Paddy Kilgarriff — Tuam merchant prince of the old school

PADDY Kilgarriff is one of Tuam's merchant princes of the old school. He is the scion of a well-established business dynasty — there has been a Kilgarriff presence in mercantile Tuam for as long as anyone can remember -- and the next generation of the family are now continuing into the future with their pharmacy, optician and farming businesses.

Paddy himself, a sprightly 84 this August, is still a canny businessman and dairy farmer who says he has no intention of retiring as he wouldn't know what to do with himself. He insists he has to keep his hand in to keep the show on the road.
The Kilgarriffs were established merchants and publicans in the town in the 19th century and, as was common back then, such businesses often encompassed land holdings.

Read the full feature in this week's edition of The Tuam Herald