Cronin’s new Union Hall launderette service a new social outlet

AS a household business name in West Cork, Cronin’s have covered a number of different services in their time.

While best known for their Centra outlets in Ballyllickey and Leap, as well as Cronin’s Hardware in Ballylickey, Cronin’s have recently opened a launderette in Union Hall.

'In Ireland, it’s always a challenge to get things dry in the winter,' says owner Keith Cronin.

'And in the summer, you have a lot of tourists in the area, who’d need a laundry service.

'We opened it in November and we didn’t make any noise about it; we just wanted to see how it went and to iron out any glitches… things like that.'

Now that the business is getting firmly on its feet and with the spring approaching, there is a little more noise about it, with a social media promotion being launched where the winner gets a €50 voucher for the launderette.

'Launderette's are on the rise. The sheer convenience factor is a big attraction', says Keith, offering people the opportunity to get through a large quantity of washing and drying in an afternoon; all at a set cost and without the worry of the electricity bill to come.

'I suppose that time is the big thing – washes are done in 30 minutes there and the drying time is very efficient. They’re high-end machines and we’ve different sizes, depending on what your requirements are.'

'Keeping moving and diversifying in business are important in today’s economic climate', Keith says, with rising costs proving very damaging in so many sectors:

'We’re always trying to add strings to our bow, as such,' says Keith.

'We’re seeing more and more businesses struggling while margins are tight. So while costs are increasing, we try to add more aspects onto our business to help compensate.'

Visit Cronin's new launderette service in Union Hall right next door to their Centra.