AFTER 34 years trading on Ashe Street in Clonakilty, John and Trish Kerr have decided to move on to the next chapter of their lives, and put their iconic bookshop up for sale.

The business, which has become an institution in the town, was opened by the couple in 1992, and also served as the family home where they raised their three daughters and shared many happy memories.

The couple, who are over 50 years married, met while studying at the University of Limerick, and moved abroad together after graduation. They and their children lived in Nassau in the Bahamas in the years prior to returning to West Cork.

After a government shakeup which saw the cancellation of expatriate work permits in the Bahamas, the family moved to Clonakilty. The decision to open a bookshop came to them once they saw the potential of the three-storey property they bought at 18, Ashe Street.

‘We had no other residence in Ireland whatsoever, and had lived overseas since we graduated from university back in 1977. So we didn't know this place at all,’ said John.

‘We picked it up, bought it, and I said: ‘we'll turn it into at least a townhouse, a residence for ourselves.’ Then when we saw the retail potential and the history of the place. Trish was anxious to try a bookshop…so we said we'd try it. We moved in and I think subconsciously we fell in love with the place.’

John explained that his family had over a century of connections to the premises on Ashe Street.

‘My grandfather came into this space in 1906 and set up a drapery and men’s outfitters shop known as Nugent’s Outfitters. John Nugent was his name…. his daughters May and Kathleen continued the business very successfully right up to, I think it was the 80s.’

The building had been out of use for a number of years and was in a state of disrepair when the couple bought it from John’s relatives.

‘We bought this place in ‘92 and it had been closed down for a number of years within the family…And it was in a poor sorrowful state. We took it on, rewired it, replumbed it, we did everything from the roof down to the floor…. everything, took the whole thing and got it going again.’

The concept of opening a bookstore was quite a risk at the time.

Several shops in the town sold stationary, magazines and other items alongside books, but Clonakilty didn’t have a store wholly dedicated to the sale of new books.

John says the decision was ‘a bit of a gamble of course.’

Kerr’s Bookshop opened on November 11th, 1992 and Trish said it was ‘the most terrifying day of my life, but other than that it’s been uphill ever since.’

Living on one of Clonakilty’s busiest streets, John and Trish have seen the town evolve significantly over the years.

When the pair opened the bookstore, it was one of the only new shops to open in Clonakilty for years.

‘Since we came back all of that has changed. It's active, vibrant and the town is driven by tourism and local initiative and local enterprise which is fantastic,’ John says.

He credits the drive and energy of young families and entrepreneurs for bringing the spirit back into the town.

Trish understands the importance of bookshops serving as a ‘safe place’: ‘People come in because they are struggling with mental health and just want to talk and you're there to listen, it doesn't go any further…We've had kids in the bookshop just because maybe they're lost on the street or in the town.’

She added that ‘it's an honour to have that feeling transferred into the bookshop. There’s so many reasons for people feeling comfortable in the bookshop. You don't actually have to buy in a bookshop either, you can come in and browse.’

The reason for the bookshop’s long-lived success in West Cork? According to Trish, its ‘the great support we've received from so many wonderful people, not just authors but everybody who enters the bookshop.’

Trish credits both local authors, and those from further afield, with helping to establish the bookshop as a literary destination, including Lucinda Riley, David Mitchell, Louise O’Neill, Maeve Binchy, and Alice Taylor.

Now, after 34 years running the store, the couple have decided to move on to other adventures.

Their daughters are all living abroad with their own established lives and families, and John and Trish are building a house in Rosscarbery overlooking the bay.

‘We came to the pass our 70th years and we thought it's time to be serious about this, we can't keep it going forever,’ John said ‘ It's time to sit back and if we get too old we'll get ineffective. There's a lot of energy required to keep this going all the time and Trish has put a lifetime of work into it.’

The bookshop is being sold as part of the overall property, and the couple hope that whoever buys it will continue the store’s legacy: ‘We don't want it to become anything other than a continuing bookshop if at all possible.’

‘We'd love to find a new owner, you know and take over and have as long a time as possible’ Trish said.

‘Exactly,’ John added. ‘A young couple with energy who would like to run a bookshop and live over it, that would be the dream, if we could manage that would be fantastic.’

The construction and decoration of their new home will keep the pair occupied for the next few months, and afterwards, John and Trish have a view to travel overseas again and expand their horizons.

‘We would really like to say a thank you to the town, the community and our customers. That's what it's all about.’ John said. ‘We wouldn't be here without their support… to have created an opportunity to raise our family, that meant everything to us.’