'They're a breed apart': Dino Cregan pays tribute to fellow chip shop owners Lennox's

Legendary chip shop proprietor Dino Cregan was among the many Cork people and associations who paid tribute to the Lennox family after Monday night’s announcement that the Bandon Road chipper would be closing on Sunday next after 73 years in business, describing the Lennox's as ‘a breed apart’. 

Speaking to The Echo, Mr Cregan said that he couldn’t speak highly enough about Jackie Lennox who had assisted him in every way possible when he started his first chip shop business in the early 1970s.

“The Lennox family were brought up in such a way that work was the ethic,” he said. 

“They did that with their father and mother, two great people, who started off a business in the 1950s in Ireland and they deserve great credit.

“They’re a breed apart and they’re an example of what Irish people can be, but they’re finding it very hard, with modern society and modern regulations in Ireland with regards to keeping business going -that has to be looked at seriously, once and for all for a country like us that’s doing so well – handy businesses in all our towns and cities are suffering.

“When you [have] an example like the Lennox family, you have to ask what our priorities are -these are first class character families, I know all belonging to them, I knew their father and mother, they’re a breed apart, they’re an example to Cork and of the work ethic generally.” 

The Lennox family have had what Cork City chief operating officer Éanna Buckley described as ‘a long and proud association with the club over the decades’.

“Getting something to eat at Lennox’s either before or after the game at Turner’s Cross was very much part of the ritual for Cork City supporters over the years,” he said.

Mr Buckley, who was himself recruited as Cork City’s chief operating officer by Brian Lennox, was speaking to The Echo on Tuesday following the announcement which sent shockwaves around the city on Monday evening that the famous chipper would be closing on Sunday next, after 73 years in business.

“There’s a huge, huge association there and the family have given so much, people talk about what great employers they were and how well regarded the family were and that would be true in the wider community and also very much in the football community,” said Mr Buckley, who said that the family have been associated with the club as players, sponsors, patrons and officials as well as helping out in a myriad of ways.

“From a Cork City point of view, we’re only a small part of the picture when you see all the tributes that are coming in from left, right and centre – like so many other people we just want to say thank you and pay tribute to what they’ve done for the club, for football in Cork and for the wider community.” 

Cork Business Association president Aaron Mansworth said the closure of Lennox’s marked the ‘end of an era for Cork’. 

“For 73 years, the Lennox family have been more than a business, they’ve been a vital part of our community, creating memories for generations of locals and students,” he said.

“They built a business to be proud of and we wish them the very best in their well-deserved retirement, Lennox’s will be fondly remembered by all.” 

The former councillor Mick Finn described the chipper as ‘an institution in Cork for over seven decades, a family business that grew from a small acorn into an oak recognised all over Ireland and beyond’.

“Its closure will leave a huge void in the street and so many people are upset over it,” he said. 

“The shop was also a great source of employment for locals and staff were well looked after.

“My commiserations and thanks to Frances, Brian, Duncan and the Lennox family for their commitment to the area.

“I would hope that perhaps a buyer could be found and it could be kept open as one of Cork’s most loved chip shop.”