Waltons World of Music is closing the doors of its only remaining Dublin city center store amid rising rentsInstagram
If you were grew up in Dublin and were any way musically inclined - chances are you got your first tin whistle or guitar in Waltons World of Music.
After almost a century, Waltons will cease to have a presence in Dublin city center.
In 1922, Martin Walton opened the eponymous music shop on North Great Frederick Street. The former Rebel, who previously fought in the Civil War, was an accomplished violinist and Feis Ceoil winner. Walton also founded the Dublin School of Music.
The North Great Frederick Street shop closed down in the 2013, but a bustling music haven on South Great George's Street, which opened in 1992, had become a prominent part of the Irish music scene for the last quarter of a century.
When it opened its doors, the area was practically empty.
“It was derelict. There was the Bewley’s cafe which was half closed, our shop and a few little local businesses,” Niall Walton, managing director of the Irish music store told the Irish Times . “Now it’s nearly an extension of Temple Bar. ”
Very sad - used to practise piano here when I came to Dublin as a student in the 1990s.... Walton family is ‘heartbroken’ to close Dublin music shop https://t.co/Uu07Q65GmF
— Simon Carswell (@SiCarswell) February 19, 2018
Now, as Dublin city center rents continue to sky rocket with increased demand, Walton has been forced to make redundancies and close the iconic store.
“We’re a marginal business, we’re not clothes or electronics, so we only sell to about 10 per cent of the population,” Walton said. “The internet is also taking away a lot of business from the music industry. People will buy anything online, so the turnover goes down in general because of online shopping; and on top of that the rents go up."
Yeah right, go ahead and kill off the inner city in the name of greed: https://t.co/LqIXDJu4Ei #WaltonsMusic #Dublin
— David Jazay (@DavidJazay) February 19, 2018
Walton said he was "heartbroken" over the closure of the iconic store, but ultimately the cost of "doing business in the city center is just too high."
The location shot to international fame when the Oscar-winning movie "Once" was released, with a scene filmed in the music store (above).
The business will now operate from Blanchardstown Shopping Center in the suburbs of West Dublin.
Keeping chipper, Niall Walton reflected on what his grandfather Martin would say. He recalled a time during the 1970s when he previously told his grandfather that business wasn't going as well as expected.
“I was 19 and said business was pretty tough. He said: ‘Tough? You couldn’t spell it.’ He reminded me that when he opened in 1922 O’Connell Street was in ruins after the war. Then there was the Wall Street Crash, De Valera’s economic war on England and in 1938 Hitler came along. Then it was six years of survival during the war, another 10-15 years for the world to recover, a few easy years in the 1960s and then the oil crisis in the 1970s."
Do you have any fond memories of Waltons? Let us know in the comments below!