Courtyard Shopping Centre

Retail facility in Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland

Courtyard Shopping Centre

The rear entrance of the Courtyard on Oliver Plunkett Street

Location| Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland
Address| Lower Main Street
Opening date| October 21, 1993; 30 years ago (1993-10-21)
No. of stores and services| 28
No. of anchor tenants| 3 (Letterkenny Continental Supermarket, Sports Direct, Bookmark)
No. of floors| 3
Parking| Multi-storey
(400 spaces)
Website| courtyardletterkenny.com
The rear entrance view; the multi-storey car park, which is built on a slope descending onto Pearse Road, is partially visible in the background.

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

## Location

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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 Road 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.[citation needed]

## History

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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, with actors Mick Lally and Joe Lynch (known for their roles in Glenroe) performing the official opening ceremony.[4] Coronation Street stars Kevin Kennedy and Ken Morley also appeared at the centre. These 'celebrity visits' are commemorated in the centre by tiles which feature a golden sketch of the person's outline. Other such tiles depict people like Packie Bonner and Daniel O'Donnell.[citation needed]

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

The owners applied for planning permission to build another floor of retail space in mid-2007.[5] The application was approved and resulted in an extra 980 square metres of retail area. The centre went through further changes in 2008, with Sports Direct expanding over three floors, occupying the former location of Costcutter. Another floor was constructed to house a Brand Max outlet.[citation needed]

## Shops and facilities

[edit]

The centre has its own multi-storey car park and, as of May 2019, had 28 stores.[citation needed] Sports Direct and Brand Max (formerly Heatons) is present, along with a bookshop and a chipper/takeaway.[6]

The centre was impacted by the recession and economic problems in Ireland in the late 2000s.[citation needed] Many stores closed, some businesses failed, and some other stores moved to the Letterkenny Shopping Centre in Port Road of the town.[citation needed]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b 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" - via youtube.com.
5. ^ "Donegal County Council - Planning Application: 0780087". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011.
6. ^ "Store directory - Four Lanterns". courtyardletterkenny.com. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.

## External links

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* Official website
* The Courtyard Shopping Centre on CompletelyRetail.

* v
* t
* e

Letterkenny

* Climate
* History
* People

Districts|

* Central: Cathedral Road · Cathedral Square · College Road · College Row · Convent Road · Oldtown Road

Streets: Church Lane · Fortwell · Justice Walsh Lower Main · Market Square (Mount Southwell) · Rosemount Lane · Speer's Lane · Upper Main

Suburban: Oldtown (New Leck · Old Leck) · Rockhill

Landmarks|

* Army Barracks
* Cathedral of St Eunan and St Columba
* Church of the Irish Martyrs
* Conwal Cemetery
* Conwal Parish Church
* Hospitals
* University General
* St Conal's Psychiatric
* Parks
* Ballymacool
* Bernard McGlinchey

Culture|

* Architecture
* County Museum
* Library and Arts Centre
* Public art
* Regional Cultural Centre
* Theatre

Education|

* Letterkenny branch of the local technological university
* St Eunan's College
* Gaelcholáiste
* Loreto Convent

Mass media|

* Donegal Democrat
* Donegal News
* Donegal on Sunday
* Donegal People's Press
* Highland Radio
* Letterkenny Post
* River Media
* Tirconaill Tribune

Sport|

* Athletic Club
* GAA club, Naomh Adhamhnáin—St Eunan's
* O'Donnell Park
* Golf Club
* Regional Sports and Leisure Complex
* Rugby Football Club
* Association football clubs
* Bonagee United
* Letterkenny Rovers
* Dry Arch Park
* Leckview Park

Economy|

* Club Voodoo
* Grill Music Venue
* Oatfield

Retail|

* Courtyard Shopping Centre
* Glencar Shopping Centre
* Letterkenny Shopping Centre
* Letterkenny Retail Park
* Riverside Retail

* Former Town Council

* v
* t
* e

Shopping centres in the Republic of Ireland

Dublin|

* Artaine Castle
* Blanchardstown
* Charlestown
* Clarehall
* Donaghmede
* Dundrum
* George's Street Arcade
* Ilac Centre
* Jervis
* Liffey Valley
* Merrion Centre
* Northside
* Nutgrove
* Omni Park
* Powerscourt Townhouse Centre
* Talbot Mall
* The Square Tallaght
* Stephen's Green
* Swords Pavilions

Leinster|

* Athlone Towncentre, Westmeath
* Golden Island, Athlone, Westmeath
* Harbour Place Shopping Centre, Mullingar

Munster|

* Crescent, Limerick
* Mahon Point, Cork
* Wilton, Cork

Ulster|

* Courtyard, Donegal

See also: Retail in the Republic of Ireland

54°56′56″N 7°44′13″W﻿ / ﻿54.949°N 7.737°W﻿ / 54.949; -7.737
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