H Williams was a supermarket chain in Ireland founded as a grocer in the late 19th century. In 1959 it opened the first supermarket in Ireland, in Dublin's Henry Street. Though publicly listed on the Dublin Stock Exchange for many years, the Quinn-McArdle family controlled its board and provided most of its senior management.[1] In the early 1980s it was sold to a its managing director, John Quinn, and property developer Finbarr Holland.[2] H Williams collapsed in 1987, following a price war that led to the 1987 amendment to the Groceries Order in an effort to protect the market from further concentration.[3] The former H Williams supermarkets were sold to other supermarket chains.

H Williams' head office was situated in Dundrum, Dublin, also the site of Pye electric goods at one time, now close to the present town centre. There was also a store located there and said Rolls-Royce's, much more iconic then than now could be observed frequently.

Other stores included ones located in Rathmines, Terenure, Tallaght (now a Lidl) and Killester as well as one in Mullingar[4] -- the Fairgreen Shopping Centre is located on its site.

References

  1. "Quinn, John James". Dictionary of Irish Biography. February 2016.
  2. Oram, Hugh (July 24, 2017). "Gone shopping – An Irishman's Diary on Dublin's old grocery shops". Irish Times.
  3. Groceries Order: Background
  4. "Future of Mullingar H. Williams Store". Westmeath Examiner. 1987-11-07. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-08-08 via Irish Newspaper Archives.
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