By Historian Sean Collins
Now that the dark evenings of November are upon us, I am always reminded of the build up to Christmas when I was a child. The big yellow shop in the Bullring in Drogheda namely Owen Lochrin’s wonderful emporium of fancy goods, toys and Santa Claus. A Christmas advertisement from 1962 for Lochrins advised;
“TOYS, TOYS, TOYS…..When it comes to Christmas and toys, no wonder everyone automatically thinks of Lochrins. Come and see the magnificent display and bring the kiddies with you. We are official stockists for Dinky Toys, Bako, Hornby Trains, Meccano, Triang Toys, Scalectrix, Kiddy Kraft etc”. In 1963 Lochrins became agents for Lego building blocks. Christmas from then on was signalled by a Lego model in the main window, inviting customers to guess how many Lego blocks were used in the model ? Does anyone remember who won the competition ? There are many memories in the brand names of the toys now almost forgotten.
Lochrin’s shop opened at the Bullring in the early 1890s. Owen Lochrin, a native of Forkhill arrived in Drogheda from Scotland, where his Uncle’s had a retail business. He opened his shop at No’s 2+3 Bullring beside Dwyer’s Butcher’s adjacent to St. Mary’s Bridge, [later Willie Walls]. He stocked fancy goods, delph and fine china, paint and wallpaper, and even milking machines.
Sadly, Owen’s wife, Margaret, died in 1896. Tragedy struck the family in the early days of the Great War, with the death of his son Michael J. a Captain in the R.A.M.C. and a medical doctor by profession. Michael was killed in action at Pilken near Ypres on 23rd Oct. 1914 aged 31 years. The same day William Kenny another Drogheda soldier won a Victoria Cross in the same battle near Ypres. The highest award for bravery in the Great War. Owen himself died 30th Oct 1916 aged 75 years. Owen’s son James Lochrin succeeded him. His name was put on the shop again. The young Owen Lochrin took a great interest in the
affairs of Drogheda both in business and sport.
Without a doubt, Owen Lochrin was one of Drogheda’s greatest ever business people and, but for his tragic death, might well have been a huge player on the national scene as we entered the European Common Market. He was senior vice president of the Association of Chambers of Commerce of Ireland and a director of Hauni [ a German based company who established a factory on the Donore Road in Drogheda in 1963 under the Whitaker Plan for economic development. Two other factories were opened at the same time, can anybody name them ? ].He had done much to promote Drogheda on the international front.
But on June 18th 1972 he was on board a British European Airways flight on its way from London Heathrow to Brussels, when it crashed shortly after take-off near Staines. 109 passengers and crew died, then the biggest aviation disaster in British history. Sadly In that Staines Air Disaster, the town of Drogheda lost a great leader. The event was recalled in 2022 when the Irish Independent
reported;
“ On Thursday, 30th June 2022, together with Dublin Chamber, European Movement Ireland and IBEC, Minister of State Thomas Byrne T.D. hosted the families of victims of the Staines Air Crash to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the tragedy. Among the 118 people who tragically lost their lives on 18 June 1972 were 12 leaders of Irish industry and society. They were travelling to Brussels for talks with the EEC after a successful referendum to join the then EEC.”
