Clerys closure: blood on the streets

There is growing outrage over the handling of the Clerys sale, not only from workers, but from politicians and the wider business community. Colette Sexton, Jack Horgan-Jones and Tom Lyons report

Clerys on O’Connell Street, Dublin: closed suddenly on June 12, 2015. Picture: Feargal Ward
Clerys on O’Connell Street, Dublin: closed suddenly on June 12, 2015. Picture: Feargal Ward

The inside of Clerys department store on O’Connell Street in Dublin stood silent last Wednesday. Outside, former employees of the store, many of whom had worked there for decades, were asking people to sign petitions in support of them.

It had been five days since the store was sold at 2.30am by Gordon Brothers to Natrium Ltd, a company founded by ...