The Cope
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| Type | Consumer co-operative |
|---|---|
| Industry | Shopping Centre |
| Founded | 1906 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Revenue | €16 Million [1] |
Number of employees | 110 [1] |
| Website | TheCope.ie |
The Cope, or the Templecrone Agricultural Co-operative Society (Irish: Comharchumann Talmhaíochta agus Sóisialta Theampall Cróine), is a co-operative retail chain indigenous to The Rosses area of County Donegal in Ireland. Founded in 1906, it has a number of normal supermarkets as well as a full department store, a builders merchants and an agricultural division.
The name comes from the inability of one of the founder shareholders to say Co-Op - as he could pronounce Cope, the name The Cope was adopted. For the same reason, some people use the term to refer to the group in the U.K. named The Co-operative Group.[citation needed]
Outside of Donegal, the name is perhaps best known for being the semi-official nickname of a local politician Pat "the Cope" Gallagher, who is a former Minister of State. His family were connected to the foundation of the co-operative.[citation needed]
The founder of the chain, Patrick Gallagher (grandfather of the above, and known as Paddy "the Cope"), featured on a 48c Irish stamp released on 16 January 2006, depicted in front of the group's first Dungloe store.[citation needed]
The supermarket section of its flagship Dungloe department store was destroyed in a fire in April 2006,[2] although a reduced supermarket service was resumed within two weeks from elsewhere on the site. Construction of a new supermarket began in January 2007 and has since been completed. Initially co-branded as a Vivo store, and latterly a Eurospar, it has since returned to only Cope branding.[3]
The Cope has branches in the town of Dungloe, as well as Annagry, Falcarragh and Kincasslagh villages. They formerly had branches in Burtonport and Narin, but they have been closed; with the former branch in Lettermacaward now operated privately. The Narin branch was re-opened on its original site for Summer 2019 only.[4]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Home Page". The Templecrone Agricultural Co-operative Society. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
- ^ "Fire badly damages co-op in Dungloe complex".
- ^ "History".
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/NarinCopeFoodstore/[bare URL]
External links[]
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- Cooperatives in the Republic of Ireland
- Retail companies established in 1906
- The Rosses
- Supermarkets of the Republic of Ireland
- 1906 establishments in Ireland
- Retail company stubs