Last suppers as famous Cork chipper closes today after 73 years

The news that Jackie Lennox's chipper on Bandon Road was closing today sent shock waves through Cork last week - and generated a nostalgia tsunami that saw half-kilometre-long queues for food, where hundreds of customers were willing to wait over three hours in torrential rain for a final chipper order.

Brian and Frances Lennox and their staff were exhausted after working non-stop to handle seven days of massive queues - and orders that were 10 times bigger than normal.

Some customers were the fourth generation of families who had bought food at the famous Bandon Road outlet.

The chipper was famous for feeding hungry students from University College Cork (UCC) and Munster Technology University (MTU) - and some travelled over 250km from around Ireland for one last cod supper or snack box.

One customer placed an order worth almost €250 as he bought food for his entire family and friends for one final time.

Another man, David Lavelle, even flew back to Cork from Bornholm island off Denmark just for one final order.

"It was worth the 2,082km trip," David smiled.

He queued outside Lennox's on Saturday evening alongside Cork's RedFM radio host, Neil Prendeville, to savour one last taste of a Cork tradition.

The painter-decorator said Saturday night was a trip down memory lane and, like many other Corkonians, he is sad that Lennox's will depart the city's social infrastructure.

For David, it was very much a "last supper."

But he never once had second thoughts about undertaking the arduous journey for one last feast of battered food.

"I was up at 5am and on the ferry there and across the Baltic Sea all the way over to Sweden. Then over a big bridge between Denmark and Sweden.

"It's Jackie Lennox, like. You have to. I deliberately didn't eat anything on Friday so I'd have an appetite for Saturday night."

Brian Lennox admitted the past week was "absolutely surreal."

He paid a moving tribute to Cork and its people for the astonishing outpouring of goodwill.

"It has been overwhelming. It has been very, very special for us. From the bottom of our hearts we just want to say 'thank you' to the people of Cork for all their support. It has meant the world to us."

Frances and Brian Lennox confirmed the shock closure "with a heavy heart".

They said that an increased bureaucratic burden and difficulties in recruiting full-time staff were key to the decision.

"The stress of the increased demands has been unbearable," he said.

"The decision to close was very, very hard. To be honest, it was like a death in the family. It has been a tough few days and weeks.

"But we are not alone in this. It is really tough these days running a small family business in Ireland and there are thousands of family businesses out there who know what I am talking about."

Brian said the Lennox's team have drawn comfort from the avalanche of goodwill messages and tributes from across the globe.

"This may seem strange to make this decision when we are at our busiest, but time has creeped up on us and we are unable to cope with the burden of our success," their closure notice explained.

Staff were informed of the closure on Monday - and tributes to the family-operated business have been paid by Cork politicians, business leaders and sports officials.

Lennox's was closely associated with Cork sport from when it opened in 1951 and, over the years, became particularly synonymous with both the GAA and Cork soccer.

"From humble beginnings above a cobbler's shop on the northside of the city, Eileen and John opened their present shop on the Bandon Road," the firm posted.

"With the help of soccer legend and John's teammate David Noonan and Eileen's father, Con O'Callaghan, and her brother Sean (both GAA servants), the business became a huge success.

The couple would go on to raise nine children - seven of whom were born above the shop.

"All of them worked at some point in the shop over the years.

"We would like to thank our local suppliers who have always given the best and freshest of their products.

"To our loyal co-workers, many of whom have been part of our family for many generations, it has been a privilege.

"To our loyal customers, thank you so much - you have been a delight to serve and will be part of us forever.

"Please remember us fondly and we hope that we have made in a small way a contribution to the culture of Cork."