Edwina Donnellan, CEO of Donnellan’s Centra in Ennis, has been named as 2024 Image PwC Family Businesswoman of the Year. We travelled to the Banner County and touched base with Edwina to find out more about this family-run customer-centric convenience store and service station business, which has been a hub of the local community for coming up on four decades.
Thirty-six years ago, Jerry Donnellan opened the shop and forecourt on Ennis’ Lahinch Road that is now Donnellan’s Centra – a business he today runs alongside his daughter, Edwina. Edwina joined the family business when she was still a teenager and has helped establish Donnellan’s into an award-winning store that consistently provides customers with the best in convenience, value, service and choice.
Firmly established as a busy and sociable focal point at the very heart of the local community, Donnellan’s Centra not only delivers immeasurable fuel and convenience retail service levels but is also a significant employer and sponsor of countless local teams, events and worthy causes.
The superior level of service provided was acknowledged when Donnellans were shortlisted for national recognition in the Best Forecourt Retailer 2024 (Large) category of the C-Store Awards and they were also a finalist at the Pride of Centra Awards, while Edwina capped an unforgettable 2024 by receiving the prestigious Image PwC Family Businesswoman of the Year Award.
“I was as delighted as I was surprised to get that award,” the humble Clare lady reflects. “It was a huge honour to get it, not least because these things generally tend to be very Dublin-based, so it was nice to get it for this side of the country, to see a small, rural, family business recognised at that level.”
The strengths of Donnellan’s Centra are manifold, but one of the biggest has to be the great atmosphere that prevails both in the store and on the forecourt, a reflection of the strong relationships Edwina, Jerry and their team foster with customers new and old.
“We know all of our customers by name and have built up personal relationships with them,” Edwina confirms. “We meet people every day and they meet one another on the premises and that brings connections to their daily lives. Whether having a chat in the aisles of the store, at the tills or on the forecourt, it’s a place for people to gather and meet, and we pride ourselves on that aspect of the business.
“It’s more than just a place to shop. As a place where people meet, it’s very important to offer that point of contact. Supporting local is also hugely important to us and we sponsor as many local teams as we can, including the two secondary schools – Colaiste Muire and St Flannan’s, who of course are high achievers in hurling.”
A personal, friendly touch is guaranteed and Edwina and Jerry are always on hand to look after customers and to show an example to the team of 30 employees who keep the wheels turning. “We make sure our staff all feel that they are genuinely valued,” the Family Businesswoman of the Year continues.
“Girls come in here to work with us part-time while they are at college and most of them would stay for the full four years, and their sisters would come here after them. There are a couple of ladies working here well over 20 years – you can just imagine all the people they have got to know during that time!”
It is by constantly looking forward, embracing change and moving with the times that Edwina has grown Donnellan’s into the business it is today. “We’re very adaptive to change and innovation. For example, people are more conscious of health these days so we have diversified our food offerings to include plant-based food, like the Happy Pear range – people love to have the option of picking them up.”
Donnellan’s also stock the Donnybrook Fair range, Mood ice cream and Frank and Honest coffee.
Father and daughter both take a hands-on approach to running the business on a daily basis. Both are always out on the shop floor and Edwina can often be spotted out back helping offload deliveries, bringing them inside and stacking shelves. “It’s important that the staff know you are prepared to work with them,” she reasons. “I think it motivates them better when they see that you are prepared to do the work yourself and it also provides me with a clearer picture of what’s happening on the shop floor.
Going back to the genesis of the business, in 1988, Edwina recalls: “Dad started up as a small independent shop with a Jet forecourt back in the day. We were Statoil for a while too, but are now Texaco. In 2006/07, he decided to partner up with Musgraves. That was our first time to have a franchise in the store and we’ve been with Centra ever since. That was really where my role in the business grew from as it was a huge leap for a small, rural business and there were so many systems we had to get in place.
“I have to say Musgraves have been a great partner. We could never have grown at this scale without them and they have been extremely helpful with HR and staff training, with a lot of the training programmes and academies available online.”
As part of the ongoing process of constantly moving forward with regular upgrades, revamps and improvements, in 2023 Jerry invested €500,000 in upgrades to the tanks at the forecourts. The new tanks include a leak-detection system and should futureproof the site for another 20 years.
“It’s important to do these things,” Jerry told us. “You have to do it in time. It’s like everything else … it’s very difficult to solve a problem after it arises and becomes an issue. It might cost a lot of money but you are better off sorting these things out before they become a problem, because that’s going to cost more in the long run.
“Our customers are very important to us,” the store founder adds. “We like to always give them a good service, especially with so much competition out there. You have to make sure that you are always looking after your customers.”
Certainly there are no signs of complacency or feet coming off pedals at Donnellan’s Centra in Ennis. “We are committed to making sure we stay in business and continue to be a big part of the community,” Edwina concludes. “It’s a privilege to be in a position where we can contribute to the community and we will adapt and embrace new skills and ideas to move with the times.
“There’s a very tough year ahead for retailers and we have to prepare for the challenges that are coming our way. Part of this will be making sure we continue to create an environment where customers and staff want to stay with us.”
Donnellan’s Centra,
Loughville,
Lahinch Road,
Ennis,
County Clare.
Tel: 065 682 4311
Facebook: www.facebook.com/donnellanscentra
First published in Grocery & Retail Ireland magazine Vol 4 No 1, Spring 2025
