Hegartys Todays

Blackwatertown's Convenience store with a wide ranges of goods and services, incl. Post Office, groceries, dairy, bakery, confectionery, solid fuel etc. . .

Tuesday the 12th of July 1949 was a memorable day for Dan Hegarty, his wife Lila and sons Seamus and Sean, as Dan Hegarty’s Shop in Blackwatertown opened. Sixty seven years later the shop is in third generation Hegarty hands with Colleen Toner nee Hegarty at the reigns. In between the late Dan, Seamus and his wife Rosie held the reign for close to 40 years.
In that sixty seven years the village of Blackwatertown has changed, expanded and become diverse, a little microcosm of the modern day world. People from various parts of the world all live in the little village and like the locals all see ‘Hegartys or Seamies or Dan’s and now Colleen’s’ as a central part of village life.
Seamus, my father, never refused anyone anything, whether they had money or not. Should it be a packet of fags of a pint of milk, Da would often say ‘sure I’ll see you later, ’ sometimes he did but often he didn’t, but that didn’t bother him.
Da told me recently that the shop was opened with the money from my Uncle Sean’s money box, and that he like my grandfather enjoyed every day behind the counter. He regaled stories of moving statues bringing life to the town on a Sunday evening with the bus loads hungry for sweets and drinks. He laughed as he told me about Gripe water sales rocketing during the discos. He talked of many people long since dead like they were here today, Francie and Finnola Hughes, Sissy Kelly, the Caseys, Tom Boyle, Pat Maguire, more Donnellys than I can remember and the list goes on and on. All of these people were more than customers, they were friends.
My sisters Colleen, Clodagh and I were reared in the shop but neither Clodagh nor myself had the desire to stand behind the counter to follow in the footsteps of two massive characters. My sister Colleen hasn’t filled my father’s space yet but aided by my mother she is getting there. She like my father, and mother, my grandfather and my grandmother before, is made for that space behind the counter.
A recent refurbishment has moved the shop into the 21st century, da says he likes it but its Colleen who has to pay for it. It’s likely that if you’re from anywhere close to Blackwatertown from Madden to Maghery, from Ballymacnab to Ballyhegan, from Cookstown to Caledon, some of your ancestors visited the little shop beside the bridge. The next time you’re in ‘Colleen’s’ remember this is more than a shop its history.