Ribbon cut in Laois as Tesco Ireland opens new Portlaoise store

The doors of Tesco Ireland's new store in Portlaoise have swung open to new customers creating 44 jobs in the process.

Laois County Council's Chief Executive John Mulholland was on hand on April 11 to cut the ribbon on its second store in Laois at Gandon Court, Portlaoise.

The 10,000 Gandon Court store will be managed by Denise Barry, a highly experienced store manager with over 20 years’ experience with Tesco Ireland. Ms Barry spoke at the opening of the new outlet.

“This is a special day for my team and I. We can’t wait to welcome our new customers, and we really look forward to actively engaging with the community. We’re especially proud to meet our new friends in Scoil Bhride National School, who are participating in our Stronger Starts Schools programme. We’re also looking forward to meeting local groups and projects who need our support through the Community Fund over the coming months,” she said.

Geoff Byrne, Chief Operating Officer, Tesco Ireland also commented. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Pictured with Tesco staff at the opening of the new Tesco store in Portlaoise were (l-r) Deputy Manager Murphy Akanji and Store Manager Denise Barry. Photo: Joe Conroy

“This is store number 173 for Tesco Ireland, and we are very pleased that this latest one is in Portlaoise. We look forward to supporting the local community here through our community fund. We are continuing to invest in new stores in urban areas like Portlaoise, and we look forward to embedding ourselves into the community for many years to come,” he said.

Tesco also higlighted its support of the communities in Laois and around Ireland through Community Fund has helped support thousands of organisations across the country from GAA clubs to children’s charities.

In its first campaign, the Gandon Court store will support the locality with donations to three local causes, these include Kolbe Special School, The HeatH National School, and Scoil Bhride National School.

Through the food surplus redistribution programme, FoodCloud partners and OLIO Food Waste Heroes will be on hand to ensure no good food goes to waste. The Gandon Court team will also join Tesco’s continued efforts to support its charity partner, Children’s Health Foundation which supports all sick children in CHI at Crumlin, Connolly, Temple St, and Tallaght hospitals.

The new shop adds to the retail giant's footprint in Laois. Tesco is the anchor business in Laois Shopping Centre. The new shop in Fairgreen is replaces an Iceland store which closed in 2023. The premises was previously occupied by a Eurospar.