Ireland on the Square Transports Customers to Emerald Isle

“If we can buy it in Ireland, we will buy it from Ireland first,” said Paul Mackey, co-owner of Ireland on the Square.

Since 2009, he and co-owner Jennifer Dumas have delivered on that promise by stocking their store with plenty of jewelry, clothing, ceramics and other items that are made in Ireland by Irish craftspeople. The store also sells Irish cookies teas, crackers and sausage along with bags of Irish turf.

It is also a great place for people who want to come in, browse and learn about Ireland from Mackey, who was born and raised in Dublin where he lived for 40 years before coming to the U.S. With St. Patrick's Day this Saturday, Portsmouth Patch decided to talk with Mackey about Ireland on the Square in this week's Port City Businesses.

Name: Ireland on the Square

Business on the Web: www.irelandonthesquare.com (Web site to be launched by April)

Tel.: 603-319-1670

Business owners: Paul Mackey and Jennifer Dumas

Address: 6 Market Square

Founded: June 2009

Number of employees: one full time and three part time.

Business hours: Mon - Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Saturday, 10 to 8 p.m., Sun, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Payments accepted: American Express, Cash, Debit Card, MasterCard, Visa and Discover

What separates this business from others: We have a unique product. I suppose it comes from a country that has a very strong heritage of craft i.e. going back to knitting sweaters, pottery and other small household businesses that have often grown to worldwide companies like Nicholas Mosse pottery. You can’t get the products we sell, they are not readily available on every street corner. The pottery, jewelry and caps are all handmade in Ireland.

I have been in this business since 1995. I know every supplier that I buy from. I’ve met every supplier that I buy from. I knew that when we wanted to open a store, I knew what we wanted, but even stronger I knew what we didn’t want. We didn’t want to be a Shamrock and Shillelaghs store. We wanted to bring in as much authentic product from Ireland as possible. We also give people a way to learn about Ireland and Irish culture by talking with them about it.

What do you like about doing business in Portsmouth: There is always something happening, good, bad or indifferent. Even on a quiet, day, there is a buzz in the town. There is a great diversity of people. It’s a great tourist town. This is one of the top six destinations in American according to National Geographic (magazine).

How do you give back to the community: We make donations to the NHSPCA in Stratham and to domestic violence shelters in New Hampshire as well as gift certificates to the Portsmouth schools and other city youth groups.

Future goals: We will be launching a new Web site later this Spring. We are always looking for new products, but it is getting harder and harder to get new products. We travel to Ireland three times a year. We want to keep looking for ways to introduce new products to keep the store vibrant and fresh and keep offering the customer new choices.