Crowleys Music Shop Closes it's doors for good.

Satts

Crowleys Music Centre's Facebook status update.
"To all our beautiful customers .... After 87 yrs of trading as Crowleys Music Centre we unfortunately closed our doors for good at 6pm this evening. Despite our best efforts and with everyones goodwill we are unable to continue.
Obviously we love this place like our home and it will be missed."

Oh no, so sad to see an institution like this close.
Spent many an hour in there drooling over instruments and amps.

Bassfish

Oh no, I bought 3 guitars, a bass, a couple of amps and god knows how many accessories there. They were always really sound in there and the staff really knew their stuff. Such a shame, only pro musica left now really.

Gamb!t

Sad to hear that,spent many a weekend in there in my teen years.

calnand

Sad alright, I bought my les paul there years ago, loved being inside and seeing people trying out guitars.

Bassfish

There's good footage from a documentary on one of Rory Gallagher's irish tours in the 70s where he calls into Crowley's, then located on the quays. On an old phone so can't put up a link, well worth a watch.

Outkast_IRE

Sad to hear, purchased my first guitar in there, really helpful staff.

Milly33

so sorry to hear

cantdecide

Unbelievably sad. Like a lot of others, a great deal of my misspent youth involved ogling guitars there. I bought my first guitar there too. One of my close mates got married yesterday and there was an impromptu band reunion! The flood of memories last night followed by this news this morning, it's hard not to be affected. To think of the history of the place. Good luck to Sheena and the gang. We'll miss dropping in.

Sephiroth_dude

Really sad to hear this,are Jeffers still open?

the beer revolu

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Really sad to hear this,are Jeffers still open?

Jeffer's in Cork closed about 4 or 5 years ago.

Sephiroth_dude

the beer revolu wrote: »

Jeffer's in Cork closed about 4 or 5 years ago.

I did not know that .

BillJ

Such a shame.

There used to be a small place on Parnell Place as well, is that gone too?

cantdecide

BillJ wrote: »

Such a shame.

There used to be a small place on Parnell Place as well, is that gone too?

Russell's Music went at one stage but I think they're back again as Russell's Acoustic Centre or something to that effect. There's another little place on Oliver Plunkett st but I've not been in there.

Bassfish

BillJ wrote: »

Such a shame.

There used to be a small place on Parnell Place as well, is that gone too?

Long gone, can't remember the name of it now. Jeffers used to be opposite it above flor griffin, then moved to the quays and that's gone too. Only pro musica left now and that was always the last place I'd go for gear. Awful shame.

Fabio

Pro Musica and OPUS which is near the model shop at Oliver Plunkett Street and Parnell Place (where they meet like).

To be honest I feel the city I love so much is just coming apart before my eyes.

C.K Dexter Haven

I purchased sheet music off them a number of times through the years- such a pity to see them gone.

Flesh Gorden

Bought my first two electrics and first acoustic there and used them a good bit for re-wiring and other maintenance.
Plus I'm good friends with the family of one of the guys working there, so I'm pretty sad about its closing


I never worked there myself, but as a teenager I worked for two years in Russell's on Parnell Place

To sum up the music shop business in a sentence from my experience, it would be that:
The internet and the UK suppliers really killed off that type of business in Ireland, long before the credit crunch.


With the advent of more and more homes having broadband at that time, and easy credit from the banks,
It became a case where instead of a handful of local competition around the city and country,
there were now superstores like Thomann targeting the Irish market,
and English shops whose ads could be seen in the monthly magazines who were often cheaper than their Irish competition.

Which resulted in people coming in to try what they were interested in and buying online for cheaper



The one that sticks out though was back around 2005 when the Mastercard GBP exchange rate was around .68,
we had set retail prices around the .60 mark or less again in some cases.

It came to the stage where someone proved that they were able to buy a Takamine acoustic from Digitial Village
for a lower retail price than what we were being supplied at, and to add insult they could have it in 48 hours where as it could take weeks to be sent to us from the suppliers.


Final two examples would be:

Gibson Les Paul: 2005 Irish retail price was €3300, UK price was £1699 (@ 0.68 = €2498) an €802 difference

And the Musicman Sub Bass which at one stage could be imported privately from the USA for around €650 including Delivery, Vat and Duty, was being supplied to us from the UK for €1100


Maybe the UK suppliers brought their prices in line over the years
but I'd have my doubts as the prices only seemed to fall once the Euro became much stronger against the GBP

It's a very hard business to keep alive, even if they'd gone down the route of rentals and high interest credit, it still would be a daunting business model to be involved in.

cantdecide wrote: »

Russell's Music went at one stage but I think they're back again as Russell's Acoustic Centre or something to that effect.

Nope, that closed for the second time around 08'/09

He shut up shop the first time in 07' I think, at which stage a small appliance company named Bowen's moved in

Sephiroth_dude

I brought my double bass pedal in there actually because they were cheaper than Jeffers .