Fifty five years of furnishing Laois: Portlaoise family celebrate business milestone

The Rowan family of Reliable House Furnishers celebrate 55 successful years in business.

Billy Rowan first opened the doors of Reliable House Furnishers on Station road on November 1 1969.

Originally ran by Billy and his brothers Harry and Douglas, the family business is now overseen by Billy, his daughter Pamela, and his brother Harry.

In the early 1960's, the shop was originally a dance hall before the brothers took over.

Pictured: The Rowan Family; Pamela, Billy, Nicola, Harry and Serena.

"Crowds used to flock here back in the day, many a man found his other half here," said Harry Rowan.

"When we first opened we only sold second hand furniture, it was all the rage at the time."

Originally travelling to Dublin once a week to find high quality furniture, Billy Rowan started out as a young and ambitious entrepreneur. 

“When you're young, you enjoy it,” Mr Rowan explained.

“I had worked in Shaws for twelve years and started a business venture growing mushrooms in Carlow. It has always been in me to do business,” he said.

Pictured: Billy, his daughter Pamela, and Harry. The three Rowans run the business together.

Following 55 years of success, we asked the family what their secret was.

“I wouldn't advise anyone to go into business nowadays. it's a very tough time for businesses at the minute," Billy said.

"We have lasted so long because we sell good quality furniture, we don't import poor quality pieces that don't last long," he said.

"We sell everything you could need for your house- bed frames, mattresses, arm chairs and even door mats," he said.

They're good quality and solid, and we try to keep our prices down," Harry said. 

Billy's daughters fondly explained their memories of the shop growing up.

"I remember we used to play with the mats and rugs," Billy's daughter Pamela explained, who currently works in the shop.

"The face of the shop was our uncle Douglas. He would've been well known in the locality as being part and parcel of the business, he was always here and went above and beyond. he would be out delivering 'til 9 o'clock at night," she said.

Pictured: Reliable House Furnishers celebrate 55 years in business.

Douglas sadly passed away several years ago, and is still synonymous with the business.

"One of my strong memories would be of him always here with a joke or a laugh, they would come in for a chat as much as their pieces," Billy's daughter Serena said.

"Tommy O'Brien and Fintan Keegan would come in to share a tale and a laugh. I remember a lot of people didn't have the money to pay for their furniture, so dad would give them credit. on a Friday evening, Daddy would go around collecting the money from the estates, I would go around helping him. A lot of people wouldn't have been able to furnish their houses without it," Serena explained.

Pictured: Billy Rowan, founder of Reliable House Furnishers.

"They would be my memories. St Patrick's day parades, doing up floats for that. It was a big deal for a few years. the modern homes exhibition used to come and it was a big promotional activity for years," she said.

The Rowan family will celebrate 55 years in business with a sale through the month of November. 

After 55 years, the business still maintain the same motto: 'If we don't have it, we'll get it in for you.'