Shoe repair shop that counted Bono and Lionel Richie…

Shoe repair shop that counted Bono and Lionel Richie as customers closes after 85 years

It has repaired shoes for superstars such as Bono and Lionel Richie, as well as every Irish Taoiseach from Eamon de Valera to Enda Kenny.

But today one of Ireland’s favourite cobbler’s shops is shutting its doors for good after 85 years in business.

Curran’s Shoe Repairs, located just off Baggot Street, in Dublin city, has felt the repercussions of the Covid pandemic, which has seen more people working from home, meaning less footfall in the city centre and more casual shoes, which has killed off the trade.

Coupled with the rising costs of electricity bills and materials, the current owner John Miley has made the difficult decision to close up shop.

John, 56, first came to work in the shop at the age of 10, where he swept the floors and tidied up. At the age of 16 he did an apprenticeship with the owner Michael Curran, who originally set up the shop in 1937.

Curran’s Shoe Repairs was located just off Baggot Street and was a favourite with countless loyal customers (Robbie Kane)

Speaking to the Irish Mirror, owner John Miley said he’s been in the shop “my entire life” and the decision to close has been “extremely tough”.

“During Covid, during the lockdown, it cost me a fortune to keep the shop going,” he said.

“The office staff [in Dublin city] never came back full-time and then the dress code changed to smart-casual - runners, flip-flops - so [repairing] shoes was slowly but surely drying up.

“What I needed for the shop to keep going full-time was for people to be coming into Dublin 9-5pm, Monday to Friday.

“The cost of heating, electricity, materials, they started creeping up slowly but surely over the last two years which didn’t help at all.

“It was a tsunami of one thing after another.”

The small shop has serviced a host of famous customers in its 85 years, from politicians to rock stars to VIPs staying at the nearby five-star hotels.

“We had the Taoisigh over the years and I used to do the boots for Bono and U2 going on tour,” he said.

“And any of the dignitaries that used to stay in the Merrion Hotel and the Shelbourne Hotel, a lot of the VIP shoes from those hotels.

“I know for a fact there was Bono and there was Lionel Richie. We also did an awful lot of repairs for Riverdance over the years.”

John has also repaired the shoes of countless loyal customers who are devastated to see it go and have been popping into the store in their droves to say goodbye.

“It’s like a small wake,” he said. “Grown men crying over a shoe repair shop.

“I’ve just had lovely women who came up to me from Killaloo, they used to be very good customers a couple of years ago, and they just drove up especially to give me a little bottle of champagne.

“The shop itself is bricks and mortar, I have the skill of repairing shoes but it was built on the atmosphere and the customers talking to each other and talking to me - the customers were the backbone to the shop.”

READ NEXT:

Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter

Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.

Already a member? Sign in here