Living over the shop: Byrne's auctioneers are still going strong
Thomas M Byrne Auctioneers, Dublin Street, Carlow
NUMBER 18 Dublin Street is the focus of this week’s article, a premises with a long and varied history in Carlow town. The current owners, Thomas M Byrne Auctioneers, have occupied this building since the 1990s. Prior to that, it briefly housed Mothercare, replacing the long-established drapery store Sloan’s.
Sloan’s was a chain store founded in 1928 by Alex Sloan, with four branches in Dublin and 14 others dotted around the countryside. Selling furniture, glass and china as well as clothes, it served generations of Carlow people and was a valued employer of shop staff, administration staff and reps. In 1964, a fire destroyed the building and it had to be completely rebuilt. Prior to Sloan’s, this premises housed Dillon’s Restaurant and rented rooms upstairs to a Mr Berry, whose ad claimed that ‘Rheumatic and Foot Disorders (would be) Painlessly Treated and Corrected!
Byrne’s auctioneers was originally set up by Tom Byrne Snr, who hailed from Glynn in Co Carlow. The family owned a pub and farm. Both of Tom Snr’s parents died while he was still quite young and he was reared by his aunt. Having spent some time in London, he moved back to Dublin and finally Carlow, setting up his first business over Broughan’s hardware on Castle Street (now Kennedy Street). Selling was Tom’s talent and he loved meeting people. He first sold gas cookers, then moved on to furniture auctions, before getting involved in the selling of property. As his son Tom Jnr told me: ‘No mile was too far for him’ and he would travel the length and breadth of Ireland for a sale, even covering 100,000 miles one year in his car.
Tom’s popular furniture auctions were held behind Kealy’s of John Street, where he honed his auctioneering skills. As the business grew, he moved to 15 Dublin Street, to a premises which was once the office of a weekly newspaper known as , before becoming Kinsella’s electrical shop. When the opportunity arose to buy number 18, Tom and his son Tom Jnr, who had joined him in business, moved to the fine, three-storey premises, where the business now operates.
From cottages to castles, no property was ever too big or too small for Byrne’s to sell. At one stage, Tom Snr even travelled to America with a portfolio of Irish property for sale. Tom’s powers of persuasion were so great that he generated huge interest, so much so that he continued to advertise on radio in Boston, New York and Dallas as well as on the newspaper for some time.
Tom Snr’s name was known all over Ireland. His son remembers travelling the wilds of Co Limerick with him one night in the early 1970s. There were no sat-navs or Google Maps at the time. Having travelled all evening, they ended up going down a boreen and, looking for somewhere to turn the car, they were surprised to see a man emerge from a shed with a lantern. ‘Is that you, Tom Byrne?’ he asked. The man went on to sell his 20 acres through Tom and retired a millionaire, having remained loyal to the Byrne family business through many transactions for years.
Tom could not be tempted by franchises or partnerships with big auctioneering firms. His famous quote was ‘I want no partner, only a dance partner’ And he was a champion ballroom dancer! He encouraged his family to be involved in the auctioneering business, which is still the case to this day. Although Tom Snr died in 2008, his son Tom continues the business, ably assisted by his wife Anna and daughter Maria, along with loyal staff Fidelma, Catriona and Adele. Tom’s late sister Colette Morrissey, the first female financial broker in Ireland, formerly shared offices with him. Her untimely death in 2022 left a huge void in the family, but her motto, which was read at her funeral, reflected her infectious love of life, inherited from her father: ‘The goal is to die with memories, not dreams.’
Tom Snr encouraged all his children to be involved in equestrian sports from their earliest years, believing that the discipline of looking after horses was a good life skill. His three children – Colette, Tom and Margaret – were all involved in pony clubs, with Tom going on to become a national showjumping star, representing his country on many occasions. He was captain of the Carlow team which, at the time, was the only team from Ireland to win a European championship. A serious injury from which he was lucky to make a full recovery ended his horse-riding days, but his six children continued the family tradition and the love of showjumping and horseracing continues.
Thomas M Byrne Auctioneers claim to be the longest-serving estate agents in the Carlow area. With a vast amount of properties to sell and lease in their portfolio and with the next generation now involved, they certainly look set to continue for many years to come.
Remembering Carlow,
