A pharmacy which has been operated by the same family for more than 90 years has been sold on this week.
This week marks the end of an era on Milford’s Main Street with the sale of McCormick’s Pharmacy.
Outgoing proprietor, Mark McCormick said the new owners, Healthwise Pharmacy Group takes over the business from this Friday and all ten jobs are being retained.
The original pharmacy was founded in 1927 by Derry man, Owen McCormick and has been a huge part of the commercial life in Milford ever since.
McCormick’s Pharmacy was originally located on Milford Upper Main Street and moved to its current location in 1936.
Mark McCormick said that since his family has been residing in Dublin for the past seven years, it was time for him to move on and while he regretted selling the business established by his grandfather he wished to thank all their loyal customer base for their support over all those years.
Known as the Donegal Drug Company, the McCormick’s had a huge business back in the day and were one of the main black and white photo labs in Donegal and wholesalers in the business for a generation.
The late Val Johnston was the pharmacist for 48 years while Tessie McPaul worked there for over half a century. Described by Sheila Friel in her book on Milford’s history a number of years ago she described McCormicks’ as ‘a symbol of the continuity that is so much a feature of Milford life’.
Local woman Agnes Diver recalled to the Tirconail Tribune leaving school one Friday at the age of fourteen and attending a wake with her late mother. And while there a member of the McCormick family offered her a job from the following Monday.
Her job in summer was in the film lab and a big number was engaged in processing the films that came in from pharmacies around the county. There was a big production line upstairs where the negatives were printed and then posted with a great degree of urgency since Owen McCormick prided himself on the quality of work his staff produced.
Following the sudden death of Owen McCormick in 1951 the McCormick family decided to retain the business and 81 years later they’ve decided to sell up and move on to other projects in life.
The late Tony Conaghan was on the road delivering medicines that were prepared and packed over the winter months and it was a thriving enterprise.
Glass bottles were returned, washed and filled with cod liver oil and a range of lotions and potions, labeled, corked and packaged for distribution.
The firm continued to move with the times and today McCormick’s is a modern pharmacy catering for the well-being of a large clientele.
The Healthwise Pharmacy Group is a well-known name with fifteen outlets and many of these are already located in Donegal.
The Healthwise Pharmacies concept was developed by Liam Grimley, James Cassidy and Donal Cassidy in order to bring the benefits of group purchasing to local communities while preserving the integrity and service levels of the locally run community pharmacy.
The business model has evolved to allow shared ownership, where partner pharmacists avail of the product range, prices and support services of the Healthwise model, while ensuring the pharmacy remains under the management of a dedicated local pharmacist.
In this way Healthwise Pharmacies intends to preserve the ethos of the locally run community pharmacy, while offering a wide range of products and services at the keenest prices.
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