Ireland was a different place in 1981 when Eamon Bracken opened for business.
The town was less than half the size it is now but probably had twice the local employment. The Avon Arlington factory in the town and Bord na Mona out the road were both big employers.
And it was into that space stepped Eamon Bracken, who was from just outside the town, who took on a menswear business as a young man in his 20s.
After leaving school he worked with Tom Manley in his shop in Athy. Manley was a Port man and opened a second shop in his home town, which Eamon duly worked in.
He was then offered the opportunity to take on the business himself, something he took with open arms. Eamon Bracken Menswear was born.
Last week Eamon and his wife Bernie, a native of Rosemount outside Moate in county Westmeath, announced that they were closing down. It was an announcement that was met with sadness, appreciation and nostalgia.
It has been an iconic business in the heart of Portarlington for almost half a century. They have dressed half the men of the county – and beyond – over the years.
From suits to jumpers to shoes, christenings to communions and weddings to wakes, they’ve kitted out generations of families for big occasions.
“It was grey, navy and black, that was it, that was the choice. It was very basic at the start,” says Bernie as she reflects on the early days.
They started out in the premises they are still in today though it was leased at the time. When it went up for sale, they bought it, and lived above the shop for a number of years after getting married as they built up the business.
“We didn’t realise we were in a recession. We had a lot of sharp learnings but we never regretted it,” adds Bernie.
Avon employees in particular came from beyond the town, allowing them spread their customer base.
In the early days they cashed cheques for people after getting their weekly wages and ran accounts for customers, allowing them to pay off over time.
They can still remember the custom of keeping a book to record who had what put by and how much paid off.
While men now are largely more fashion conscious than they were in previous times, Bernie – who ran a women’s clothes shop, A La Mode for a while in the square in Portarlington – points out the key difference in shoppers.
“Women come into to browse,” she says. “Men come into buy.
“If they don’t buy, it’s your fault for not selling to them.”
They also had the quirky experience of selling clothes to men who never stepped foot inside their shop.
“We dressed men all through the years and we never saw them,” she says.
“To this day we would have customers whose wives would come, take out clothes, keep what they want and bring back what they’re not buying.”
And if they heard one particular phrase once they heard it a thousand times: “Eamon knows his size.”
“It got to the stage where Eamon knew everyone’s size.”
That level of service “was certainly one of the things that helped us”.
The practice of sending clothes out on ‘appro’, as it is known in the trade, was a whole new experience to certain customers.
“People who moved to the area from Dublin were blown away by this. But you got to know who you could trust and who you couldn’t.”
The trade has changed in different ways too over the years. At one time a suit could do someone ten years. Now people will get new suits for dinner dances and weddings months apart.
TV, social media and – though you’d be loathe to acknowledge it – Conor McGregor’s arrival onto the scene more than a decade ago, regularly attired in a fine suit, certainly had an influence on young men’s fashion choices.
But wearing a suit to work on a daily basis isn’t nearly as common as it once was.
The decision to close now is down to their stage of life.
“We’re quite close to retirement anyway. It’s very intensive … you can’t half open the shop.
“We want to be able to take a step back, spend more time with our grandchildren and take things a bit easier.”
Eamon and Bernie have three adult children – Keith, Niamh and Ella – and though interested in the business “they are all busy with their own careers” to take it on fully.
But while one element of the business is closing, they’re not going away entirely, and a new smaller store will open just a bit further up the town concentrating on dress hire and specifically on suits.
Given that change of direction, were they ever tempted to open a second shop outside of Portarlington at any stage?
“We thought about it and we were approached – to go to Newbridge, to go to Portlaoise – and we did do pop ups at various stages.
“But we always felt it was double the space, double the staff, double the overheads and what we do is primarily around the personal service which we wouldn’t have been able to deliver on as much.”
Another factor in growing their base of customers was through kitting out Laois GAA teams. When Laois appeared in minor All Ireland finals in the 1990s, and later in the 2000s, the teams were suited and booted from Eamon Bracken Menswear.
That was a big order in its own right, but it spread their wings right around the county. The Laois hurlers were togged out too in 2019. On the handful of occasions when Laois GAA players were at the All Stars, they were invariably togged out by Brackens as well.
Some of it was good business, some of it was good marketing. Some of it was sponsorship.
Nothing probably gave them greater pleasure though than helping Portarlington GAA. Their son Keith was captain for the 2020-2022 three-in-a-row of Laois senior football success and a mainstay in all five of recent championship successes.
“Ah, that has been mighty alright.”
They’re in sale at the minute and flat out but once that stock is gone, it’s gone. The shutters will come down. What takes its place in that premises hasn’t been finalised yet.
“It’ll be bitter sweet alright,” says Bernie. “It has been very good to us over the years. We’ve had great craic, met some great people and the staff and customers have been brilliant over the years.
“It’ll be tough to say goodbye but everything moves on.”
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