Brand Max (formerly Heatons) the department store in which billionaire retail entrepreneur and Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has a 50% stake, is present, along with a bookshop and Donegal's premier chippy, The Four Lantern's.[6]

The centre was seriously affected by the recession and economic problems in Ireland in the late 2000s. Many stores closed, some businesses failed, and many stores decided to move to the Letterkenny Shopping Centre in Port Road of the town. The Letterkenny Shopping Centre has seen a rise in the numbers shopping there, but the Courtyard has seen their numbers drop. However the centre is still very popular with shoppers and especially students from Saint Eunan's College and the Loreto Convent Secondary School who frequent the centre during their daily lunch breaks.

The complex also contains its own multi-storey car park, and provides toilets, a baby changing room, lifts in the main centre and car park and travelators to all floors.

Expansion

Paul Reynolds & Company Ltd. applied for planning permission to build another floor of retail space at the centre in mid-2007.[7] The application was approved and resulted in an extra 980 square metres of retail area. The centre went through changes in respect to the locations of its anchor tenants in 2008. Sports Direct expanded over three floors of the centre, occupying the former location of Costcutter and another floor was constructed to house the future Brand Max.

References
  1. Doyle, Louise (16 July 2020). "The Way We Were - 25 Years Ago: July 15, 1995 - BHS may come to Letterkenny". Donegal News. p. 18.
  2. "Paul Reynolds (businessman) death". Highland Radio. 16 December 2020.
  3. "Sadness at death of Paul Reynolds". Donegal Daily. 15 December 2020.
  4. Opening of the Courtyard, Letterkenny 1993
  5. http://www.iceland.ie/storefinder/letterkenny/
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. Planning Application: 0780087 Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine

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