Chai Brady
Discussions regarding the possible buy out and takeover of Veritas Ltd by another major religious publisher, St Pauls Ireland, have broken down, The Irish Catholic understands. Veritas stated this week on Twitter that its branch in Blanchardstown, Dublin will now close.
Veritas announced their wind-down in February last, saying it would be complete by the end of the year with the loss of approximately 80 jobs. Since then, they have been exploring potential buyers, the most promising of which – St Pauls – is believed to have fallen through in the last two weeks.
It was subsequently announced that Veritas Blanchardstown would close on Friday, October 25. A source in Blanchardstown said there were hopes that the deal with St Pauls would have prevented any further store closures, and that there was “deep disappointment” in the community upon hearing the news.
A staff member said that the closure had been on the cards “for a long time”, and that they had actually “got longer than we thought”, adding that it was “sad after 20 years” of the shop being open.
This is the fourth shop closure, with the Limerick store officially closing on May 15, Tallaght on May 17 and the Cork branch on July 19.
This leaves shops in Letterkenny, Abbey Street, Derry and Newry still open, with their future unclear.