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 On the 17th October 1871 one Jeremiah Mckenna married
Johanna Horgan and started a business at No.3 Market street Listowel
selling general hardware. Very general. It's likely that there would have
been vegetables for sale alongside the ironmongery in the early days. But
all to the good; in 1875 the couple bought No.3. Then in 1880
tragedy struck, taking the form so well known in those times; Jeremiah
succumbed to tuberculosis and died, still a young man.
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Alone with two small children Johanna had an overwhelming battle, and the
little business went into bankruptcy within a short time. This much is
known; what's not known is how she raised the funds to get going again.
But having recovered, she repaid all debts, a feature of Mckenna's
history to have a lasting effect on it's reputation well down the road. |
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In 1907 her son John emigrated to America. A young man
with his life all ahead could find much opportunity there by comparison
with the Listowel of the time. But the letters from home kept drawing his
mind back to his mother who would persist in carrying on the business at
No.3. He well knew how much of a struggle it was for her, and sailed out
of New York before a year had passed. |
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John married Grace McMahon in 1909 and settled
back in. Simply supporting his Mother's efforts to keep the shop open
wasn't enough for him; he could feel some ideas of his own coming on. By
1912 Enright's creamery had been acquired. Here the stocking of building
supplies began and the creamery site eventually became known as the Mill
Yard. |
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In 1913 Johanna bought out the ground rent on
No.3 Market street. She died three years later, as John became a member of
Kerry county Council, and missed by a year his election to chairman. |
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1916-1941
 John had been a member of the Irish volunteers since its early days and
as political tensions grew in Ireland his involvement came increasingly to
the attention of the British authorities. In April 1918 he was tried by a
British military court and imprisoned in Belfast. Kerry county council
didn't agree with the judgement and re-elected him chairman in absentia.
In
the meantime his wife Grace ran business and home, and even branched out
by starting a cheese making operation. Food supply had been badly hit as a
result of the First World War; provisions with a shelf life were in demand
and her enterprise was a success. By his release the following Christmas
John's health had taken a serious
beating, but he was far from finished. Amongst other developments he
bought out the ground rent on the mill yard (1920), bought No. 5 Market
street (rented until 1926), and began the purchase of wheat, barley, and
oats from cereal growers (c. 1930). The Dairy Disposal Board bought
goodwill of the creamery and constructed a new plant elsewhere in
the town, at which point the old dairy ceased to operate. Then in late 1939 a big fire gutted
the timber mills, and cast grave doubt on the possibility of continuing
timber supply: With WWII underway ready supplies of timber ceased to
exist, and the blackened ruins of the mill offered no means to work it. A
number of men who had faithfully served for many years now faced
unemployment. One suggested digging out the machines from the debris to
see if they could be repaired. After weeks of work and ingenuity the
machines were working again, and John started rebuilding. In recognition
of the spirit involved, other suppliers generously contributed timber. A few months later the sign
went up: "business as usual".
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1941-1986
 In June 1941 John was joined by his son John Gerard
(Jack). On
the 8th of August the following year the private company J. Mckenna Ltd.
was formed. In August 1962 Jack bought Walsh's shop and yard extending the
Market street premises as far as the corner of the street. Soon after that
Jack departmentalised the retail premises. Up until then analysis of sales
performance was a matter of inspired guesswork, and the stock well jumbled
together. Now he had electrical goods, hardware, decoration, and furniture
separated and managed as independent units. August 1969 saw
the purchase of Faley's shop and yard.
Paul Taylor, Jack's
son-in-law and an accountant with corporate experience joined in 1979.
 Simon Mckenna,
a graduate in building construction, joined in 1985.
The fourth generation became established.
This period came to
a close
with the retirement of Jack Mckenna in December 1986.
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The latest bit
 Access to the mill had been easy to negotiate
with horse and cart and tolerable enough for the lorries generally used
for delivery of timber up until the '80's. But too much occasion attended
the arrival of articulated trucks down the narrow back street and into the
modest gate of the yard. Agreement of sale with the L+N supermarket chain
in 1991 facilitated the purchase of 4 acres on the Ballybunion road,
construction of premises, and transfer of the heavy end of business. Doors
opened there on the 31st. of October 1993.
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